Cafe Novo – Delicious Coffee, Delectable Desserts

HUGE SEXY PARTY ALERT!

Elizabeth — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 19:36:27 +0000

WOW – it’s already been a year. Come to our birthday party on April 16th! We want to personally say thank you to each and everyone of you amazing people that have supported us and our dream.

We love you and can’t wait to celebrate with you!

March is Epilepsy Awareness Month in Canada

Elizabeth — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 12:08:51 +0000

I once used the word “disability” when talking with my neurologist. While I don’t recall his exact response, it was along the lines of, “You don’t have a disability. You are a capable person. You can live your life however you want.” While these were words that I needed to hear at the time, his delivery (as with many neurologists) was lacking a certain comforting, compassionate angle that would have also been helpful.

When he suggested that I go to Epilepsy Toronto for more information, initially I was terrified. I didn’tknow what to say when I walked in. The first time I exchanged a few words, grabbed some pamphlets,and basically ran out. I went back a few times, I read all the information they gave me. There was support and care in what they told me.

I have epilepsy. I was diagnosed nearly 7 years ago, shortly after moving to Toronto to attend culinary school.

My first year was a struggle. At 21, it was a shock to my system. I wasn’t sure to what limits I couldpush myself anymore, what I could and couldn’t do anymore. It was a lot of information in a shortamount of time. And as sappy as it might sound, organizations such as Epilepsy Toronto make thesesorts of life-changing events easier to process.

When I struggled to find a job after attaining my Business diploma, I spent some time volunteeringat their main office. I was there when I started working on the Cafe with Elizabeth. Though it wasonly for two months, volunteering at Epilepsy Toronto was a great learning experience, and filled myotherwise dull days of job hunting with a positive atmosphere and great people.

I have found balance in my life; my neurologist was correct when he said that I’m not disabled. I can(and have) done remarkable things in my life. However without the support of Epilepsy Toronto, in addition to that of my family and friends, and the programs they offer, I doubt I would have adjusted as quickly or completely.

We are proud to support Epilepsy Toronto with our meringue sales this month.

Sadie

Featured Pairing Special

Elizabeth — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 19:41:09 +0000

Not only are we beginning our new open 7 days a week schedule this week – we have MORE exciting news!

We are starting a Featured Pairing Special – starting with the classic combo of a latte + cheesecake brownie, this coming Tuesday.

Come in Tuesdays, between noon and 4pm and get 50 cents off this delicious pairing. The pairing will change monthly, and will always include a drink and a treat that we feel compliment each other in awe-inspiring ways. If you think I’m being hyperbolic – you need to try savoring a bite of rich, chocolaty brownie swirled with cheesecake topping and following it with a sip of velvety latte. It’s incredible.

Perfection fits into a 2.5" by 2.5" square.

Don’t forget when you’re in on Mondays to ask for your drink to be motivated – free single shot of espresso in any drink! Not sure what to try? A Red Eye is a pretty classic Monday drink (coffee + single shot of espresso), and would have a pretty intense caffeine kick. Or amp up your daily Americano (triple shot Americano = sinfully dark and delicious).

Stay tuned for more specials and events coming soon to our little slice of coffee heaven.

Happy Mondays Coming Soon!

Elizabeth — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 19:49:33 +0000

We know Mondays are rough – we also know it’s rough trudging through the cold to our little haven of coffee on Mondays, only to pull on the door and have the realization that we’re closed that one day of the week dawn on your poor, caffeine-deprived brain.

But fear not friends! We’re changing that for you.

That’s right folks, your favorite little cafe will be open 7 days a week, starting February 21st!

To sweeten the deal we are also offering what we like to call Motivator Mondays – for the first month of our being open Mondays you can ask for an extra shot of espresso in any drink, on that special first day of the week – on us! Use the super sneaky password “MOTIVATE MY DRINK!” and we will gladly up the octane in your drink of choice on that . (Beginning February 21st, running through to March 21st, Mondays only).

We will also be changing our hours for winter beginning February 1st -

Tuesday through Friday : 7am – 6pm

Saturday : 8am – 7pm

Sunday : 9am – 6pm

After Feb 21st we will Monday hours will be the same as Tues – Fri.

(Don’t worry – once we see the light of spring we will be extending our hours once more, especially once patio season hits!)

Stay warm, happy and caffeinated folks!

Geek Love + Cafe Novo Mugs!

Elizabeth — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 21:37:11 +0000

We’ve missed you dear readers – how have you been? Enjoyed your autumn we hope?

We apologize for the haitus – we’re back and with quick but wonderful news.

First off, what’s the best way to celebrate opening an awesome business with an amazing business partner? Why, get a bro tat of course! So Sadie and I did just that.

