Ontario Roasting Industry Taking Off

Posted on: 2015-07-23 12:00 AM

I have done a road trip to visit some local coffee roasters to gather some perspective on coffee trends and roasting techniquess. For a coffee lover like me it was more like a wine tour than work. I found some great unique flavour profiles that will keep me out of the chain stores for quite some time.

Hale Coffee Roasters - Toronto Ontario Canada.

I recently had the opportunity to sit with Khaled Rayyan, one of the owners and founders of Hale Coffee Roasters. He asked me to meet him at Clockwork Coffee on Toronto St. where his coffee is exclusively served. The barista on staff had a short chat with me about what I like in a mid afternoon pick-me up. He didn't ask about whether I liked a dark or light roast. Instead we talked about the flavor profile that I prefer. In the afternoon if possible I prefer something a little more complex but with just a hint of bitter. He selected for my Cafe Americano a Burndi Muyingi. It has a great full flavor with a hint of dark chocolate in the aftertaste. I sipped it for the duration of our interview and didn't tire of the taste the way you might from a flavored beer. It was a perfect coffee for late in the day and I would have loved to have had a cookie or a pastry to go with it. I'd highly recommend that you stop in and try any one of his coffees. 
  We talked about his process of acquiring his broad variety of coffees.  His philosophy is to provide a handcrafted product and to try to ensure that the farmers are treated ethically. Much of his green bean supply is “direct source” from the farmers or through as few middlemen as possible. In this small way he’s improving the lives of a few local farmers.
 
To ensure quality samples are roasted and cupped in house and only those that fit within his flavor profiles are served to his customers.  This trend to develop consistent flavor profiles is something that many small roasters that I’ve interviewed are keen to maintain. 
 
I'll be writing more about Hale in an upcoming piece about changes in the coffee supply chains.
 
Dark City Coffee Company – Toronto Ontario
 
These guys are one of the original micro roasters in Toronto and this is evident but the quality and variety of their products. It was obvious from my first impression that David Thompson, the founder, is still enthusiastic about his craft.  As we spoke he went about his business in a familiar workman like manner checking and rechecking as he went along. When he was satisfied that things were in motion we sat over an extremely smooth coffee with an even coffee flavor that they brand as “Extra Butter”.   The coffee had what I call a “True Coffee Flavor” with almost the same viscosity of a nice espresso but without any the bitterness that typical of cheaper chain store coffees. It did have a delayed kick that I wasn’t expecting that hit me about thirty minutes after I’d left and it stayed with me until the late afternoon. It was an very soft caffeine jolt that didn’t come with the jitters I’ve experienced from some of the larger chain coffees.

Extra Butter is a coffee that I’d buy for home and drink every morning. And with their business model I could. You see, they do a direct-to-home coffee service that is both luxurious without being extravagant. Imagine calling in for your favorite premium specialty roast and having it delivered to your doorstep the very next day.  I watched as they carefully prepared the morning’s custom orders for roasting and delivery for later that day. If you are particular about your coffee and want to be assured you are getting fresh coffee this is something you should definitely try.   
Straight Razor Roasting – Waterloo Ontario

 
SRR is a relatively new entry onto the micro roaster scene. Started by Craig Moore, a Blackberry Ex-pat, they’ve only been in business for seventeen months.  I had the opportunity to sit with Tristan Sweet the Director of Business Development.  My first question was about the name of their company. Their intent was to conjure up imagery of a time of the craft industry where there was personal attention to every detail of the process.   They’re well on their way to creating that impression with their coffee.
 
We were served by one of their customers in a small coffee shop on King St. in Waterloo. It was a very solid El Salvadorian café Americano made with a straightforward coffee taste and just the right balance of bitterness and coffee flavor. There were no surprises and no hidden flavors. This wasn’t a complex coffee but a simple easy to drink coffee that I could consume all day. Tristan referred to it as a “session coffee”, something you could make a pot of and not get sick of the taste.  I agree. 
  We chatted about the trends in coffee consumption and my host shared his insights about the increasing awareness of the consumer about what they like and the coffee industry. Straight Razor purchases directly when they can or shares in the direct trade process to ensure that their dollars are getting to the farmer and not to the string of middlemen along the way who often squeeze the grower by buying the coffee at commodity pricing and selling it a specialty pricing.  Straight Razor is another one of the groups of small coffee roaster who are trying in their own small way to ensure that farmers are able to make a living and not just subsisting.
 
Monigram Coffee – Cambridge Ontario

   
This may be one of the coolest coffee shops that I’ve been in. But I’m a Dr. Who fan so anyone who makes me walk through the Tardis to get to the washroom is pretty awesome. Graham Braun, the co-owner of the shop, is a straight talking customer centric guy who is going to succeed. I arrived early to our meeting and from the parking lot I watched a steady stream of customers come and go from his warehouse inspired store.  When I sat down I observed the way that Graham was aware of the needs of all of his customers and got to them before they knew that they needed him. 
 
When we sat he offered me a coffee and we had a pleasant chat about what I liked and what I felt like. He’s pretty good a profiling because from the few questions that he asked his barista was able to prepare be a truly excellent Café Americano exactly to my liking. If you take the time to talk to Graham he will gladly educate you about the different flavor profiles that he carries and he’ll even brew a couple up to let his customer sample before buying.

 
Back to my Americano, it was an after lunch coffee for me so I asked for something with a real coffee flavor.  He served me a Katura Typica coffee from Nicaragua that came from the first grower who was certified to export.  It was light and even without being weak. It’s aroma matched it’s taste and it smelled wonderful.  He mentioned that it was an 88 point coffee and it definitely tasted like one.   He sent me home with a sample that he promised would taste just a good from a home drip coffee maker as it would from his shop. I can’t wait to try it out.
 
23 Degrees Coffee  - North York, Ontario
 
Benjamin Yu is quite possibly one of the most passionate coffee roasters I’ve had the pleasure to meet. Along with his partner Christina Lee they have all the makings of one of the next multi-nationals.  Their coffees are both Organic and Fair Trade certified.  If you understood the cost and effort that it takes to get and maintain those certifications you’d be as impressed as I was.  Their meticulous roasting logs resemble the journals that you’d keep for a cancer research project and the processes that they follow in the daily operations of were evident even though I’m not sure that they knew I was paying that close attention. Kudos to the head roaster, Kathleen Holmes!  Unlike the other roasters who are focused on the “one-customer-at-a-time” approach, 23 Degrees is focusing on providing FTO, Fair Trade - Organic, coffee to the mass retail marketplace. With customers like Loblaw’s and Whole foods they are well on their way.
 
Benjamin is keen to share his perspective on the value of keeping and maintaining his certifications. He won’t personally be able to speak with each of his customers so the certifications ensure to his customers that they are getting the quality and ethical coffee that they’ve paid for. He is passionate that every penny that he spends to get great coffee is traceable right back to the farmer so that his customers can be confident that when they are standing in the grocery aisle they are getting a superior product.
  So how is the coffee? It’s worth it. I had an excellent cup of his best seller “Mug Shot”. It has a full body taste without being overpowering. There was a pure coffee flavour with mild other flavour notes that were very pleasant on the palate. As the cup cooled it lost none of the original flavor and I was tempted to ask for a top up for the road. This is a coffee that I could see being used in a general purpose drip coffee maker or in a fancy high end espresso machine. I’ll be testing it in the coming weeks and I’ll let you know if I was right.