Birds and Beans Boutique Cafe

What is a Boutique Cafe? If you've been to Birds and Beans you have a pretty good idea. From the decor and the coffee to the staff and customers there is something unique here. Birds and Beans is one of a kind, offering only the best in coffee,and the best in experience.

“We are really out on our own in our approach to coffee”, says master roaster David Pritchard. “Where others focus on roast colour, we focus on flavour profile.” Birds and Beans sources their un-roasted coffees from estates and small collectives where local distinctions in the beans are preserved. Then David and Madeleine go to work roasting and tasting and tweaking and retrying until the flavours are just right.

“The interesting thing is, that our assumptions about roast colour do no apply to boutique coffee. A coffee like our Sumatra Takengon is boldest at a medium roast. Most people expect the most flavourful coffee to be dark and oily” says Madeleine, David’s wife and partner. “but a very dark roast actually breaks down the flavour molecules of a great boutique coffee.”

The commitment to quality and the exceptional extends to all aspects of the café. Their Arriba Chocolate Chunk cookie is becoming legendary in the neighbourhood. It is the only cookie in Canada using the spectacular Rainforest Alliance certified Plantations™ Arriba chocolate. “Based on the success of our cookie, we recently developed our Arriba Cocoa Crunch muffin” says Madeleine. It is an exotic invention with ingredients including prepared espresso and pieces of our Plantations™Arriba cocoa beans called cocoa nibs. “There is no processed chocolate in this muffin – just pieces of lightly toasted cocoa beans. A very healthy treat!”

If you are looking for a light lunch try soup and sandwich or wrap. Birds and Beans offers soups by Francis made from scratch with ingredients your grandmother might have used. Enjoy it with a wrap or sandwich on a freshly baked Ace Bakery baguette. Francis never makes the same soup twice. It might say “Veggie Chowda” on the menu board every Friday, but it is always a different flavour experience.

The weekly jazz jam with Westswing is thriving on Sunday afternoons. You might find a trio or a crowd of 14 musicians in the upstairs livingroom. On break you can check out the CD offerings from neighbourhood musicians and the art on the walls by local artists.

“Birds and Beans is the hub of this community.” says a customer at the counter. “If we want to know what is going on, we come here.” David’s big smile shows his pleasure: “That is exactly what we hoped would happen here. We made the space available and the community has filled it up with their talent, their music, their art and their voices.”

100% of Birds and Beans coffees are shade grown, organically cultivated and fairly traded.

Jazz with Fair Trade
Join us Sunday afternoons from 2:30 - 5:00 for Jazz Jams with Fair Trade. They bring their friends and local musicians drop in, so you never know what you'll find. Maybe a quiet trio or a raucous crowd of 12 musicians. Always a great time!

Art Shows
Every month or so we exhibit works of a different local artist. You won't believe the talent living here in the Lakeshore!

In the Press
Birds and Beans was featured in the Toronto Star, Food and Drink Magazine, and wholesale customers Poor John's and Tinto Coffee House were featured in Now Magazine.

In the Community
Birds and Beans proudly sponsors many events and initiatives in our neighbourhood. For events and initiatives sponsored in the past click here. Upcoming events include:

CCFEW Birdwalks
Birds and Beans is the ongoing sponsor of CCFEW birdwalks in the area. Click here for dates and details.

Regular Hours

7:00 AM - 6:00 PM Mon to Fri
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM Saturdays
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM Sundays
Closed Holidays

Vacation Alert
Closed for Vacation Saturday August 23 - Friday August 29

Labour Day Weekend Hours
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM Saturday August 30
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM Sunday August 31
Closed Labour Day Monday September 1


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