It seems that the places you can get an "ok" espresso in down town Toronto are few and far between. So when I went into the Orange Alert at McCaul and Dundas, my expectations were pretty low. However, a new looking Electra, a Macap grinder and a tamper were a good signs.
The person serving me flushed the group head, dosed and tamped and gave me a very respectable looking and tasting espresso. Certainly above average for Toronto.
I asked about the coffee they use for espresso - its from Dark City.
While perhaps not quite in the same league as places like Dark Horse and Mercury, I would certainly go back to Orange Alert.
I intend to - but its not exactly strolling distance from my office. Nor are any of the other good espresso joints. If I am in need of a quick fix I usually take a five minute walk to the Lettieri in the TD.
On my occasional visits to Queen East I've been to Dark Horse and the Mercury. Manic is in a part of town I never visit an and its getting on for twice as far away as Dundas and McCaul.
Anyway, my reason for the post was... The hand full of really good places for espresso get lots of attention here, but there are some other places where you can get a passable shot. I would say that Orange Alert was better than "passable".
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post
Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum. No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum. Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards. Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics. Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies. Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies. Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts. Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.
= No New Posts since last visit 