Well, it's official: we have a curtain at Mercury. The fat Summer lady has sung, and Jack Frost has planted a fork squarely in Fall's backside; the show is over, and Autumn is cooked.

But, I gotta say, it almost seems worth it now that I can walk into Mercury and pass through a veil of fabric which can not help but remind me of the last episode of Twin Peaks, or of the very Birthing Process itself, (the trauma of which I'll probably never fully recover from.)

Anyway, I was just buttering you up like a Prize Sow for the real blog, which starts now:

if you've never been Born Again (have you heard the Good News?), OR, you never saw Twin Peaks, OR, it's cold outside, OR you want to talk to the coolest people in the city of Toronto, OR you want to try the Unstoppable Coffee Craze that continues to rock Leslieville, OR you want to drink some delicious Ontario apple cider steamed to super-perfection, OR you have a Winter's Tan and need to deal with it, OR you like Awesome Music and want it to shoot at your ear holes a little bit, OR you want to show some support for a local pillar of ethical business practice, OR you want to hear the sultry vocal stylings of electro-acoustic phenom Jacqueline Rendell (every other Sunday in the late afternoon), OR you want to internet it up on your laptop, OR if the Human Mouth is your personal favourite orifice for Coffee Drinking, OR if you have the Meaning of Life in your blazer pocket and want to share it, OR if you see No Beauty anywhere in your life and want to understand why we're all in a pretty good situation, OR if you're tired of ignoring people that tell you "Dude, you need to go to Mercury right now because their cappuccinos are indescribably good,"

OR if you want to cross through our brand new fancy curtain,

well, you know what to do, innit?

I just have one question....

What does your shirt say?

Sunday. The lord's day. A day of rest. But not for us! Never! We're here at the crack of dawn, ready to make your day splentacular, or fantabulous, or even magna-doodle. Why just this very morning Ben and I made ourselves a press of Oaxaca and made our own days extradiferous. If you feel like a little something from south of the border down Mexico way then La Perla De Oaxaca is just what the good doctor ordered to spice up your Sunday. Or any day of the week for that matter.

Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Oaxaca, (said in a Fozzie Bear voice) is a blend that will give you the warm "Fozzies" inside. It's got a real chocolate and honey flavour with what Ben calls herb tones, a juicy citrus acidity and a clean finish. Sure to be a big hit round these parts. Come on by and get a cup of the finest coffee Mexico has to offer for the low low price of five dollars (plus tax) per press.

See y'all soon!

-Neil.

That's what Neil looks like when he gets stuck in the rain: Mad, Cold, and about 10 lbs lighter. If this cat were wearing tight red pants.... it'd be Neil for sure.

Muyongwe. Muyongwe? MUYONGWE! That's right, we are going to have Muyongwe, Rwanda's Golden Cup of greatness on press this week. We may not know how to pronounce it, but you can rest assured that we will certainly be able to drink it, and so can you. Pop on in and try out the number one Rwandan coffee that has been described as both elegant and complex, kind of like Alex Tran.

Or, if you are into underdogs as opposed to top dogs, then be sure to experience the sensation that is Kanzu, Rwanda's fourth place Golden Cup. The layers of chocolate wonderfulness run deep in this bombastic bean. With a blackberry (not the electronic device), dried fruit, and caramel body this is bound to be a surefire hit round these parts.

Alex sez:

It's gonna rain!

-Alice "smooches" Berg, Alex "slaps" Tran

MAN it has been busy in here the last few weeks. If you've been jonesing for a blog, that'd be the reason. But we have news since we last spoke: In-coming is this year's Celebration Blend from Intelligentsia!

With a sweet red currant flavour and molasses tones, Celebration has a warm and full mouthfeel, with a touch of cinnamon and spice. Really, it's an ideal coffee any time, but it's only available for the season, so you should come down and try a press! If you like it, we'll soon have it for sale by the half pound. And we still have all your favourite Intelli and Dark City blends, including El Gallo (for a limited time).

French presses, by the way, are becoming quite popular. It's still perhaps the best way to enjoy a coffee, and it'll introduce you to nuances that you never knew your coffee had. We'll be happy to tell you about what you're drinking, give you tasting notes, and teach you to slurp your coffee in a way that would offend your mother. (But seriously, that's how you do it.) We love coffee, and we want you to know exactly why.

