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El Pacho Coffee Roasters: A Ukrainian Family-Owned Cafe in Downtown Toronto
A Ukrainian family-owned cafe in downtown Toronto where the coffee is single origin, the pastries and syrups are made in house, and the pour-over bar changes with whatever the family is excited about.
I stopped by last week, on one of those grey Toronto afternoons when the rain doesn't so much fall as hang in the air. I spoke with Kristina, who created El Pacho with Alex. It's a Ukrainian family business, and almost everything here is made in house: the coffee, the pastries, even the syrups.
They make it themselves
Kristina trained as a chef, and she runs the kitchen and the roastery side by side. The coffee is roasted on site, the pastries are baked a few steps from where you order them, and when a drink calls for a syrup, they make it themselves, nothing artificial. The menu stays classic instead of chasing the latest flavored drink, so it's the coffee you end up tasting.
Single origin only
El Pacho doesn't do blends, only single origin. They keep two beans in the grinders, and the pair rotates. Lately it's been Colombia and Peru, pulled a shade darker at a medium roast. The pour-overs run lighter, mostly light roast with the occasional medium depending on the bean. And underneath it all there's a quiet love for Ethiopia. They put those coffees on when they can, but they like to drink them fresh, so they come and go with the season.
Guest roasters and coffees they bring back
They roast their own, but the bar still makes room for other people's coffee. Some of it is local. A lot of it arrives through friendship. Their roots run to Europe, and roaster friends there send the odd small batch to be poured as a guest. And they carry beans home from their own travels. Last winter they came back from Japan with a few coffees from roasters there, and Kristina told me about a couple of regulars who fell so hard for one of them that they went looking for the same roastery on their own trip to Japan.
So it's worth coming back. You never quite know what will be on, and some of it you won't find anywhere else in the city.
The pastry case
You can taste the chef training most in the pastries, every tray baked in house. Order a pour-over or an espresso and grab one to go with it. Trust me.
The same cup every time
The word Kristina kept returning to was consistency. The team trains so the cup tastes the same whoever is standing at the bar, the first pour of the morning or the last one before the lights go down. She wants to grow into that, not out of it. Keep the quality steady, stay close to the regulars, and never tip over into feeling like a chain. El Pacho is coming up on two years, and it already has the kind of regulars who would notice the day anything slipped.
What to know before you go
- Single origin only, never blends
- Two single origins on espresso at a time, and a pour-over list that keeps changing
- Pour-overs lean light, espresso leans medium
- Pastries baked in house, and yes, order one
- Guest and travel coffees that rotate, so the menu is never quite the same twice
We added El Pacho to Beanie, our coffee discovery app, so it sits alongside the other independent roasters we love.
Visit El Pacho Coffee Roasters
- Address: 40 University Ave Unit 8, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Instagram: @elpachoroasters
- Find them on Beanie: El Pacho Coffee Roasters profile
Frequently Asked Questions
Does El Pacho Coffee Roasters roast its own coffee?
Yes. They roast in house, and they also pour guest coffees now and then, including ones from roaster friends in Europe and beans they pick up on their travels.
Do they serve blends or single origin?
Single origin only. No blends.
What coffee origins does El Pacho serve?
It rotates. They love Ethiopian coffees and put them on when they can, and lately they have had Colombia and Peru.
Are the coffees light or dark roast?
Pour-overs are mostly light, sometimes medium. The espresso has been running at a medium roast.
Do they make their own food?
Yes. The pastries and baked goods are made in house, and Kristina trained as a chef.
Where is El Pacho Coffee Roasters located?
At 40 University Ave Unit 8 in Toronto, Ontario, just across from Union Station.
What makes them a specialty roaster?
Beyond the coffee itself, they make almost everything from scratch, down to the syrups and the pastries, and they put a lot of care into pouring the same cup every time.