Casa Coffee

I live in Mississauga, so taking public transit is a bit of a pain, but it’s worth the hassle if you have a sweet-​tooth. They have lots of sweets from around the world, interesting things like salted liquorice from Holland. I’m not much of a salt fan as I had heart surgery at St. Mikes. I was the youngest and the thinnest in the cardiac waiting area. I’ve been on a low-​sodium diet for the past 19 years.

This place is a cute little place in Kensington Market.
They are connected with a little candy store that reminded me of the old school Willy Wonka! It was super cute. It is a small coffee place that also has a variety of teas and also ice-​cream! Who doesn’t love ice-​cream?! And I am more of a tea than a coffee person! And let me tell you… The Strawberry Long Island tea smelled amazing! I got it hot and had a little bit of liquid sugar added into it. The barista made it absolutely perfect! He was super nice a helpful! And it definitely warmed me up because it was getting a little chilly when the sun started going down in mid October. By the way the barista had an awesome accent! :)
I had to get the tea again before I left back for Atlanta… I need some more of it!
And it was super super cheap! My tea was only around a dollar… and of course… you gotta tip! :)

Take out an Orange ice cream… um…it is just okay, but the service is good. Will come back to drink a cup of coffee next time.

Yes, a cup of coffee is $ 1/​$ 1.25/$ 1.50, so you can’t really go wrong!
I just wanted to try their regular brew and it was alright. A bit watery, but for those prices you can’t really complain… although I know that I kinda did. McD’s is better, I will admit, although I think it’s slightly more expensive.
Yes, totally hole in the wall, but I wouldn’t hesitate to go back and try their other «fancier» drinks. They also had cannoli, but on the other «side» which I didn’t really venture to.

I’ve been going to this place for years, you see the same people in there all the time. It’s got the best location to people watch in the entire market. Not a place to go with your entire family as there are only a few seats. They have huge selection of sweets and bulk coffee in the back and nice seating outside.
However; I have noticed the last year or so that the coffee isn’t as tasty as it used to be, it tastes acidic and sometimes bitter. I don’t know if they have a different distributor? but this is a very unique place to go on a –12 winter afternoon and not full of people with their computers and homework spread all over the tables.
Sometimes drug users and other types show up at the front windows or at the outside seating and bother customers. The market is changing for the worse.

This is the definition of a traditional Kensington coffee house. The décor is quite original and the staff is super friendly and most of them make the effort to remember your name and order if you’re a regular. Affordable coffee with good taste. They have a nice little walk-​thru counter during summer days.

I was sort of confused. Is this place called Casa Acoreana or Casa Coffee? I went to check in and it was the only Casa place around but everything in the store said Casa Coffee… name change?
The place where you buy coffee and try to sit it teeny weeny. It’s tight as can be and it’s hard to negotiate through a crowded area with 2 espressos on plates but still a cool hang out and a nice store. The restroom… I can’t stand up going down/​up the stairs or while standing in the rest room because the ceiling is so low.
A decent place to buy different coffee though I will give it that…

Three things that were prominent about this little place: a whole lotta candy, yummy desserts, and that it resembled a shack. I had no idea what the name of this place was until I used GPS location on my phone.
Before I could move on to anything else, I think my eyes devoured all the candy in front of me. Their sweets are stashed to the right side of the store when you enter. Oh, and they also have spices.
But don’t be deterred, they have desserts like eclairs and cannolis on display as well. Oh dear God, their cannolis! The man behind the counter recommended the ricotta. The shells of the cannolis had a layer of chocolate on the inside and the fillings were heavenly. The ricotta and chocolate chips was delicious. However, the cannoli with custard was absolutely delectable! The hard exterior of the chocolatey shell combined with the creamy custard created a delicious sensation for my taste buds. For $ 2.5 a pop they were very affordable.
To the left you’ll find their drinks, but I’m not much of a coffee-​drinker so I can’t really comment much. Here you’ll also find limited seating. Due to this, it definitely seems more like a grab-​and-​go place.

The coffee wasn’t the best but the service was terrible. I ordered an American misto and was told the drink doesn’t exist?! I have been drinking coffee was years and have never encountered such awful attitude. The woman went on to tell me that a misto was in fact drip coffee with milk. I insisted that I was there for the americano version. Anyway I won’t be visiting that joint again.

The coffee stand and dry goods market is now open on Sundays!
I totally understand wanting a day off, but I always had to plan my trips to Kensington for Saturdays if I wanted anything at this shop that carries everything.
For all those occasions in which you need some spices, but don’t want to buy the whole McCormick glass jar, head over to Casa Acoreana for a small baggy of it.
Things I love here:
Terroni Syrups– they’ll put in a special order for any flavour you could imagine (Has anyone actually tried the Bacon flavour?)
«Vegetable seasoning” — I’m not sure what is in this mix, but I put it on everything that goes on the BBQ. I love it, and was turned onto it when another customer came in to request it specially.
Nutmeg– not ground nutmeg, but the actual nutty nut that you can shave off into your Egg nog-​flavoured latte.
The coffee shop is cute and straightforward. Who needs a million blended and specialty drinks? They make a great cappuccino. Don’t order a small, «To Go» as the styrofoam cups are flimsy and I dumped it on the ground when I tried to press the lid on. Stay– enjoy the people watching from the booth.

