First Experience: THOR

Thor Espresso Bar
Address: 35 Bathurst Street
Neighbourhood: King West/Fashion District
(website)

ATTENTION: Bathurst and King area, you have someone to compete with Jimmy's Coffee, and they are GOOD.

This Scandinavian influenced espresso bar is definitely a jolt to the area. With crafted wood being used throughout the cafe, from their bar to their warped wood shelves, with a the viking mural designed by OCAD students. They've teamed up with new-kids-on-the-block Social Coffee and Tea Company to create their very own unique espresso blend. They did their homework and the female-dominated population craves for the rich velvety chocolate profile in their espresso drinks. Kudos to Steve and the team at Social, as they've come up with a great combo of flavours. Co-owner Tom Junek, indicates that as they become familiar with their clientele, they'll tweak their espresso to fit what the customers want. Now that's a great business model.

It's an espresso bar, and they kept it that way on purpose. Comfortably fitting 10 people with simple Herman Miller Eamed Modeled Plastic chairs, small tables and a carpetted ledges - good for small bums. But the focus should be at end of the cafe - a nicely designed bar that they hope to use for coffee cuppings down the road. This idea is not new, but is refreshing when they are keen to expose their clientle to other coffees/roasters/flavours and open up a discussion about coffee knowledge.

On this soft-opening, it was evident that they had more ideas for the upcoming weeks.

 They will always have their espresso on hand, and will be featuring another bean on a 2-week rotation.

Thor's Espresso - Blend of Panama, Ethopian, and Brazil.

"Our espresso blend will hit you like a hammer with its' citrusy Panamanian brightness, quickly easing you onto the fruits of Africa, before finally letting you off nice and easy with a sweet chocolate Brazillain finish."

Verdict: Balanced with small hints of citrus, but the sweet chocolate finish screams in your mouth for another sip. Great Crema was produced from the machine. 

 
Featured Espresso: Esmeralda Special - Geisha Naranjo from Panama (Jaramillo region) Single Origin

" Truly exceptional coffee. Intensely rich aromatic, with notes of floral, citrus, orange, berries, peach, fresh mint and lemongrass. Syrupy mouthfeel, sweet balanced acidity, long lingering aftertaste."

Verdict:  More of an intense flavour resonating from this shot. Fruity taste with berries,woody highlights.
The consistency of this shot is velvet with a lingering aftertaste of sweet acidity for the WIN.

 In addition, they were gracious to pull another drink: Cappucino.

Verdict:  Using their signature beans, the smooth chocolate milk passed thru a more complex taste of buttery, almonds/walnuts/and cashews. The citrusy tones were mellowed and it was equivalent to biting into a KitKat bar. It was delicious.

Machine: Slayer Espresso Machine
Doser: Mazzer
Turnover: Unknown - NEW
Beans: Own Blend from Social Coffee and Tea Company
Music: Curated by The Ambitious C

Added Bonus: Pasteries are currently being maded fromCircles and Squares, with diversity from Desmond and Beatrice (TeAro, Rooster), and OMG bakers.
Eventually Junek and Patrick Tu would like to do in-house baking to showcase Swedish baked goods with more Gingerbread power!

Definitely worth a repeat visit!