Orange Alert Coffee

I think I found another new favorite café. Anything that is organic fair trade is already getting a good grade in my book, but the taste and quality were also fantastic.
The location is conveniently close to my work, and when I went at lunch it was not at all crowded, unlike when I hit up a starbucks at that time. There are a lot of complaints on here about the owner but he was super nice to me, I have a feeling there is more to the story then people are willing to share. He was working alone and made me a café latte and I purchased the Dark City extra butter beans.
The latte seems a bit pricey at first glance, however the size is huge, like a grande at starbucks so the price is actually average. The latte was really nice and smooth, could be a bit stronger. The coffee I made the next day at home is incredible, definitely pick up that bean if you’re stopping by here.
This is another hole in the wall sort of look place, lots of seating, a cool view for people watching. I will be back here for sure.

A very tiny little café, and if your lucky to find a seat, it’s quite cozy. Not the best for meeting a large group but for a grab and go coffee it’s quite good. Quality for the fair price is great and the man who runs the shop is very kind and friendly. Definitely one of the better coffee shops in the area and worth checking out!

The people that own this place seem to really hate their customers. I attend OCAD so I stopped in a few times in first year — you know — thinking could be a cute and cozy alternative to the grange.
No
Last time I was in here I had to go to the washroom before I ordered. I asked the gentleman behind the counter for the key and he said he wouldn’t give it to me until I ordered something. I was with another person and told him she was going to order while I was in the ladies. He didn’t get it or didn’t care to get it, like we were scamming him and lying to use the bathroom. He finally gives me the key and the bathroom was down several long confusing hallways that we’re sort of scary and filthy.
Can’t comment on the coffee but I guess it wasn’t great since I don’t remember it. They have pastries and ice cream and fair trade coffee. The façade is adorable but yeah doesn’t really make up for the horrible attitude of the owner.

Rude customer service. My boyfriend asked if they had a bathroom and the man rudely said no. Fine by him, so he attempted to order and ice cream cone as it was hot out. The man behind the counter says «We still don’t have a bathroom even if you buy something». Then my boyfriend said «I understand that I would just like an ice cream» and he responded with a snarky «…if you want». Of course after that rude response he did not want to give his money to a company that would treat customers like that and replied with «You know what, I won’t be spending my money here» and the man responded with «I don’t care».
No excuse for treating anyone with that sort of disrespect.

Left my phone at the office, using my buddy’s iPhone to write this. It’s the best americano coffee I’ve had in a long time. Full stop. I never knew there would be that much a difference in the taste. Very clean, no aftertaste. I work very long hours and drink more than 5 cups of coffee a day all day so I could immediately see the difference in how I felt after.
The place doesn’t seem very fancy so I never noticed it before. I never thought I would find something this good in a place like this. I think of myself as more of a Starbucks man. The older gentleman serving you is very nice. He is retired from the computer IT field so he’s not an efficient corporate server, something you come to expect if you frequent Starbucks. But wow, the coffee made it worth the relaxed pace. Made me feel like I stepped out of the rat race to enjoy something very high quality. If this guy’s kids ever decide to take the place over and do a refresh renovation to make the place more noticeable I think they are sitting on a gold mine. I’m glad my buddy brought me here. I get my coffee to go so all I care about is the product and it is second to none. No more Starbucks for this guy. My eyes have been opened. Gave it 5 stars because the product makes it worthy.
Serious Coffee Drinker

This is a nice place to seek solace from the coffee shops in Toronto that seem to be always filled to the brim with hipsters and macbooks. I’ve come here a couple of times and have been relatively satisfied with the drinks. I sat here with a couple of friendsand there were not more than 4 people there which was nice. Drinks were standard, I got a chai tea latte, others just got coffee. Place was a little dark and drafty, not ideal for winter temperatures.

The older Asian gentleman who served me was absolutely lovely. He also made a killer americano!
My friend ordered a quiche and cake and he said it was yummy.
Perfect place to visit before the AGO.

I work near Orange Alert so I find myself popping in now and then when I am too rushed to make a lunch, or when I need a coffee.
I’ve had the owner serve me most of the time, and I find he can be a bit edgy. Sometimes he’s really friendly, and other times he seems stressed to the gills!
I love the lattes, and the cups are massive meaning you get a decent amount for how much you pay. Considering Starbucks would charge double, it’s better bang for your buck, and just as tasty.
I’ve ordered the quiche before which is healthy, and fresh. It’s somewhat expensive, so I wouldn’t order food too often, but now and then for a treat its OK.
As for the ambiance, the location is at a congested intersection, and the décor is sub-​par. I like «eclectic» but this just seems like they threw together the shop in a day, and opened up without planning a theme or style. There are old books and antiques, but then random couches and chairs that don’t suit the rest of the décor.
It gets a «meh» from me!

