Manic Coffee

I've been sampling the place for a while.

It's just outside of the College street strip near Bathurst.

The place looks like a typical coffee shop in this city: colour accents on the walls, track lighting, etc. However, the music is a lot different from the crap you might hear at most coffee shops. For example, a few weeks ago I sat down and listened to some Black Sabbath as I sipped on a latte. Last week I went in and they were playing some sort of punk rock, but the week before it was Hall and Oates. So the musically taste of whoever picks the music is really eceletic or they have different people picking the music.

The place is like a long rectangle. There are seating areas in the front (by the door and window) and in the back, you pick up the coffee and stuff in the middle. The back area has got a few tables and a couch. The front is all tables, but there's also like a magazine selection (stuff like vice and skateboarder magazines).

You get some hipster guys and a lot of cute girls hanging out in the place. Mostly locals I think.

I've been casing the place to get a sense of how different people work there because there can be differences in the skill level. I've seen four so far -- they were breaking in someone new last week (he's got one of those shaggy hair looks). The other three are pretty much all even as far as i can tell: there's a preppy looking guy with a mustache; a guy with a shaved head; and a girl with dark hair and tattoos. They all have the same technique when it comes to working the machine to make the coffee and making a latte.

In terms of the coffee, these guys definitely know what they're doing. For example, the americano has a crema that is comparable to that on most espresso's that get served in the city. It also tastes a lot better. By comparison, the americano at Starbucks is absolutely horrible. When they make a latte they hold the cup at an angle when they pour in the milk so you get a swirl. The latte here absolutely blows away what they have at Starbucks and other place.

I've also tried some of the specialty drinks. The mocha is really good, but you have to drink it fast because it cools a lot quicker than the latte. They also do a chai latte, which has an apple cinnamon taste to it. I've gotten use to the Starbucks version, but this doesn't have that kind of taste. This one is more like one of those loose leaf chai's (e.g., The Gallery Grill or Pangaea), but it doesn't get overly tannic or astringent because they don't have the tea leaves steeping too long.

Overall, this place is really impressive and is worth checking out. This place is a solid 2 bunnies.

Rating: 2 Bunnies

Notes on the Bunny Rating System:

• 0 or no Bunnies, it's a waste of time; don't go.
• 1 Bunny, the place is worth checking out.
• 2 Bunnies, you should go out of your way to check out the place; the food is really good and the place is cool.
• 3 Bunnies, you absolutely have to go there; the food is exceptional and the place is really cool