Just Us! Cafe
2010 Queen Street East, 490 Queen Street West
416-862-2233

Twelve years ago this month, Jeff Moore travelled to Chiapas, one of Mexico’s poorest and most populous states. In the mountains, farmers were growing, producing and exporting excellent organic coffee beans independently. When Moore arrived there was a civil war brewing over who got the money from the coffee. “Coyotes” – agents for huge international coffee companies – were after the this homegrown business’s funds.

Maneuvering past military road blocks, Moore hiked up the mountains. He met farmers that, even amidst unstable political conditions, felt empowered through their co-op setup. Fair trade had provided them hope. Moore struck a deal to import the farmers’ coffee to Halifax. It would take a minimum shipment of 10 tonnes of coffee, for which he and wife Debra put their house up as security. And they hadn’t yet had a single customer.

The result, a dozen years on, is the successful Just Us! coffee company, Canada’s first coffee roaster devoted to Fair Trade. It has outgrown its clothes on the East Coast and expanded west to Toronto. Not long ago on Queen Streets East and West, two new cafés have opened. It’s more than a café, though, as it is one of the few cooperatives owned by workers. And the coffee they produce is, I can attest, quite excellent indeed.

“The trip to Chiapas was definitely a turning point,” says Debra Moore. Business plans had given way to real faces. In the first year of business they brought two Chiapas workers to the Maritimes and gave them a personal tour. “This was not only very profound for us, but the story was picked up by major press in the Maritimes and peopled were touched by their story.”

That’s really what makes this story, this café, different from others in coffee-clogged Toronto. With no middlemen, profit is shared with employees and farmers. All ingredients in the café are Fair Trade, including sugar, chocolate and tea. The Moores are so devoted to the calling that they publish newsletters about it. This is all to say that Just Us! is more than what’s in the pot.

I took a book to the Queen West Just Us! location that was formerly the popular Tequila Bookworm (that moved a couple doors down). The open room with exposed brick was as busy as ever. Along with a “holiday blend” coffee I had an enormous date square recommended by Moore. She says her best-sellers are dark chocolate (sold by the bar), Rooibos tea and French Roast coffee. Her personal favourite, along with the date square, is a latte with a shot of vanilla in the afternoon.

The café mixes a modern feel with an old comfortable one. Friendly servers noisily produce a dozen flavours of espresso and fresh pots of coffee. They dish typical café fare in croissants, muffins and cookies alongside salads, soup and curry-based pot pies.

Just Us! takes coffee, packages of which you can buy in the cafés, rather seriously. For proof, see their quality control page. It’s no surprise, because that’s where it all started. The Moores brought their idea to the Halifax community before specialty coffee had hit the area. Their involvement in community groups and local folk festivals helped lift them off the ground. They continue to donate to various local and international groups such as the Sierra Club.

Their family venture turned into a hit. In both 2006 and 2007, Halifax weekly entertainment paper The Coast named their coffee the best in town. Moore says Just Us! is viewed as the leaders of the organic movement in the Maritimes. The Fair Trade symbol is associated with them. “We are known for our quality and we know how important this is.”

In Toronto, despite challenges and a “steep learning curve,” Moore says that their brand has travelled well. She says Toronto is ready for the kind of café built on relationships. While arguably there are a few of those already in town, it’s a nice idea. The friendly mom-and-popper from the East Coast living in the no-smile hustle of the Big Smoke.

This is how Moore sums up Just Us!: “We connect customers to the producers, educate on subjects like coffee, tea, fair trade, sustainability and give people a place to talk about these issues that are facing us today.”

And somewhere in there, they presumably make a little money.