Service sucks.

This is the strangest coffee shop I’ve ever been to. I can’t decide if I love it or think it’s horrible. The latte I had was pretty delicious and the ginger cookie I ate was YUMMY. The staff are friendly. It isn’t very busy. There’s wifi. Ample table space and plugs for my near death laptop battery. A cold draft from the door was the only bother. A nice unusual vibe for a change up from Starbucks.

Well. There’s free wifi at least. The bathrooms are through a door with several locks, then down the stairway into the dungeon, and down a creepy hallway (don’t forget to grab the bathroom key!). At least there’s soap in the bathroom. The coffee was pretty good and the inside of the shop is quaint. I ordered a coffee which was $ 2.25, then I decided to add another coffee to the order, which changed my order to $ 4.83… that math doesn’t add up. There are some dessert cakes and cookies which look delicious, as well as ice cream. It wasn’t the best coffee shop around, but was open at the time. The store owner seems like a nice guy.

Tenu par un monsieur âgé et très sympathique, votre espresso sera fait avec passion et un intérêt certain pour la qualité du café en grains. Situé juste en face de la galerie des beaux arts, c’est l’endroit idéal si vous voulez éviter les cafés-​multinationales.

Orange Alert is an organic café situated in front of the AGO and on the corner of a busy city intersection. This place is small but still roomy and somewhat cozy.
They have coffee (a variety to choose from), a nice espresso menu, speciality drinks, juice, milkshakes, ice cream, smoothies, prepared lunch food, and lots of fresh baked goods.
The man working here was super friendly but seemed unorganized and took forever putting together our two drinks for my hubby and myself. The carrot juice was made fresh in front of us; for a 13oz cup $ 6 was pretty steep and the beverage itself was okay. The matcha green tea smoothie ($ 4.99) was more like a milkshake, slightly sweetened and pretty delicious– still pretty pricey for the amount.
The overpriced drinks, lack of organization and length of time to prepare the order doesn’t make me want to drop by here again. Thankfully they’re other options like Starbucks and Timmy’s in the area.

I usually get my double americano’s from Avenue Café over at Dundas/​University. I think it’s Illy beans there.
Anyway, I wanted to try a different location so I got a double americano from Orange Alert and it was fab! I think their beans are Dark City. It had a real nice flavor and really smoothe finish.
A double americano cost me $ 3.65 at Orange Alert. I was paying Ave Café $ 2.73.
I’m okay with the extra .92 cents because Orange Alert uses 100% biodegradable cups (eco-​friendly), the beans are organic (no pesticides), and the coffee tastes so clean and smoothe!
I got nothing but warm smiles and pleasantries from the Asian couple who run the joint. Mind you, it was 10am and not busy. I’ll definitely be coming here for my rare americano fixes from now on. Oh and the atmosphere is nice too. I appreciate that it doesn’t feel like I’m in a chain store or some super modern coffee shop.
UPDATE: Aug 1^st 2012
Got a Large coffee from here yesterday. Cost $ 2.50 and definitely worth it if you get the Butter Dark. I got the Zen blend a few days back and its just too weak IMO.

This place caught my attention on the outside. As I walked past this place, it stayed on my mind and so I went to check it out on my way back.
It is really charming and the music was nice very calm a bit jazzy a bit something else. The prices turned me off. But luckily, why I was staring at the menu, a man came in to order a macha green tea iced, at least that’s what I thought. I ended up getting the same thing no syrup no sugar. It was pretty relaxing drink for a flat $ 3 + 25 cents because I don’t carry cash. They take debit.
This was just first impression. I did not notice the do not touch sign as I got the drink to go, but ill pay more attention the next time.

Came here a few times in the past.
The man who makes your coffee is a very friendly old man. He always has a smile on his face and will never rush making your drink. The drinks and coffee are very good. An extra plus that it is fair trade and I believe organic as well.
The place is hardly ever crowded, even when I walk by it. But, there’s always customers sitting at the tables. Very nice place to sit in to catch up with a friend or to even read in silence.
It’s an above average café. I wish I could come here more often (I enjoy helping smaller businesses :)), but it is usually out of my way to travel for it.

