The Library Specialty Coffee — Restaurant in Toronto

The Library Specialty Coffee is one of the local coffee roasters in Toronto where they roast the coffees they sell. Considering how the rest of the world view North American coffee standard, this is pretty much an exception as this is one of the good coffees around (I have to be honest that North American coffee standards are just lower, but this is pretty exceptional already).

This outlet sells coffee beans (whole or ground), coffee tools like pour over, expensive weighing scale with bluetooth functions that can sync with your phone, mugs, french press, Aeropress etc. If you are looking to start out your coffee journey or small setup for office, this is the place to get everything you need, but if you are a more advanced coffee drinker, needing Moka pots, espresso makers, then the equipment they sell will not be adequate. In addition, they only sell smaller packs of coffee in 250g sizes. There was once I managed to get a 1KG pack but since then they seem to promote that online instead and only carry the smaller packets in store.

The staff there has really good knowledge of coffee and I would believe they make their coffees really good. I believe some of their baristas are of celebrity status with well followed instagrams and also most customers seem to be regulars, knowing the staff by name. I had a chat once with the barista and mentioned about some new toys I bought and that I am using just a Porlex, he offered me pretty good advice on how to improve my coffee making with the Moke pot which I have and that was pretty impressive and helpful.

All in all, this is one of the really few places that serves real coffee. They are very COVID compliant and always update their capacity or procedures promptly, making this place really safe to...

3.5 stars Solid little coffee spot near OCAD

With mostly white washed walls and soothing interior, it has a bit of a zen vibe to it. The tiles on the floor say standing room only and ... it's kinda true. There are 4 little wooden stumps re-purposed beautifully and sit around small little tables. There's another little spot in the back for another 2. I would say its more towards take out but you could sit for a little while to enjoy your cup.

With much attention to ingredients (they even mention the farm with the milk comes from), they do try to provide the best cup for you. They source directly from a dairy provider, use Sweet Bloom for their beans, and a matcha from Japan. I think this is quite good but I do have to wonder why they didnt source from some very good Canadian roasters. Toronto has quite a few and I do know there are many good ones across the country. Service here is prompt, polite, and thoughtful. Our cups were immediately made and with care.

Flat White - Less sour than our most recent flat whites, this one was more fruity but still carrying a decent amount of sourness. I would say it was not as rich tasting or smooth as I would like it. I think the very strong fruit flavour made it taste more citrus sour than anything else. 3.5/5

Matcha Latte - Rich with matcha, this lightly bitter latte was a nice vivid green. Definitely not on the watery side and frothed nicely. It was quite creamy and richer in texture compare to other places. 4/5

Cute spot and if I'm in the area again, I could see myself...

I went to this coffee shop because it has good reviews but sadly had an awful experience. I order a matcha latte (for me), a cookie, a croissant, and an americano (for my mom, she doesn't speak fluent English, our mother tongue is Spanish). The girl who took my order asked me if I wanted my receipt, I said no because I hate to make unnecessary garbage. So, she gave me the cookie and the croissant, then it came the matcha and finally the americano. We took our drinks and left the shop, but my mom went back inside for some napkins. I waited in the street because I was sending a voice note when I turned my head and saw this girl yelling at my mom, I went quickly inside and asked her kindly what was happening. She said to me that we haven't paid for the americano, I was shocked because I explicitly told her my order, but she yelled at me that I hadn't said that. I never refused to pay, when she finished talking I said: well, charge me then. But she kept going and going, she even showed me the "receipt". Everything turn out very stressful because she was very rude for nothing, but as I've said: I never spoke to her "badly" nor yelled at her like she did with us, OR REFUSE TO PAY. For me, everything went down because if it was my mistake or hers, the bad manners that she had were out of the blue. Her coworker instead gave me an apology and was very nice to me. We can't enjoy our drinks because of this. I'm hoping that no one gets a similar experience as we did. Ironically, the matcha and the...