1: Mercury Espresso

Mercury Espresso Bar
Address: 915 Queen Street East
Neighbourhood: Leslieville
website

Congratulation are in order for Mercury Espresso Bar; topping this list for the second year in a row.

2012 marks the 6th year of this local charm, not only did they lose key members of the mercury team, sad to see Matt leave, but success in a different format - Manual Labour has been great.

They also started to make big changes.Switching out Madcap for Victoria charm BowsXArrows (run by former Mercury alum Amber Fox), keeping more Canadian content. Still pull Howell though.
To being the most consistent shop, serving drinks with passion, giving us different roasters, being the perennial shop in Toronto, I give Mercury the nod for top cafe.


They've also started to accept debit cards -- What a change!!

Thank you for reading, I swear to be better about posting in 2013!

Keep exploring and happy Espresso Adventures!

2: Te Aro

Te Aro Roasted
Address: 983 Queen Street West
Neighbourhood: Leslieville
website

Te Aro has had a really successful year.
Establishing and securing new direct trade relationships, trips to origin, roasting coffee for new accounts, we can sum it up as a great year.

Kicking things off was their showcase // espro-down of the top European coffee roasters they could get a hand on.
I've hand many memorable shots of espresso here, and I believe I will continue to do so. Their dedication to roasting and understanding their market just makes them a no-brainer among this list.

With the new Dietrich they've had more clarity in their roasts, able to handle all of their new accounts, and really keeps the cafe nice and warm. It was a struggle between the top 5 places on the list, but proximity, coffee availability and hours of operations played a bigger role.

Thank you for continuing to hold your Thursday public cuppings/Brew Methods, for being active in the coffee community, and just generally being a great place to have coffee.

Cheers
Espresso Adventures

3: Sam James Empire

Sam James (Coffee Bar/Coffee Pocket)
Address: 297 Harbour Street, 688a Bloor St. West 150 King W (PATH)
website

Sam James opened up shop #3 in the extremely busy labyrinth of the PATH (Toronto's underground network). He's a game changer, taking on Timmie's and other "FAST" coffee chains. Yet, the suits have embraced his cups of espresso with vigour. Even accepting his Cash Only policy (to which I agree, but given our cashless society - pushes a fraction away)

Always a great place to sip on espresso in their iconic thick walled cups. Th holding the nectar of sweet, sweet espresso. Super impressed with no nonsense attitude of providing the best drink possible.

Enjoy your shot at any of these locations.
Cheers

4: Crema *Junction*

Crema - Junction
Address: 3079 Dundas Street West
Neighbourhood: (The) Junction
website

Quickly celebrating their 5th year (2013), Geoff has really pushed the model of consistency.
With the same machine, consistent training, and a passion that is passed onto the barista, it's only fitting the Creama jumps up the list.
Adding Detour, George Howell alongside 49th Parallel, really rounds out the selection.

With the Spadina location (located within Freshii) finally opening, and adding additional seating near the end of 2012. There is ample choices within the core. With four locations, this mini-chain is only just beginning.

The best place to find Epic Espresso in Toronto, hands down. Cheers

5: Farenheit

Fahrenheit Coffee
Address: 120 Lombard Street
Neighbourhood: St. Lawrence Market

Mr. Sameer and his merryman of barista found a new home and have flourished.

Step away from the market (St.Lawrence) and a stones thrown from the core - you see locals and suits gathering. With just a couple of seats and a stand-up bar located in the middle, it gets packed quickly.

Not to worry, these are professionals.
So much passion, resulted in 2 Top 5 finished in the regional barista competition, and a Top 5 place for the National one.

Go for the Capp and stay for the conversation.

6: Capital Espresso

Capital Espresso
http://www.capitalspro.com/
1349 Queen Street West
Neighbourhood: Parkdale

Thank you for keeping me coming out to the West end. As you know by now, I'm situated on the east, but that doesn't stop me from trying to squeeze another espresso shot from their newly installed Strada.

