WAKE UP KING WEST: WHERE to GRAB a JAVA

With the number of places to get a coffee in King West growing, finding the right cup to kick start your morning is essential.

Most of us who live and/or work in King West, know that before you push that door open to your office building, you’d better have a cup of coffee in hand. So which coffee shop do you put your faith in?  Well, it depends on what you’re looking for.

Just north of King on the east side of Portland, you’ll find Jimmy’s Coffee, a laid back, friendly coffeehouse.  Order anything from a large double decaf flat white with non-fat milk, to a single Americano, and the expert baristas will give you exactly what you’re looking for, with lattes gorgeously decorated.  They’ll get you in and out, feeling like you can take on the world.

You may not realize it when walking by, but La Merceria at the NW corner of Portland and Adelaide is a cafe/home décor store that brings delicious Argentinean culture to Toronto while getting you on your way with beautifully crafted linens and kitchenware.  Authentic Argentinean pastries and food are baked by the owners’ mother, and the same care is taken when creating every cup of coffee.  Real chocolate and caramel are used in the mochas and lattes, and the beans are a specific La Merceria blend roasted in Canada, and shipped in once a week.

At Bathurst and Niagara, Thor Espresso Bar is a neighbourhood cafe that specializes in innovation.  They are the only cafe in Toronto to use the Slayer machine, which takes months to master, and minutes to create a perfectly temperature-controlled coffee.  They were also the first in Toronto to use Social Coffee & Tea Company coffee beans, which are roasted in Richmond Hill, and made from a blend of Brazilian, Guatemalan, and Ethiopian beans, created especially for Thor.

The prices range from about $2 – $3.50 from an Americano to a latte at each of these locations, so depending on what type of coffee you’re in the mood for, you’ll have no problem finding the perfect cup.