The Best Coffee Roasters in Toronto
The best coffee roasters in Toronto know how to fire up a bean. Caffeine lovers can find their signature flavours at one of many amazing coffee shops around the city, or at the roastery's own cafe, where it's bound to smell amazing.
Here are the best coffee roasters in Toronto.
More than a decade since their start as the microroastery team behind Te Aro, Andy and Jessie Wilkin have expanded into an eight-store company, rebranding as Pilot in 2013. Blends and single-origin beans are roasted at Pilot's Wagstaff headquarters, where you’ll find their direct-trade coffee in whole beans, ground, or instant.
After roasting beans for more than two decades, this brand finally settled down with its own flagship location on Roncesvalles in 2015. Beans from global partner farms are brewed in a renewable energy facility in Oakville. They sell whole beans, compostable pods, and fraction packs in one-pot portions.
Named after the first coffee bush planter in Brazil, this roastery brand by brother team Felix and Won Cha first opened as De Mello Palheta in 2013. They've grown from a single 2.5kg Diedrich roaster at the back of their Yonge and Eglinton cafe to a 70kg roaster offsite. You can get their single-origin Dancing Goats from Brazil as green beans for you to roast yourself, too.
Hale trades directly with their bean sources in countries like Guatemala, Nicaragua and Brazil. The roastery moved from their original spot at Spadina and Queen to the Junction Triangle's old Clock Factory building in 2016. Aside from their beans, they also offer machinery sourcing and coffee education.
Single-origin beans are roasted then packaged in heat-sealed coffee bags with some sweet designs by co-owner, Kay. Grab espresso from Costa Rica or their best-seller, the Cosmic Goose, from Colombia. Owners Kay and Leah have dubbed their spot the "Cool Coffee Roastery Run On Girl Power."
Formerly Cut Coffee but now simply named after its owner, Sam James' west-end facility is roasting up all the beans found at its multiple cafe locations That includes the ever-popular Espresso Butter Knife, a medium roast. It should be noted that, although their packaging doesn’t feature the trademark, Sam James’ coffee is Fairtrade.
Geoff Polci, the owner of this Cawthra Avenue roastery, has had a hand in a number of beloved Toronto cafes, including Propeller and all three locations of Crema Coffee. Since 2018, he’s been running Stereo, offering blends, decaf, espresso, and single-origin beans. You can also find his coffee at cafes like Mercury and Agenda.
This offshoot of the popular cafe and hub Boxcar Social has become its own roasting project on Cawthra Avenue. They carry washed beans from Guatemala, Honduras and Costra Rica for your espressos. Subtext's shop also occasionally features beans from guest roasters.
Fareen Karim at Java.
Join the conversation Load comments