EA meets R^2

R^2 (R Squared)
Address: 668 Queen Street West
Neighbourhood: Queen West
website, @rsquaredcafe Tel: 647-344-8558

Since Quaff turned hands to Reza and Reza - hence the name R^2 - the space has changed from machine to decor. Gone are the vibrant San Pellegrino art installation at the back of the shop and in comes the WBC sponsored espresso pulling machine. A complete overhaul from coffee to baked goods, means more fun to be had. They brought on board Matthew Songberg to head their coffee program, and have gone the route of Social Coffee.

A nice wooden bar to watch the activity at the real bar, and floor to ceiling windows at the front to do our best to people watch Queen West. Welcome to neighbourhood.

Machine: 3 Group Nuova Simonelli Adina
Grinder: Mazzer
Beans: Holiday Blend (seasonal)
Composition: Brazilian, Guatemalan
Roasters: Social Coffee Company
Located: Richmond Hill, ON

Verdict: Breathe of cold winter air and down goes the spicy - think hints of cinnamon and cloves - nutty emulsion upon the first sip, settling into a mild cocoa ringing on the next sip and then a gripping fresh mouth coating to end the cup.

Next time I'll come back for the slow bar - as by the cup coffee pushing our envelopes to discover and taste more.
But what does 2012 entail? Wait and see.....

World Aeropress championships

Honestly, sometimes all of these competitions get overwhelming...

Here I was, not paying attention to the wonders of Aeropress... but reading DCILY, the championship will be held on October 23rd in Milan, Italy.

Looks like Mr. Steve from Social is heading over to Italy -- slightly jealous, but will be cheering him on as he's the only present representative from Canada.

First Experience: Café Pamenar

Café Pamenar
Address: 307 Augusta Avenue
Neighbourhood: Kensington Market (the Market)
website, e-mail, Tel: (647) 352-3627


Located in the Market, it seems that even Kensington can't be over saturated from Cafes. Counting more than a handful of locations seems that we are not short of options.
Start of the summertime fave - Pedestrian Sundays - Car Free Zone during the last sunday of May til October meant that there would be crowds. We welcomed the celebration with open arms as drones of Torontoians gathered to soak in performers and artists, while food vendors filled the air with succulant aromas. Everywhere you looked around - people were enjoying the weather and strolling through the glorious streets without a worry.

Coffee Cupping with Social /Manic Coffee

Manic Coffee

Address: 294 College Street

Neighbourhood: Little Italy/College&Bathurst area

Social Coffee Company

Address: 55 West Beaver Creek Rd. unit 45

Located: Richmond Hill, Ontario

This past weekend, Social Coffee Co held a special cupping session at Manic. The quickest and most trusted source: Twitter informed me that @Socialcoffeeco would be heading down for 4PM amd it only seemed like a no-brainer to get in on this action.

The weather was amazing this past weekend, so that meant pumping up the tires and go for a spin, to warm up the mind, body and soul.... or just my tastebuds for what would be a great experience.

5: Manic Coffee

  Manic Coffee 

Address: 426 College Street

Neighbourhood: College/Bathurst

tel: (416) 966-3888

  (website)

Popping up in 2007, at the beginnings of the Third Wave of great independent cafes, they found their niche on College street.. Sparking this was the consistency that Manic Coffee brought to the neighbourhood. During the early years they only served espresso and espresso based drinks, with tea as variety. They later expanded their line (or caved to demands) to include the Cover Machine and brewed coffee.

If you've never experienced the Cover Machine you definitely need to try out this amazing technology. (in a future post). They are also one of the most prominent cafes to serve Chicago's very own Intelligenstia Black Cat Espresso. They've done right by the Black Cat, but sometimes mix it up with newcomers Social Coffee and Tea Company - who's created their own blend for Matt and the gang.

Most of the barista are quite passionate about proper espresso offerings and can suggest drinks that you might like if you are wavering. This is a plus in their books.

Often at times I'm the only non-Apple laptop user, surrounded by many macbooks, or macbook pros... it's a little scary for me. Yet it's still filled with stereotypical young creative people writing, typing, reading and just enjoy the cafe. The ambiance is conducive to productive office sessions, and the cafe buzz normally drowns out any conversation. The high ceilings with exposed vents, spot lighting, and amazing smells from the back kitchen, make you want to linger about and just appreciate the coffee culture.

 Machine: La Marzocco Linea
Doser: Mazzer
Turnover: Heavy Traffic
Beans: Intelligenstia Black Cat Espresso; 
Social Coffee (alternating)
Music:indie hip - but really depends on the barista
Indie Coffee Passport: YES
Disloyalty Card: YES

 Verdict: Here's my bias: I enjoy Black Cat Espresso - smooth body and balanced acidity/citrus that has that much wanted crema for a syrupy sweet taste. I look forward to this drink when I venture into one of my staples. Yet, when they mix it up and place Social on the doser, I can instantly taste the difference. This is why one of my favourite cafes/ mobile office only breaks the top 5.
(Even their Berry muffins can not convince me to increase their rankings.)
You will often find me in here working on my projects.