And so it is...
On Press- all are 5.oo + tax
El Cuervo Guatemala - This stuff is great! Its got sugar cane, red fruit, and milk chocolate to start, has a bold invigorating acidity and finishes off chocolaty and clean like a kiss from Alex Tran!
New Guinea- This is like the V8 of coffee (if you go for that kinda thing). First it hits you with a smack of lime, and sweet creamy spice, the lively acidity is bright and finishes off with smooth, rich citric fruits. It's a lot like alice at 3am...why? it just is!
Los Delirios Organic Nicaragua- You'll get a whoop of creamy caramel and wild honey, it's acidity is smooth like butter, and finishes you off with all spice, cranberries, and baker's chocolate. Kinda like a blog from Damien... Or maybe just his hair...

Stefan Berg has his linocuts up on our walls ( they're real and they're spectacular). If you have not come into check them out, you don't know what you're missing.
They are all beautifully framed images from his book LET THAT BAD AIR OUT - Buddy Bolden's Last Parade. If you don't get a chance to see them this month (or you love them and want more) you should come to the book Launch! It's on Tuesday December 4th from 6-8pm at David Mirvish Books (596 Markham Street).


On the subject of art and music we have Jacqueline Rendell come in every other Sunday (the 1st and 3rd of every month) to entertain the masses from 2-4pm. She is totally rad. If you haven't heard her... well you just should. She also has an EP called We Are Rich if you like what you hear or want to check her out. She will be here next on November 18- come chill.

over and out from your trusted homefries and the Merc
Alex "ain't got no pan" Tran
and
Alice "Sober?" Berg

Dear Mercury Customers,

This evening around 5pm, Damien and I witnessed a tragic event that I had feared for about a year and a half now. A patron of ours had just left our cafe and was crossing Queen St. at Morse and was struck by a passing car. There had been countless close calls at this particular crosswalk, far more that I'd like to see and I feel that this was inevitable.

My condolences goes out to the family and friends of the man who was struck and with a heavy heart I warn others who are reading this: Don't trust cars to stop at the crosswalks. A couple seconds of waiting or using the intersection at Carlaw would make a world of difference.

Damien sez:

In other news, everything else about today has been beautiful- my latte art is getting better and better, my shots are reaching a new height of consistent greatness, and my service courtesy is at an all time high (I dare you to come into the store and see how nice I am). Generally speaking, I absolutely love working at Mercury. Some high school kids told me they were writing a report about the store for an assignment, and I basically gushed ad nausea about how great every facet of the whole Mercury phenomenon really is. I won't gush too much in this blog entry cause Lord Knows I've already done enough of that, but let me just gush a wee gush:

There's something about this environment that seems to cause people to connect with one another. I've met so many amazing and wonderful people since I started working here, but sometimes I look around to notice that total strangers are striking up conversations spontaneously, as well. Cool people seem to be drawn here like bears to honey, and I'm just fine with it. Why can't all of Toronto be more like Mercury?

In light of the accident we witnessed, such light-hearted musing seems a little bit inappropriate. Perhaps I can contextualize the saccharine sentiment by saying that I feel truly lucky to work where I do, to have the life I have, and to be surrounded by the wonderful people I encounter every day. If you're reading this blog, you're probably one of them! Anyway, let tragedy and harmony both inspire us to treasure whatever it is we've been blessed with and appreciate the moment at hand.

Sunday. Vibe: Chilled Out. Baristas: The Damien and Alex Bean.
We're happy to report that we still have 3 presses of the Esmeralda left. It's only a couple more days from going stale though so if you fancy a press, get on your track bike and scuttle down you coffee hipsters.

On a another (musical) note, the lovely Ms. Jacqueline Rendell muscled out a fantastic live performance amid the flanges of a Sunday afternoon baby caravan. Those young toddlers seemed to appreciate the stylings of this particular ball-o-sunshine, who happened to just release an EP recently. She'll be back for another staggeringly militant set not this up coming Sunday but the one after that. Come out and be charmed.

Closing: 9 pm as usual. Dinner: Jim's Best. Riding: Dirrrrty

love

a

Hallowe'en Poem (a little bit late)

I woke wednesday morning
With a chill and a fright
Knowing what would happen
That very night,
A shiver went through me,
Deep down to my bones,
At the thought of the goblins
And ghouls who would moan
And groan in the darkness
Demanding from me candy--
I had to steel up my nerves,
But what had I handy?
I went down to Mercury
Where they brew liquid courage;
Threw back two shots,
Felt my energy sur-age.
I had a few more
To even it out,
Became braver and stronger
And two times more stout.
Now I could handle
Those ghouls and those ghosts:
Caffeinated, I'd be
Up all night, or almost.


PS. Hacienda la Esmeralda gives you extra-paranormal powers. True! Ask a barista.