Excited about new coffee bar in Toronto
It seems that everyone I know is pretty into coffee. I’m not really big on it but I’m not here to talk about coffee. I’m talking about how cool it is to see people taking risks to do something they love. So, if you’re in Toronto, look up Sam James + coffee on Google. You’ll quickly learn the story of one of Toronto’s latest “celebrity baristas” (a concept that I bet would be totally lost on even the most discriminate Ottawa coffee drinker). Only three years after starting this career, he’s taking a brave leap and opening up his own shop in Toronto soon at 297 Harbord Street. What’s it called? Sam James Coffee Bar. Awesome. Bring yer own cup to save a quarter. Also awesome.
I took Sam’s photo in 2007 at the first Canadian Regional Barista Championship he entered, about six months after he started working as a barista. After sitting through most of the day-long contest, Sam was finally up I found that, even as a rookie, compared to his overconfident and/or underexperienced competitors, he had a sort of cool yet modest finesse to him. There was a lot of pressure but he kept it together and even cracked a few jokes during his “performance”.
Sam didn’t win the competition in 2007 but I hear he’s gone on to win a bunch more. Check him out on the internets.
Here’s Sam in 2007. As seen in the reflection, his Montréal Expos cap-wearing coach, Nick Brown, carefully watches his protégé get to work. A few more on Flickr.
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