The Green Beanery
565 Bloor Street West
416-954-9223 ext.253

Each day, on my way to and from work, I walk past a large brick building on the southeast corner of Bathurst and Bloor. Locals and pedestrians constantly peek into the wide windows of the soon-to-be-opened new location of The Green Beanery.

The much anticipated coffee shop has been gearing up to open at this prominent Annex location for months. While there is still no concrete opening date, this non-profit coffee bean purveyor (it proclaims to offer the largest selection of beans in town - a pretty bold claim for a city the size of Toronto) will be a welcome addition to an otherwise garish corner, on a street with too few independent coffee operations.

The mostly organic and fair trade coffee is grown by sustainable farmers across the globe; the shop focuses on small-scale speciality crops – and because the crops constantly change, so too does the bean selection. The taste of coffee, like wine and beer, depends on both the terroir of where it is grown and its growers, brewers and roasters. The Green Beanery is a micro-roaster – it ensures each order is fashioned to perfection – guaranteeing the customer freshness and taste.

The Green Beanery hopes to change the face of coffee both in Toronto and across Canada. It was started in 2004 by the charity, Energy Probe with the mandate to promote sustainable energy use, bring light to environmental issues, and increase government and public accountability of their consumption.

The shop itself began as a way to raise money for Energy Probe. Larry Solomon, Energy Probe founder, led the business from the beginning with two simple policies: order one pallet of coffee at a time and recognize the role each pallet plays in the communities where it is produced and consumed. As a pallet sold out, and the demand for suitable coffee grew, more and more beans were ordered.

The new 2,650 square foot retail space will sell over 50 varieties of beans, and a large selection of bodum and brunn coffee equipment. The historic building, once home to a bank, will be both a coffee shop and a centre for environmental change and sustainability. Solomon states the business is run by environmentalist not business people. Working out the kinks of opening the new location has not been easy, nor without set backs.

Although, the Green Beanery is not yet open, beans and coffee equipment can already be ordered online, and picked up at the both the Brunswick Avenue and the Bloor Street locations. Peeking inside the new building, it is obvious the brick walls and giant windows will make it a great place for people-watching, chatting with friends, and enjoying a good cup of coffee. Solomon tells me the menu will be focused on quality coffee, not coffee drinks.

The Green Beanery has already proved itself to Annex coffee drinkers and beyond as the place to go for top coffee beans. It is now challenged with creating a suitable “third place,” for coffee drinkers – a stop outside of work and home, the exact niche Starbucks used to claim.

As I press my nose against the windows, I notice the interior looking closer to completion. I hope the Green Beanery will not disappoint. I need a new third place – one where I can drink my coffee guilt free.