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<title>blogTO Recent Comments: Mercury Organic Espresso Bar</title>
<link>http://www.blogto.com/feed/recentcomments/?5482</link>
<description>Comments recently made in this post on blogTO</description>
<copyright>Copyright 2009</copyright>
<lastBuildDate>Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:19:32 PST</lastBuildDate>
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<title>sam</title>
<description><![CDATA[
yes they may make good lattes and what not but are not unique in terms of where they buy their coffee. it seems now a days that a recipe for a successful coffee shop is to go and buy 49th parallel. PLEASE people do try and branch out. there are other coffee shops that do their own roasting which qualifies the coffee to be more fresh. everyone knows that a good cup of joe is with fresh beans and if these coffee shops are buying beans that are roasted in the other side of canada well then, how fresh can their coffee be, really? people are just buying the lattes for the fancy artwork and not for the art of how coffee taste. BE MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT COFFEE.]]>
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<link>http://www.blogto.com//2007/05/mercury_organic_espresso_bar/#c709052</link>
<guid>http://www.blogto.com//2007/05/mercury_organic_espresso_bar/#c709052</guid>
<category>Toronto, </category>
<pubDate>Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:04:42 PDT</pubDate>
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<title>Mark L.</title>
<description><![CDATA[
The coffee is good, yes, and that used to be enough to get me in there. But now that there are other options I wouldn't go back. There's a weird "too cool for school" vibe in there and it always felt a little dingy in my opinion. I'll gladly walk the extra two blocks for a smile and more comfortable atmosphere. ]]>
</description>
<link>http://www.blogto.com//2007/05/mercury_organic_espresso_bar/#c659385</link>
<guid>http://www.blogto.com//2007/05/mercury_organic_espresso_bar/#c659385</guid>
<category>Toronto, </category>
<pubDate>Mon, 17 Aug 2009 20:32:25 PDT</pubDate>
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<title>LL</title>
<description><![CDATA[
Hands down the best latte in Toronto (and I am not just saying this b/c I live in Leslieville). The feature latte never fails to please. And be sure to go with whole milk version - it always tastes best!]]>
</description>
<link>http://www.blogto.com//2007/05/mercury_organic_espresso_bar/#c649504</link>
<guid>http://www.blogto.com//2007/05/mercury_organic_espresso_bar/#c649504</guid>
<category>Toronto, </category>
<pubDate>Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:57:43 PDT</pubDate>
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<title>Mookie</title>
<description><![CDATA[
I went here for the first time this afternoon and loved it. I order a cappuccino, and it was SO good. I found the staff to be pretty good- when I asked for a recommendation they were helpful. Moreover, they had a Bruce Springsteen compilation playing, which is obviously the mark of a great cafe ;). It has a nice atmosphere- it seemed to me as if it has a lot of regulars, because the staff and the customers seemed to know each other a lot of the time. Highly recommended.]]>
</description>
<link>http://www.blogto.com//2007/05/mercury_organic_espresso_bar/#c643067</link>
<guid>http://www.blogto.com//2007/05/mercury_organic_espresso_bar/#c643067</guid>
<category>Toronto, </category>
<pubDate>Fri, 24 Jul 2009 21:12:45 PDT</pubDate>
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<title>Geoff</title>
<description><![CDATA[
I really can't agree with you, Julia. They still make high quality espresso, take the time to talk about what they're doing and how they do it, and always have a kind word when you come in. I don't need them to play Django Reindhart for me to be happy.]]>
</description>
<link>http://www.blogto.com//2007/05/mercury_organic_espresso_bar/#c612492</link>
<guid>http://www.blogto.com//2007/05/mercury_organic_espresso_bar/#c612492</guid>
<category>Toronto, </category>
<pubDate>Mon, 01 Jun 2009 22:24:32 PDT</pubDate>
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<item>
<title>Julia</title>
<description><![CDATA[
I really love going to Mercury on Queen....but it seems lately it has become more about what the staff wants versus what the customer wants.  It seems the staff cater to themselves a bit too much and lose sight of the consumer. ]]>
</description>
<link>http://www.blogto.com//2007/05/mercury_organic_espresso_bar/#c502790</link>
<guid>http://www.blogto.com//2007/05/mercury_organic_espresso_bar/#c502790</guid>
<category>Toronto, </category>
<pubDate>Mon, 09 Mar 2009 09:57:22 PDT</pubDate>
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<title></title>
<description><![CDATA[
First off, I think it is unfair to assume cafe's must bear the burden of having to educate consumers on organic/fair trade practice and social responsibility, especially if those are not mandated aspects of your business.
There are many cafes who choose to simply serve quality products, regardless of how it was purchased or produced, much like any other business on the market, who can slip by without being called out on such things.
Do you demand that your independent pizza restaurant uses only Ontario tomatoes for its sauce? Or that its pepperoni was paid for fairly?