Excuse me, did we mention that their storefront is filled with large windows.... natural sunlight - come on in.

Consistency keeps me coming back.
Warmth of the shop helps me to sit and relax.
The no-nonsense embrace pulls my heartstrings to the West.

Capital - you rock!

7: Dark Horse (Queen West)

Dark Horse 3: Queen West
Addy: 684 Queen West
Neighbourhood: Queen West.

Huge fan of Dark Horse, who celebrated their 6th year at the Broadview shop, opened up one more  shop this year. Taking over a former Oyster bar on John Street, they transformed the theatre district into a place where you can get away during the day.

Winning a battle to place a outdoor patio on the DH3, and continuing to pull Detour Coffee only seems appropriate to have DH within this list.

Unique design elements with their signature communal table, and you have a recipe for success....
Will we see a DH5? who knows, but if they can continue to replicate consistently pulled espresso, I think Toronto is ready to embrace.

8: Manic Coffee

Manic Coffee
426 College Street
Neighbourhood: College Street.
(website)

Manic is my go-to shop when I'm around the area. Not only did they continue their gelato program, but finished their redesign to be more efficient. Swinging the bar from the front to the side definitely made the endless lines-up more bareable.
Mind you, there is more seating, or is this my own illusion... 

They continue to pull the best Intelligenstia in Toronto, and their no wifi policy makes it a great spot to stay just for the coffee. Not only do they showcase artwork on the walls, their logo is kick-ass

Couple of staff changes, and the pending installation of the Clover, signals that Matt and his team continue to excel in the Toronto scene.

9: LIT (College Street)

LIT Espresso Bar (College Street)
website
2 Locations: 221 Roncesvales Ave,
                      810 College St

Having been the only cafe to carry PDX's Stumptown in the early portion of the year, they've switched to new kids on the block (Pig Iron Coffee Roasters). Brother Sister duo continue to push us to taste, and taste we will.

The Family business is doing quite well, having recovered from closing up their in-house coffee bar within the Burroughes, their more focused then ever.

Different than hairbender, but with more attention to how their coffee is being roasted. It's this relationship between farm to cup that we should be proud that they took the plunge and started to roast for themselves.

Here's to continued success!
Top 10 (2012): Nine; 2011; Four (-5)

10: Pamenar (Patio friendly)

 Cafe Pamenar
Address: 307 Augusta Ave
Neighbourhood: Kensington Market
Phone 647-352-3627

Since opening in early 2011, Pamenar has
been great about serving great coffee from great roasters.

At first they served up Victoria, BC roasters Discovery Coffee. This was a delight given that they had something different from Toronto roast houses. They progressed to Social Coffee.

Great place to catch a quiet moment in their back patio, or soak up inspiration from their well designed narrow shop.

Welcome to Espresso Adventures 2012 list.

Top 10 (2012): #TEN;
2011: ---- 

Top 10 Toronto Cafe (2012)

Welcome to the holiday season, it's already mid December and I've yet to put up our choices for 2012.
Let's give a run-down of how we're putting this piece together:

As we know... Toronto is in a cafe boom (see the Grid's write-up in Feb).. or so we're led to believe.
As more and more coffee shops open up, question comes to mind.
Do they have the staying power?
Do they capture the market?
What draws customers to their location?

This is an opinion piece for later this month (on those holiday mornings were you want to read a 2,000 word piece on coffee, economics and sustainability). Updates have been sparse this year, and it's mainly due to some writer's block, but other life events and travelling. Nevertheless, the site continues, and hopefully in 2013 we'll see more actual write-ups. Many roasters to feature and just going back to the basics of dispersing information for those curious enough to find this site. Thanks for reading!


Here are the lists from the past:
2011 - (link)
2010 - (link)


So let us celebrate 10 locations in Toronto that are always consistent, welcoming and just a great place to enjoy your coffee/espresso.

GET your ESPRESSO ADVENTURE on today.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!