Yelp Toronto's Brewed Awakening at Lit Espresso!

It takes more than 35 degree heat and an impending G20 summit to slow the Toronto Elite Squad down - this past Thursday ninety of Yelp Toronto's finest gathered at the newly opened Lit Espresso Bar on College Street to celebrate all things brewed (hot and cold!) from the likes of Stumptown Roasters and Mill Street Brewery!



Elites signed up for coffee cupping sessions in small groups led by baristas Mike and Brian, and sniffed and sipped their way through different Stumptown varietals. During the cupping, the tasters focused on describing the body, sweetness, acidity, flavour and aftertaste of the different brews to narrow down a Stumptown favourite.



We dabbled in an endless array of delectable handmade-from-scratch treats from Toronto's lovely Circles & Squares Bakery, including Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel brownies, Pumpkin Pepita and Carrot Walnut muffins, scads of scones (Wild Blueberry, Ginger Lemon and Lemon Cranberry) and the classically Canadian butter tart (both original and pecan). After Elites got sugared up beyond sensibility ("I ate like a monster! I couldn't stop eating the from-outer-space sea salt brownies!" squeals Renata R), several rounds of piping hot paninis made their way through the at-capacity espresso bar.

Mill Street brewmaster Bridgid was in the house serving up bottles of the robust Balzac's Coffee Porter and cans (yes, cans!) of their brand new quenching Lemon Tea Beer, made with real black tea leaves and lemon in an aging tank! For fans of tea proper, Lit brewed up self-serve pitchers of Rooibos iced tea to help satisfy everyone's thirst. At the halfway point, an ice run turned into a Freezie run, and yelpers naturally grabbed all the white and blue Freezies first -- either to eat or to use as cooling devices. DJ and MTV host Johnny Hockin provided great danceable tunes for the evening from behind the laptop.

If you haven't already seen the reviews, give 'em a peek, and then head over to the Flickr gallery to see all the snaps by Wendy Heisler, and feel free to add your own!

A very special thank you to Lit Espresso on College owner Nicole Angellotti, PR maven Ruth Buder and the glorious staff of beautiful baristas on hand that evening - Brian, Kev, Mike, Buzz, Joe, et al. for making the evening such a smooth delight!


SYOY!
Kat F
Community Manager, Yelp Toronto