Stereo Coffee Roasters in Toronto's Stockyards District is a little out of the way, but offers the unique experience of watching the beans used for your cup of coffee get roasted in real time. 

Prior to founding Stereo Coffee Roasters in 2018, owner Geoff Polci ran a series of cafes throughout Toronto, called Crema and co-owned another roasting company. 

He explains his love for coffee began in the cafe business and naturally evolved into roasting. "I wanted to get closer to the coffee to learn more. The only way to do that was to start roasting," he says."We're in a bit of an odd industrial pocket off the beaten path, so not a lot of people know that we're here making and serving coffees in the front," says Polci.

Walking up to the storefront, which is nestled between several warehouses, I stumbled upon a converted industrial space.

At the front is a counter and espresso bar with laminated sheets detailing the various coffee beans for sale. Through a doorway and large window you can see all the equipment required to take the beans from their natural state to one where they're ready to be ground and brewed. 

I was lucky enough to witness this exciting process first-hand. 

Coffee beans in their raw form are actually green. Dozens of burlap bags filled with green beans (no, not the vegetable) were stacked in the manufacturing space at the rear of the building. 
Quality, rarity and ethical sourcing are the most important factors to Polci when sourcing beans. 

Polci has met many of the farmers personally and vistited most of the farms in countries that he sources from, like Guatemala and Brazil. He only works with brokers that do not use middlemen and pay farmers well above Fairtrade requirements.

"We have a real focus on sourcing sustainable, traceable coffees that are very high quality," says Polci. "We have relationships with brokers and farmers in the U.S and coffee-growing countries so we're getting coffees that are difficult to find," he adds. 

The next step is to take the green beans and pour them into the roaster through a large funnel at the top of the machine. A computer is programmed to measure the heat of the roaster and follow certain instructions based on the desired roast. 

Really wishing smell-o-vision was invented by now. Nothing beats the smell of freshly roasted coffee beans! 📍 Stereo Coffee Roasters - 40 Cawthra Ave. pic.twitter.com/PrLrGKSm3x

— blogTO (@blogTO) May 24, 2024

Roasting is surprisingly quick, usually taking between 10 to 15 minutes. How light or dark the roast is depends on how long the beans are left in the oven. 

Once the beans have finished roasting they emerge brown-hued. They proceed to fall into a big tub where they are swirled around by a mechanical arm. This makes the room smell incredible. 

The beans are then packaged into paper bags with the Stereo Coffee Roasters label on them and are ready to be shipped and sold.

I tried two drinks made from coffee beans roasted in store and both were fantastic. The first was a Cappuccino ($5), which was rich and brewed to perfection.

The next was an Iced Americano ($4.25). This classic iced drink is sure to be appeciated by any coffee lover. 
I sampled several brews with different notes while at Stereo Coffee Roasters and there is truly a roast for everyone. 

Bags of coffee beans are available for purchase in store. "We offer a full lineup of coffee beans. Discounts are available if you come in and visit us," says Polci. 2lb bags are 10 per cent off and 5lb bags are 20 per cent off.
If like Polci you are fascinated by the process of making coffee, Stereo Coffee Roasters is well worth the trip.

You can venture out to see how your coffee beans are roasted, have a gourmet drink and bring a bag of beans home. Stereo Coffee Roasters is located at 40 Cawthra Ave.