Elizabeth's caffeine + geek love!

Sadie's caffeine + geek love!

Those beautiful looking tattoos are the molecular representation of caffeine. Shout out to Michelle at Urban Ink Tattoo for the wonderful job on both!

Secondly, the only news exciting enough to follow that – you can now take a piece of Cafe Novo wherever you go, and stay on Captain Planet’s good side while you’re at it!

We have gorgeous reusable mugs for sale, $20 gets you a mug as shown (interchangeable mug/lid/plug colours available!) and your first drink free. Buying it as a gift? No problem! Just let us know and we’ll throw in a coupon so your lucky recipient gets the bevvie. Plus everytime you use it at the cafe you get 15 cents off any drink. We can make you any regular or large size drink in one of these bad boys, much better insulation that paper take out cups, and much more eco-friendly!

Cafe Novo on the go!

Stay tuned for updates on seasonal drinks coming soon (Organic Eggnog Latte anyone? DELISH!) as well as tea tins for sale to enjoy at home or to gift.

Elizabeth

Introducing – Whole Bean Coffee!

Elizabeth — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 01:26:01 +0000

We are so happy to finally annouce we are in the business of selling whole beans!

Starting tomorrow, Saturday September 4th you can purchase coffee beans from us in 1lb or half lb implements.

All of the coffee we make in the press pots will be available, which comprises of the following :

SINGLE ORIGINS:

Ethiopian Yirgacheffe TM ~ Citrus and floral notes and a mildly addictive toffee finish! ($18 / lb)

Ethiopian Sidamo TM ~ A dry processed coffee with blueberry notes and a spicy hint of cocoa. Medium body and mild sparkling acidity. ($18 / lb)

Peruvian Café Femenino ~ A full bodied medium roast. Grown in the Andes by the Café Femenino women’s cooperatives of northern Peru. ($17 / lb)

BLENDS :

Chatty Matty ~ A blend of lightly roasted and dark roasted beans. This blend is on the lighter side. Perfect for those who enjoy a mellow coffee. ($17 / lb)

Freedom Fighter ~ The perfect blend for dark coffee lovers. A rich and flavourful full bodied blend. ($17 / lb)

Full City Peruvian Decaf ~ This medium roast brings out the unique qualities of Northern Peruvian Penachi coffee. Mild acidity and a fruity aroma accompany wonderful notes of cherry and chocolate. ($19 / lb)

All six are certified fair-trade + organic, so you know you are making a positive difference in the lives of the coffee farmers and encouraging healthier farming practises without pesticide use!

Very soon we will also be selling our delicious espresso + decaf espresso, stay tuned for details!

Cinnamon Buns Inspire Me.

Elizabeth — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 23:01:27 +0000

Golden brown delight

Cinnamon and sugar blend

Masticating bliss.

……………….

The Beatles were wrong

Happiness is a warm bun

Ringo would get it.

………………..

They taste like comfort

Soft warm gooey awesomeness

They raise my spirits.

……………………..

Akin to a hug

Peaceful sugary moments

Envelopped with spice.

Photo by Amanda Faig

Any you’d like to add?

Elizabeth

More about Charities we Support

Elizabeth — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 20:32:52 +0000

Have you ever bought one of our meringue cookies, and wondered where the money goes?
Every month we chose a new charity to donate 100% of sales from meringues to – we wanted to share with you what we’ve contributed so far, and to whom.

First up, we chose to donate all funds from the first month and a half we were open to a cause close to our hearts – finding a cure for breast cancer.
All of the books you can browse through and enjoy at the cafe, were donated by the estate of Sue Hendler, a long time family friend of Sadies. We raised $70.75 that is being donated to the group that runs in Sue’s memory in the Run for the Cure this coming fall.

The Employees Speaketh – Part II

Elizabeth — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 17:47:48 +0000

So, after that long and winding path through our French press coffees, we’ll now chat a bit about our espresso drinks, our teas, and our lemonades. Hopefully we’ll keep it shorter than before.

We use Classic Coffee espresso, which is also fair trade organic (notice an overarching theme?). Sadie, as I mentioned, is a decaf drinker so she went to extensive trouble to make sure to find a decaf espresso that tastes just as good as the jittery version. I love her for that.

We have a semi-automatic espresso machine—yes, that beaut of a machine that you see pretty much first thing when you walk in. The one that looks kinda like a Cadillac. None of that super-automatic stuff you get at your local corporate enterprise coffee shop. This means that each morning I get to watch Sadie yell as she fiddles to calibrate the grinders to churn out the perfect consistency of grinds for your drinks, and then taste the final product.

