Toronto residents have long been accustomed to emptying their wallets for a gourmet meal or fine glass of wine. But is Canada’s most expensive city ready for the $15 cup of coffee? Matthew Lee thinks so. Lee, 29, recently opened Manic Coffee, a café on the bustling outskirts of Toronto’s Little Italy. To celebrate, on Oct. 19 he’ll begin offering up a limited amount of Esmeralda Special — a heady Panamanian brew that’s brought the coffee-drinking world to its knees.
http://www.macleans.ca/culture/lifestyle/article.jsp?content=20071022_110254_110254
Sadly, I didn’t actually have a cup of this legendary joe; I got there two hours late. The owner, the aforementioned Matthew Lee, gave me his card and told me to call him on Monday – he was going to try to find some more Esmeralda on Monday.
In the interim, I watched at Manic Coffee’s other main attraction: a Clover 1s coffee machine. Coffee Manic uses Intelligentsia coffee beans. See the Clover at work below:
I drank it black, because that’s what you’re supposed to do to appreciate the full flavour. How was it? Pretty easy. Not particularly bitter, really easy to drink after the first sip. I think I’d prefer it with some sugar at least, but I could probably pass on milk. Or perhaps have it as a caffe macchiato? I had to throw it out though; it was strong enough to cause my chocolate/coffee “allergy” to start. 
The owner, by the way, does seem well versed in coffee. Certainly the other employees referred to him as the “coffee guru” when he called them over to answer my questions. I wish him the best of luck and that he improves the status quo. After visiting Italy, I better appreciate the sorry state of coffee affairs here in Toronto.