There is also much speculation as to the validity of Organic coffee growing, and how it is  detrimental to the farmers growing it, therefore an UNFAIR trade.
A farmer growing without fertilizer or pesticides may yield a significantly lower crop than a farmer who does, without actually showing any difference in the end quality of the harvest.
When coffee is harvested, roasted, and brewed at varying degrees of processing and application of heat, any of the residue that may have been on the bean from fertilized growth is absolutely removed.

So lets say 2 neighboring farmers grow coffee, one grows organic, one does not.
The organic farmer must apply additional labour to produce this coffee, as well as pay for organic farm certification, and may yield 500 bags of coffee, of equal quality to his neighbor.
The non organic farmer may yield 850 bags of coffee, with less labour and fees, and have quality equal to his organic neighbor.
The coffees of equal quality will fetch the same price, based upon how they grade out of 100, therefore the Organic practice does not work in favor of that farmer.

That said Johns above argument is a valid one that deserves a thorough answer.

As more and more cafes are opening in Toronto, catering to customer base demanding the highest quality product made from not only quality raw ingredients, but craftsmanship as well, there comes a question of which raw materials to use, and which supplier can also provide customer support in the  way of training their accounts on how best to brew said coffee, as well as updated information on the chain of production, to further pass along the education to the consumer.

In the Ontario market there is currently no coffee roaster capable of supplying or educating their accounts with quality beans, or education at the same level as select roasters from Vancouver or Chicago.
There are many others across North America who roast and supply excellent quality coffees, as well as provide the service accompanied by these coffees.
Unfortunately Chicago happens to be the closest American roaster capable, and 49th parallel as well as Origins from Vancouver being the closest Canadian roaster of equal quality.

There are plenty roasters within Ontario, but the point here is that they do not offer coffees of the same quality, nor the service provided by the above mentioned.

With quality and education being the priority for most cafes, it becomes obvious why they ship coffees from outside Ontario.
Of course every cafe in Toronto would love to have a local supply of reliable quality coffee, but it is not currently available, otherwise you would see shops such as Mercury, DarkHorse, Crema, Manic, Wild Thing, Lit, Fresh, Jamie Kennedy, as well as some of Torontos finest dining establishments serving it.

It will forever be an argument for why some people choose not to support these cafes, but I hope this clears up some of the questioning behind why many specialty cafes currently ship in their coffee.]]>
</description>
<link>http://www.blogto.com//2007/05/mercury_organic_espresso_bar/#c327222</link>
<guid>http://www.blogto.com//2007/05/mercury_organic_espresso_bar/#c327222</guid>
<category>Toronto, </category>
<pubDate>Wed, 12 Nov 2008 19:16:53 PST</pubDate>
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<item>
<title>John</title>
<description><![CDATA[
These guys have skills!! Although here is my beef.  The indie coffee world should be promoting organic, fair trade and social responsibility.  The effective way to reduce your carbon foot print is through the purchasing of local Ontario product.  Although it seems that many of these independents order their coffee through roasters in Chicago or BC.  If you ask me that is not Kosher!!]]>
</description>
<link>http://www.blogto.com//2007/05/mercury_organic_espresso_bar/#c323949</link>
<guid>http://www.blogto.com//2007/05/mercury_organic_espresso_bar/#c323949</guid>
<category>Toronto, </category>
<pubDate>Fri, 31 Oct 2008 05:14:35 PDT</pubDate>
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