While supplies last, local roasters still have tasty holiday blends in stock

Although the holiday season is waning and Christmas passed without any whiteness, the province’s coffee roasters still have some supplies of specialty holiday blends, and this is a survey of some of the better ones, locally and on the coasts. The descriptions are wonderfully fanciful too and so are the blends; the roasters seem to…

The Coffee Cantata: coffee and me, coffee and the world

Every morning, all around the world, more than 2.25 billion cups of coffee are consumed each day. And I am one of those drinkers as I am sure if you are reading this, you are too. We can’t start the day without that cup, in whatever form. I either fire up my Saeco PicoBarista and pull a…

Ricardo’s adds coffee culture to blog

Gelato and Espresso go together like love and marriage or something like that. Two peas in a pod. And in Italy, the Mother Church of Gelato, every gelateria serves truly excellent espresso. Thankfully that is the case here, too. Coffee culture means coffee bars, roasters, accessory places and other developments in the GTA coffee scene….

A report from the centre of the gelato earth: Italy!

My partner and I just returned from two weeks in Italy, not just for reporting on gelato but for the sunshine and fantastic food, too. Well, maybe for the gelato.  I wanted to get to the bottom of the fundamental question on everyone’s mind – is the gelato better in Italy – than in Toronto, with its extensive…

Hart Melvin’s Gelato Fresco: artisanship in a short cut world

When the history of the Toronto gelato industry is written – and I am probably the one to write it – the name Hart Melvin and Gelato Fresco (GF) will stand the tallest among the various pioneers. Founded 38 years ago, GF may not have been the oldest Toronto gelato maker; that distinction most likely belongs to La Paloma, now 56. However,…