How Orange Alert Coffee has survived for so long in that most covetable location across from both OCAD and the AGO is a mystery to me. I came in to kill time before meeting someone nearby one afternoon and found it almost completely empty. I didn’t feel like a beverage, after having had lunch already, so ordered a strawberry ice-​cream. Unfortunately, it didn’t taste fresh or strawberry-​like at all.
The elevator muzak that was playing overhead competed with the dusty seating for the prize of most unappealing factors in the store. Then, I made the mistake of entering the maze to the underground bathroom. It’s understandably shared with the sushi restaurant next door, but it’s not understandable how badly maintained and marked the path and actual washrooms are.
I don’t recall my take-​out beverage experiences in the past as being so horrid. Maybe that is the orange alert: Grab and go! Do not linger or you will regret it.

I had a very nice bold cappuccino (topped with a heart) and a chocolate rugleach (crunchy strudel-​like cookie) this afternoon, and both were delicious. The cookie was nice and crunch on the outside, chewy in the middle. I really like the coffee at this shop — it’s all fair-​trade, organic, and they have organic milk. The coffee is a bit expensive though. Mine was $ 4.25, lattes are $ 4.50 and mochas are $ 4.75 (approx).
The service is friendly, but a little bit slow. They only had one employee working on a busy afternoon.
It’s also not the best spot for sitting inside and enjoying a coffee or doing any work. All of the tables are very close together, there is only one outlet in the whole place (and one of the two plugs are being occupied by Christmas lights — with a sign that says DO NOT UNPLUG), the bathroom requires a key, the bathroom is located in the basement and down two creepy hallways, and the bathroom had a massive hole in the wall. You also have to ask the busy, single employee for the wifi password, which is a bizarre mixture of numbers and letters that would be impossible to memorize.
They make their own quiche and meat pie, they have a huge selection of baked cookies, banana bread and other loaves, muffins, cupcakes, carrot cake, and fresh-​squeezed juices — including the «ORANGE ALERT» — which is just fresh orange juice and sparkling water.
The location is fun — right across from OCAD and the AGO. I even saw Much Music filming outside. OMG.
They take Interac.

Orange Alert is a place of such stress for me simply because of the extremes I go through every time I come here.
For example, how awesome is it that I live next door to this place — I could be a regular! Oh wait $ 5 /​cappuccino? ugghh maybe not
Holy crap that cappucino is actually amazing! They have some sweet’s too, and they’re amazing too! Oh wait $ 4 for a loaf of banana bread?!
Sweet they have wifi, I can do work here! Oh crap, someones using the only plug in the place and it’s really uncomfortable sitting here (especially when everything you look at has a sign that says «DON’T TOUCH»).
I just don’t know how much more of this I can take! And what the hell they still have a stand outside advertising their great Ice-​Cold Lemonade when it’s –20 outside! Argh, WHY Orangle Alert WHY!

Yes, I’m a typical Pacific Northwest coffee snob. I want my beans Fair Trade, organic, shade-​grown, fresh-​roasted and ground seconds before it becomes that liquid black gold I’m so addicted to (and preferably a dark roast with very little acidity). So staying downtown in Toronto and riding bikes around to explore (a heck of a lot more economical than continually paying to park), I needed somewhere for my morning fix that *wasn’t* a Starbucks.
Orange Alert isn’t someplace I’d hang out, nor would it even be able to compete back in Portland. But they advertised Fair Trade and organic, and through them, I discovered Dark City coffee.
Two words: Extra Butter. A phenomenal smooth rich dark roast from Dark City. I’ve been ordering it, a couple of pounds at a time, via the post since the discovery.
So I owe Orange Alert a debt of gratitude. Thank you for providing coffee with a conscience, and for being open — as so many places weren’t — on Easter Sunday.

I was waiting around for a few friends for dinner at Ematei, and being a cool day and I had some extra time for a stroll I decided to walk from Queen to Dundas to give this Orange Alert a try on a Saturday evening in March.
Just as expected it was nice and quiet inside with a table of 4, a couple, and even someone hiding behind a section quietly doing her work with a text and laptop. I wanted to say «I see you!»
I walked up and asked what type of Latte they suggest for a first-​timer, and one of the two baristas suggested AMARETTO. I asked for it TO-​GO and sat PATIENTLY near the Ice-​Cream machine at the corner window while I observed what’s going on outside.
I was also trying to sneak-​a-​peak as the barista was working on my Latte, while the second barista came over to look at the milk pour and the design.
When I got it, I saw 2 small HEART patterns which meant it was Etching rather than Free-​Pour and there is NOTHING wrong with that at all as I personally still need time to practice my free-​pour.
The Latte was good with a hint of sweetness more than usual due to the Amaretto. As I took a sip before leaving, I thought to myself this would be a nice & quiet place to have a Latte.
I’ve never been to Vancouver, but this seemed like one of those places where you have a coffee, read a fantasy while light cool drizzles outside and you can really relax and let your worries go away.