Cafes
Grounds For Optimism: I Deal Coffee
Why do I prickle with guilt upon walking into my local Starbucks? I guess I've seen one too many docs on the world's second most valuable commodity and can't help but feel a little like I'm fucking over some Ethiopian farmer every time I take a sip from that steaming cup of java.
Ideally, my coffee would be dark and complex, roasted to perfect Viennese brown; the liquid spirit of a shady East african hill top with a warm, smoky aroma as big as a room--a brew that could temper even the most savage morning and make things a little more bearable.
Here's the catch: those beans I covet should also be harvested by farmers earning a living wage and committed to sustainable growing techniques.
So any Saturday I can, I'll skip my local mug-slingers and head down to Kensington for a cup of pre-grocery shopping joe at I deal Coffee. More addictive than a game of facebook scrabble, the heady scent of beans freshly roasted to perfect, rich mahogany wafts through the eclectic, shabby-chic digs of I Deal's Kensington Market location. Flooded with mid-autumn sunshine, the Nassau street flagship shop attracts all walks and where better to enjoy a wonderfully balanced cafe latte (a bargain at $3)--pulled by an exceedingly cute barista--with a thick slice of deliciously moist and chocolaty home-made banana bread ($2) paired with a paper and some lively conversation among friends.
In addition to the brew made fresh on the premises, you can also order their beans by the pound at the shop or online-- regardless of personal roast preference I encourage everyone to order 1 lb of the 'prince of darkness' for the simple, undiluted semoitic joy of hearing the words drip from your tongue--and hell, the coffee ain't bad either. I Deal also supplies several restaurants in the city with their coffee as well so that exceptional cup you recently had with your meal may very well have been I Deal.
Producing small batches of great coffee by roasting small amounts and selling it within one day so it never goes stale ideal may mean having to work with some tight margins but they have some lofty goals.
According to James Fortier, the inspiration behind the beans, "we just want everyone to have access to their 'ideal' cup of coffee; we want to be the place where ideal circumstances coincide for everybody (farmers, our employees and our customers) to get the best out of coffee".
So fair trade coffee at reasonable prices is right up my alley, easing my guilty conscience while addressing my caffeine fix. Question is, when are they gonna be down my street?
"We do plan to expand, and currently are." James continues "My sister who worked for us for 2 years opened a shop in Ottawa August 05, we opened a shop at 162 Ossington, May '06 and are opening one at 1560 Queen East in the next 2 weeks. Expand yes, franchise no. So far, I Deal has always opened up with somebody who has put in time behind the counter at one of the locations."
All this touchy-feelyness can be a bit much and luckily you won't have to think about it once the first sip of that perfectly roasted goodness reaches your system. So if you're in the market you should swing by for a cup or if you wait, no doubt there'll be one coming soon to a corner near you.
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Coffee.
Ever.
Using styrofoam cups in any capacity, let alone a "fair trade" "eco aware" coffee company is completely unacceptable.
Convenience stores use styrofoam cups!!
Not legit coffee shops.
And what kind of logic is "we could use biodegradable cups, but those could be feeding people, so lets just use the most unbiodegradable pollutant cups possible, and make our customers feel bad about it and bring their own mugs"
Brilliant!
What about the prospect of NEW CUSTOMERS???
If I had never walked into Ideal before, and was served coffee in a styrofoam cup, and made to feel guilty, like I should be schlepping a dirty coffee mug around with me all day anyways, I can say I would not return.
Nor do I.
Ideals reluctance to spend money on something as basic and quasi mandatory as bidegradable paper cups is truly indicative of how cheaply they operate their business.
Ever wonder why all their coffee equipment looks old and dirty?
Cuz it is old and dirty!
I could write a book about where Ideal falls short, but basically Ideal coffee is not good, styrofoam cups do suck, and placing Ideal at the top of the Best of TO list is hilarious.
Consider;
1/ International Paper makes your "eco" cups, they are the 26th worst polluter in North America-remember acid rain? They cause it still.
2/ Contributing cause of global warming-deforestation, paper cups are not made of recycled paper.
3/Paper cups, while biodegradable, only breakdown in a compost-how many take out cups make it to your kitchen to be composted? When disposed of in the garbage they are one of the worst things for a landfill.
4/Paper cups take an estimated 6-7 times as much energy to make, not including the oil for the chainsaws to cut the trees or the diesel fuel for shipping heavy paper products. Energy=emissions.
Ever hear of greenwashing? Do your homework.
also what is THE DEAL with this website putting it as the top of the cafe list? there gotta be a better cafe than i deal coffee or tequila bookworm?? man.. give me a break, tequila bookworm coffee tastes so wormy... ewwwww, otherwise it's such a shame living in t.o~~ and THERE ARE!!!! thank god!!!
i recommend greenavi on queen west, that place is always so neat and just so mellow to be in which is why I like to go to cafes in the first place.
a little more effort in cleanliness..kinda passing Bohemian on it's way to Dump... Don't take my word for it...order a tea and note the crochet warmer which hasn't been washed in never. They have an opportunity to make it a far better experience than Starbucks..
relaxed atmosphere, personal touch, but are coming up short.
I am not a coffee person so I drink my coffee with lots of sugar and cream. I can imagine how many people are shaking their heads at me right now. But At Ideal Coffee I was able drink espresso like how it supposed to be drunk. And my coffee with only bit of sugar.
I find it a point to go there everytime I am near the neighbourhood and introduce my friends. (Who always falls in love with the place.)
You must also like the dirty socks they use in place of sleeves for their latte cups. Here dark roast = burnt. Try instead the little corner shop at Augusta/Baldwin. Nice coffee and just sit outside and watch the street go by.
"9 Dec 2008 ... As of December 9th, Toronto's Blue Bin program will start accepting plastic shopping bags and foam polystyrene packaging"
Do your research.
I agree that Styrofoam is a terrible container for a cup of coffee, but only because it affects the smell and taste. So does the wax from paper cups though.
All Independent coffee shops seem to face the same problem/criticism, about their ability or inability to make you not feel guilty about being a consumer.
Face it, we live in a capitalist society. These independent businesses are competing against huge corporations/franchises like starbucks and tim hortons. Cut some slack for the small guys when they're just trying to produce some profit.