Photo courtesy of www.zuccariniltd.com

We serve all the espresso drinks you’re probably used to, but there are a few neat things I learnt about espresso here at the café that I’ll pass on to you:

a. The difference between a cappuccino and a latte is NOT the amount of foam. Unlike what popular coffee chains would have you believe, a cappuccino is not a bitter dredge of espresso with a ridiculous amount of foam on top. The espresso shot is more bitter than that of a latte, however the milk/microfoam situation is actually more or less the same. That’s really the difference—bitter vs. sweet.. not foam vs. milk. And now you know.

b. A macchiato is not a milky drink. This one I actually knew. In Spain we use macchiato and cortato interchangeably—it’s espresso with just a mark of milk. (“Macchiato” means marked in Italian, go figure.) It fits in an espresso cup, that’s how small it is.

Rather than talk about each and every drink on the board, I’m gonna zone in on a few of my favourites. Because I’m writing this.

The Espresso

The espresso at café novo is sweet, rather than bitter. This is actually what Spaniards expect in their espresso, so my family finally found somewhere in Canada we can drink espresso at. Italian espresso generally is more bitter, and is also the more common espresso you’ll find about the city.

Photo by Amanda Faig

The Americano

A sweet espresso follows with a sweet Americano. With a dollop of agave and a good stir; I’m in heaven.

The Latte Au Miel

My hands down favourite. Absolute. Just. UGH. A coat of honey covered with a sweet long espresso and steamed milk, and just the perfect amount of microfoam. With a quick stir to help the honey dissolve its like drinking an adult version of milk warmed on the stove with honey on a cold rainy night when the thunder is keeping you scared awake as a kid. The warm milk pours down your throat and warms you from the inside out, and the clear accent of honey lingers on your tongue, enwrapping you in comfort. Sadie made me my first one. She can now do no wrong in my eyes.

The Milks

This sort of goes for any of our espresso drinks that use milk, as well as anyone who puts milk (dairy or soy) or cream in their coffee.

Image courtesy of www.harmonyorganic.on.ca

We only use 100% organic milk. We get our dairy from Harmony Organics, from the glass bottle (which can be overwhelmingly annoying when a bottle breaks..) and our soy from Natura organics. We can make your drink as 1%, 2%, or soy with absolutely no charge difference between one or the other. We steered clear of skim because the reduced amount of fat in the milk just doesn’t carry, or mix well with espresso properly, and we’d rather not give you a drink that doesn’t taste up to par. We keep 2%, 10% cream, and soy out on the condiment stand for you in little bottles that we end up refilling pretty much every 10 minutes when its busy. But its worth it—because it means we know you’re not getting anything but fresh.

Because its always fresh from the fridge, and preservative free, when you pour the fresh, cold milk into your piping hot coffee sometimes it will separate a bit and you’ll get some white spots floating to the top. That’s a sign of a lack of emulsifiers and really not something to be alarmed about. It’ll still taste just as good, though we apologize for the less appealing visual. (Probably the reason ‘regular’ milks add emulsifiers..)

The Syrups

We use “Sweetbird Syrups” (first cafe in Toronto to do so!), and carry raspberry, mint, hazelnut, almond, caramel and vanilla syrups, as well as sugar-free caramel and vanilla. All of our syrups are certified vegan, and are 100% natural, no fake colour or flavor junk. We have white chocolate (not vegan) and dark chocolate (vegan) syrups for the mochas and hot chocolates (yes, you can get a white chocolate cappuccino here. Decadent, eh?) and neither of them are overly sweet. As they say—easier to add than take away. If you want it sweeter, we have all sorts of sweeteners on the condiment stand. Which brings me to..

The Sweeteners

We carry unbleached organic cane sugar (tastes similar to regular white sugar, though I prefer the taste—natural sugar has a beautiful depth that is surprisingly lost when it’s run through vats of bleach or bone char.), organic locally sourced honey, organic raw Agave nectar (comes from the same plant as tequila. Instant cred in my books. Honestly though, I love the flavor—and it’s more sweet and lower GI than honey or sugar so its more diabetic friendly), and “Organic Zero” aka erythritol—a zero calorie sweetener that’s naturally derived from sugar cane. Neat, huh?

The Lemonade

Photo by Amanda Faig

Made with a pile of fresh organic lemons, in an elegant metal lemon press, and organic raw agave nectar, this simple treat speaks for itself. Generally you’re drinking a batch made the day before, if not the day of, so it’s definitely some of the freshest lemonade you’ll have this summer. You can spice it up with a shot of our raspberry syrup for a nice punch too.

