May Flowers
May Flowers is both a flower shop that sells floral arrangements of fair trade and locally grown flowers, as well as a cafe with coffee from Hatch, and Vietnamese slow-drip coffee.
From the fresh blooms, plants and botanicals to the laidback decor and shelves of gifts and knickknacks that have each been thoughtfully curated, the spot on St. Clair West is full of pretty things.
You'll find yourself enjoying an array of colours and scents from the second you step through the doors of the shop, which feels a bit like a secret garden.
Owner Annie Shuttin, though not previously a florist by trade, has always been the creative type, so opening a flower shop felt like a natural business venture. She learned the art of arrangements from different workshops before opening up shop in 2017.
Now she makes unique, modern bouquets, sometimes hand-tied, for weddings, funerals or just 'cause, alongside a team of five other florists.
Some of their fairtrade flowers are imported from places like Holland, South America and Italy during the off-season, while the majority during spring and summer are courtesy of small Ontario farms, which Shuttin gets from the market twice a week.
The types of flowers range from dried lavender, bunny tails and pampas grass to fresh market bunches of tulips, lilies, hyacinths and muscari when these blooms are at their best and brightest in the springtime.
Ready-made bouquets are always in the store, and on weekends at the flower bar, and you can pick and choose your own stems for a hand-picked bouquet.
At the cafe that sits front-and-centre in the shop, espresso-based beverages are prepared with a double-origin roast from Guatemala and Ethiopia or a Brazilian light-medium option from Hatch.
This goes for the rose latte ($4.50) that's got a shot of espresso, rose water and comes naturally coloured a light pink hue from the added beetroot powder.
It's an acquired taste, but if you're a fan of the floralness of rose water, you'll enjoy this cup of coffee.
Besides the other offerings of espressos, cortados and chai, hazelnut and lavender lattes, they have a Vietnamese coffee ($4).
The slow drip coffee here is made with Cafe du Monde, a chicory coffee from New Orleans that became synonymous with Vietnamese coffee in Shuttin's house growing up.
A good amount of condensed milk is added before the coffee begins to drip through the filter into the cup. Give it five minutes and you have a cup of rich, creamy coffee with a kick of sweetness.
For a little treat on the side of your coffee, they have butter croissants ($3) and chocolate chip cookies ($2.50) that come uncooked from a wholesaler and are baked in-house each morning.
Sitting on shelves across from the cafe is also a selection of gifts. Picked out by Shuttin and her staff, most of the items are Canadian-made.
Expect to find handcrafted pots and vases, specialty jewerly, Shy Wolf candles and bath bombs, and soaps from NAKED.
May Flowers is a good spot offering beautiful flowers and a tasty coffee within the same four walls. You'll leave feeling energized thanks to the heaps of fresh blooms and plants – but also the caffeine in your cup.
Fareen Karim