Another Land Coffee — Restaurant in Toronto

Another review of Another Land (spoiler alert: it's narnia!)

First things first is that I would wholeheartedly recommend another land as a place that transcends a home-esque feeling and jumps directly to you wishing this shop WAS your home, with a welcoming cast of staff (there being 2 of them!!) That immediately made me (and my mom lol!!!) Feel ready to order and have a seat.

Now let's get into the nitty gritty of the review, which would be the items I ordered 😀 (those being a Cofftail, a Lychee rose latte, and a Portuguese tart).

Cofftail: Another land has an item called the Cofftail (that being a coffee+non-alcholic cocktail) with a variety of flavours those being "plain, lychee, yuzu" and today I will be focusing on the Yuzu flavour as that was the one I specifically ordered, The yuzu flavour consist of 3 things (an espresso shot "Duh!", Yuzu juice , sparkling water and then they sweeten it) and I found that the drink was a refreshing drink with hints of acidity and low levels of bitterness that reminded me of a specific album by "masayoshi takanaka" called "brasilian skies" with its distinct Japanese and Brazilian summer/beach esthetic(and yes am using this to recommend an album that no one listens too, get off my back lol), and how the flavours meld beautifully into a drink that brings comfort, refreshment, and caffeine with a crisp finish that I highly recommend!!!

Rose lychee latte (my mother's drink of choice!!): My Mom told me that "I found that the drink has a minimal amount of sweetness allowing for the coffee, lychee, and rose to show themselves more while not overtaking the depth of the coffee" (As I am not the one who drank it, this is all I have 😅.)

Portuguese Tart: And finally we have the Portuguese tart which I ordered for myself and I think it was an interesting take that I genuinely enjoyed, most Portuguese tarts that I have had were more on the sweet vanilla side, while this one was more salty with its buttered puff pastry and a custard that had a "currduly" (I don't think that's a word lol) texture of which I thought was an interesting departure from what I had before.

A few last notes before I sign off: The shop has a variety of coffee beans, coffee equipment, and hand knit key chains made from yarn that I found were absolutely adorable 😄.

All in all, "Another Land" is a soulful speciality coffee shop that has heart, colour, and love put into it (and most importantly, has a fried chicken shop underneath it 🤣!!!) That accentuates what I LOVE about a comfy cup of Joe, and I will surely be coming...

Was super excited to spot this place with specialty coffee offerings and seemingly raving reviews. But after two visits, decided that it’s not quite up to the specialty coffee shop standard after all.

First time there, my friend and I each ordered decaf cappuccino and a breakfast bun (the kind you can get at any Chinese bakery). We were both very disappointed. The coffee tasted diluted with just milk flavor, and the buns are not fresh. With the claim of specialty coffee (and the price that goes with it!!), I do expect fresh bread that was baked on the same day to pair with the coffee. My favourite specialty coffee shops in downtown that serve bread all know the importance in coffee and food pairing. Like Arvo in Liberty district serve fresh bread from black bird bakery!

And now onto the weak coffee. I was so puzzled with all those raving reviews about their coffee, and yet what I got was so tasteless (except the taste of warm milk). One or two past reviewers also mentioned the same problems, but the owner’s reply says that it’s due to light roast beans they use. That’s really no explanation at all, since light roast when extracted right, is even more flavourful with different flavour notes than dark roast. I had some really delicious cups of light roast beans from Hatch in Markham (another land seems to get their beans from Hatch as well).

Just to give this shop another chance, I went there again and ordered a regular cappuccino (not decaf this time, so different beans). And this one finally tastes good!!

So my speculation is that the shop probably hasn’t completely refined their brew process / recipe yet. Many things can go wrong in extracting the perfect espresso. It’s likely their current process under extract certain type of beans.

The owner of the shop is definitely a coffee enthusiast, but maybe not quite perfected their skills yet to a professional level. But since I’m paying that much for a coffee (and the food) there, I do expect to get good quality items every single time. So I cannot say I can be a big fan…

After this last attempt of looking for good coffee in this neighbourhood, I don’t think I will try again anytime soon. Will just go to my fav cafes in downtown, or brew at home with my own coffee station set up. Not many people around yonge sheppard are that serious about specialty coffee unfortunately, so not enough market to have a serious specialty coffee...

Hidden on the top floor of a small plaza just south of Yonge and Sheppard, and sandwiched between the screamingly-bright signs of fast food Hero Burger and Smoke’s Poutinerie, Another Land Coffee—a much-needed indie contribution to the Starbucks-speckled locale—can be a little hard to find.

Make the effort: it’s worth it. Trust me.

Another Land’s got the whole “local artisan products” thing down pat: they stock a range of local, independent coffee roasters and chocolatiers. Their toasts, built on locally-baked bread and piled with quality toppings, come in sweet and savoury options. Their avocado toast—made with tasty sourdough and layers of grass-fed butter, pesto, cucumbers, radishes, fresh-ground pepper, balsamic reduction, and of course, ripe avocado—is delightfully garlicky and surprisingly filling. At only $6.50, the toast—along with the drinks—is surprisingly reasonably-priced, and their lunch special means I can get my (embarrassingly frequent) toast and mocha fix for only $10.15 after tax.

Vegans will be stoked to hear that their avocado toast is vegan when made without butter, and their drinks can be made with (surcharge-free) almond or oat milk.

The environment is inviting, friendly, and highly instagrammable, decked with florals, pastels, and curiously-complementary typewriter keyboards. Seating options include 2-3 person tables and a small bar. People who do their best work in coffee shops (like me!) will be stoked to see that they’ve got some outlets and complimentary wifi.

Another Land Coffee is a much-needed addition to the Yonge and Sheppard area, and I’ve quickly become a regular. Try it out—you’ll probably...