Dispatch Coffee Toronto
Dispatch Coffee started out as a cold brew bike delivery service before opening three physical locations and its own roastery in Montreal.
A decade since its conception and the trailblazers in Canada's craft coffee and responsible-sourcing movement have made their way to Toronto with a location in the heart of the Financial District.
The cafe is tucked inside the Victory Building at Richmond and Bay. Most who pop in for a coffee work in the surrounding offices, though the objective here is to make high-quality coffee more accessible to everyone.
As much of Dispatch coffee as possible comes from small-scale farms of 10 hectares or less and women growers. Sourcing from countries that rely on coffee production for the majority of their earnings is also a part of the philosophy.
The single-origin coffee beans from Colombia, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico and Ethiopia are freshly roasted every week in Montreal.
A mix of beans from Tanzania (2o percent) and Colombia (80 percent) makes up the house blend that drips out of a La Marzocco.
It's a good every day coffee, rich with a slight sweetness that nicely balances out a milk-heavy latte or cappuccino made with your choice of whole or oat milk.
A few specialty oat milks are available for purchase by the carton behind the counter along with grab-and-go juices and smoothies from Daydream, Loop and Greenhouse.
Sandwiches are made fresh by the Fiorentina restaurant on the Danforth and grilled in a panini press per order. The mushroom melt ($12.50) comes on thick slices of sourdough with aged cheddar and dijonnaise.
Another is the pork sando ($12.50) with spicy greens, Havarti and slow-roasted pork shoulder on an olive oil bun.
A lineup of pastries including butter, almond, pistachio and chocolate croissants, as well as a savoury bun with sundried tomatoes, bocconcini and pesto are provided by Geste.
Cookies made by MasterChef Canada finalist chef Andre range in splashy flavours of Nespresso dark chocolate, birthday cake with Oreos and R&R with Jamaican rum-soaked raisins, allspice cookie dough, rum frosting and a cinnamon sugar cereal covering.
Bags of whole beans, which can be ground up at cash upon request, instant coffee, as well as equipment such as coffee presses, drippers, pour-overs, socks, papers and filters stock the shelves.
Hector Vasquez