Casa Acoreana is one of the most hole in the wall coffee shops I been to.
Here you won’t find laptops, electric outlets or wifi…
I am not here for those…
Just a good cup of coffee at a good price! Americano and Cappuccino both well made…
I wish there are more places as simple as this!

Great service and product! Staff really know what they are doing. Will recommend to anyone!

Doing this review on behalf of the girl friend.
Looks like there is a lot of coffee bean selection but gf had the latte and said it was pretty good. She loves coffee but I am not coffee critic and they all pretty much taste the same to me. But she was impress by this little joint.
Suprisingly really warm in that place even at –10C outside. Pretty small place though but people were chilling there and enjoying the coffee.

From the outside, Casa Acoreana looks like a dump, but I was pleasantly surprised as I went inside. CA sells coffee beans and tea leaves of all kinds ! They also sell a variety of candies. The staff are very helpful and know a lot about their products — ask away because they’ll be able to answer any question you might have.
** Cash only.

This little hole-​in-​the-​wall coffee shop always delights! Situated on one of the most colourful corners anywhere in the city, the staff joke around, swearing at each other and all always generally having a good time, Pork and Cheese style. The tiny little space has a sign, ‘No Strollers Allowed Inside’, no kidding! The little shack of a space with windows that push out into the fragrant breeze of Kensington market is squatting on sidewalk space from years ago that was built on and allowed to stay for some funky reason. There is a tiny window that allows customers on-​the-​go, walking down Augusta, to order their latte without going around, thru the doorway and inside the crowded little space. And I mention lattes because this is the place to order them, unpretentious, and for $ 2.50 a bargain compared to Starbucks where they spend more on packaging and promotion than the actual product. For that small sum they will even add the sugar for you, or tailor it to your liking. Extra points for not having to fumble with ridiculously small sugar packets when you just want to grab a coffee and get going. Adjoining the coffee shop is a famous candy, coffee, and bulk foods store where they will grind your beans fresh. They stock some of the best coffees I have tried and restaurants go there for bulk orders. It’s nice to order a coffee, and then slip into the store to get coffee beans freshly ground for takeout. Less people are buying the bulk spices than they used to as the area gentrifies, but I hope that won’t mean an end to one of the market’s longest standing traditions, yay for Lui’s !!!

Chill at Casa Acoreana when you’ve done most of my shopping in the market. Beeline for Casa Acoreana and find that more often than not, I am a kid in candy store with a wall of coffee choices… you’ll definitely need coffee just thinking about what coffee to order.
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Only 5 reviews at the time of this writing?
I might be outing one of Toronto’s best kept secrets here!
So there are two faces to this wonderful gem. One side dispenses bulk goods — coffee beans, spices, powers, grains, candies — while the other side brews up delicious little beverages.
While taking a quick little stroll through Kensington Market (which itself deserves 5-​stars) we stopped into this little shop and fauned over the meticulously arranged goods for sale. Being out of towners, we opted to pass on the bulk goods but made a stop in to the other side of the establishment for a double espresso over ice. And, this little beverage might have been the highlight of my trip.
Walking in there were a couple people hanging around in this tiny shop but there was no line so I moseyed up to the counter, confirmed they accept American dollars (like a good tourist), and ordered my beverage. The shop had a bit of seating along a railing but this isn’t the type of place you come to sit with a cup of coffee. I was quickly presented with a small cup of some of the best espresso I have EVER had. Smooth, flavorful– just like it should be. Who knew Toronto had such good coffee?
So I paid my $ 2.50 and with beverage in hand and a smile on my face, we continued to stroll through Kensington.

With summer fading quickly, I am grasping at my favourite memories from our short but sweet summer months. For the past two years, my favourite place on a Saturday morning is on the bench outside Ozzie’s coffee shop (attached to Casa)… I love their teas and I enjoy sitting there people watching for a few hours every saturday morning.
Afterwards, I usually pick up my spices, coffee grinds (for the BF) and occasionally sweets from the shop and head home to start my day. How can you not be a fan of a place that offers so much in such a little space.
The prices are good… the people are real and tells it like it is and its by far the best place in Kensington to watch the characters that make Kensington what it is.

For the S.O.‘s birthday, I got him an Indian cooking course. After the class, he was dying to make his own chicken tikka and aloo gobi at home. (Brilliant gift, huh?) So we headed over to Casa Acoreana to load up on all the spices.
We grabbed some little plastic bags and filled them with chili powder, cumin seeds, coriander, and cloves. Any spice you need, they’re bound to have it in one of the apothecary jars lining the shelves. And the great thing is you can buy everything in small quantities because really, who’s got a spice rack big enough to house five more bottles? We also picked up some basmati rice and organic quinoa in bulk while we were there. HURRAH!
Next time, I’m going back to sample some of the candy in the jars.

I don’t get to shop in Casa Acoreana as often as I would like to given that most of my shopping in the market is done on Sundays when the store is closed. However, for those odd times that I am in the market not on a Sunday-​I make a beeline for Casa Acoreana and find that more often than not, I am a kid in candy store again. (literally and nostagically)
Casa Acoreana is THE bulk food/​dry good store to hit up in Toronto. Everything is nicely outlined and stored in bins or glass jars with scoops and bags readily available. And if you love candy (and who doesn’t) they have excellent selection of candies and chocolates. When I am on one of random baking marathons, I head over here because they have everything I need from flours, chocolates and sugars. And the charismatic counter boys are more than willing to lend a hand or to source out what you need. Plus if you’re into coffee they can grind it here for you according to a specific grind too!