The Tea

We get all our teas from “Tealish”. All our teas are fairtrade and/or organic, except for the chai which is made in line with organic farming principles, however not full out certified. (Most teas are organic, since tea is such an ancient tradition, it’s only some that bother going through the certification process.) We steep our teas for you so that they’re just perfect—not too strong nor too weak, and we can also use them to make iced tea, novo lemonades (tea + lemonade, which pretty much equals love), and tea lattes (hot or iced). Chai lattes in particular have me swooning a little every time they’re prepared.

Our teas are:
Black: Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Vanilla Crème and Chai
Green: Jasmin Silver Tips and Sakura Cherry Rose
Rooibos: Provence, Wild Blueberry, Zesty Ginger, Tahitian Moon Vanilla and Honeybush (which actually isn’t a rooibos but is also an African plant that is prepared in a similar way and has a similar flavor profile)
Herbal: Peppermint and Deep Green Embrace

Check out the “Tealish website” for more details on each individual flavor.

Anything else you’d like to learn about us? Let us know!
♥

Guest Post by Employees of the Month pt.1

Elizabeth — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 22:56:16 +0000

Greetings from the employees of your favourite little café.

So we’ve been working at the café for a little over a month now, and we felt it was time our voices were heard by the general masses.

We could talk about what its like to be at work and baking by 6am every day (well, really, I can… Alex gets to stay till 8 to make up for it…), or the careful masterminding that the patio set-up and put-away logistics require, but instead we’re going to chat about the products used here at the café.

Why? Because frankly–we’re impressed.

1. In the drinks

Our French Press Coffees. All Fair Trade Organic. All from Planet Bean Coffee.

Alex is gonna talk about this one, he’s made it a mission of his to taste each and every press of ours in five minute intervals, and has even had a sip at dirty espresso water (I watched). I’ll type, ‘cus I feel bad since I volunteered him for this without consulting him.

Freedom Fighter.

Fighta. Eye of the Tiger. Rawr.

“Perfect for dark coffee lovers. A rich full bodied blend of Vienna and city roast Peruvian beans.”

Alex: This one is very strong and definitely our boldest blend. It’s a “real coffee drinkers coffee” (really Alex?). You can smell it while you drink it. Smokey, industrial, invigorating, lingering, hints of tobacco.

It’s our best coffee iced, since its strength can carry through.

Ethiopian Yirgacheffe.

The Yirg. The Cheffie.

“A medium bodied coffee with citrus and floral aromas with a bright sparkling acidity and a toffee finish.”

Alex: It definitely is bright, and you can really smell the flowers in it. Obvious I know. It’s of single origin, which is apparently important. By the last 15 minutes (we hold all our coffees for 45 minutes, and then dump them to keep them fresh) it’s definitely comparable to a dark roast.

Alex takes his coffee pretty seriously.

Ethiopian Sidamo

Damo. Damo arigato. El Sid. Sid vicious. No we don’t actually call it any of these, we just felt bad for it having no nicknames.

“A delicately fragrant floral medium roast with a subtle splash of chocolaty tones.”

Alex: It’s sweeter than Yirg. It’s got a spicy, fruity aspect to it. It’s a nice coffee. It’s also single origin.

Café Femenino

Logo courtesy of www.cafefemenino.com

Femme.

“A full bodied medium roast coffee grown by indigenous women in the Andes of Peru. “

Café Femenino, as well as Freedom Fighter, are both part of the Cafe Femenino project, which has enabled hundreds of women to make substantial improvements to their families and communities.

Elizabeth ran in to join us here: Femenino is entirely run by women, and the money they get by running the fair trade cooperative goes towards educating girls and empowering women! (She then scurried away. But then leaned over the counter and piped up again.) Oh, another fun fact! One of my friends emailed them and is going over there to teach English to Peruvian girls!

Alex: Tastes like democracy. Full bodied and mellow—it doesn’t bite at you when you sip it.

Chatty Matty

Chatty. Matty. Chatty Matty. (Believe it or not..)

“A mellow blend combining light and dark beans from Guatemala. Provides a caffeine kick.”

This one is our definite favourite. I feel the grainy French Press taste manages to shine through the best in this one.

Alex: By far the best. Mild and nutty. Not really a medium, more of a mild roast. A little bit sharp. It’s bright and a little spicy… tarte.

Full City Decaf

Decaf.

“Mild acidity, fruity aroma with cherry and chocolate notes. 100% chemical free Swiss Water decaffeinated beans.”

Amanda hearts her decaf.

I’m primarily a decaf drinker, as is Sadie, so I think I’ll cover this one. I really like the decaf, which is convenient. It’s pretty mild and I enjoy the fruitiness.

Okay this is getting long, so we’re gonna break it up. Stay tuned for part II where we finish up talking about our drinks, and then part III where I talk about life behind the kitchen counter (ie what goes in our baked treats.)

Cheers!

Manda and Alex, the employees of the month.