Why We Decided to go with a Local Roaster Who Hadn't Made a Name for Himself (yet)
In early 2025 we met with a coffee consultant to iron out the details of the coffee program we were looking to bring to downtown Orillia. The consultant was really brilliant and connected in the coffee world, receiving espresso machines, grinders and beans from every continent to trial and review on his online platform. He is a big deal in the online coffee world but he is also a local Orillian. He knows who serves the best coffee in the area and was happy to help us try to gently elbow our way on to that list.
Orillia has a crazy food and beverage scene for the population (more on that to come). There were already several spots serving destination-worthy cups. We knew our coffee endeavours would require a lot of research and a big investment. We landed on a Mod Bar espresso machine setup because amongst all its espresso pulling accolades, it was the clear choice for us because of the type of hospitality we wanted to offer. The entire machine aside from the group heads is stored under the counter (it looks like the dashboard of a plane to me) so a big bulky contraption isn’t sitting between us and the guests we want to chat with. Next we needed to find the right roaster.
Chef Kim (co-owner) and Kaylee (co-owner & sommelier) had just moved up from Toronto. I asked them to leave their well-known and well-funded Toronto restaurant groups to move to Orillia to open a restaurant (and make no money) with me. Fortunately for me and all of you reading, they said yes. If there was one spot they already knew about in Orillia, it was Mark IV Coffee Shop. In my childhood, the location was a convenience store selling staple pantry items, cigarettes and penny candy. In 2015, the son of the convenience store owner, James, opened Orillia’s first third wave coffee shop. His wife Tina bakes for the shop (you have to try the matcha muffin!). Watching James in business is a treat. He visits parts of the world where they know more about coffee than we do and then comes back and shares his new techniques, origins and even more importantly love for coffee with the community. As we were discussing our Mr.Seto opening plans, James had opened a micro-roaster in his already very cozy little coffee shop.
When we discussed who would roast for Mr.Seto with the consultant, his first pick was Hatch. A reliable and high quality roaster that no one in town was using. Hatch would have surely done the recommendation justice but we wouldn’t be following our hearts if we didn’t ask “what about Mark IV? They are roasting now”. Although our consultant had nothing but praise for James and the obvious knowledge he radiates, he simply said “he may not be ready yet”. I feel like this is really an Orillia thing but maybe that is just me picturing us in a cute little snow globe of collaboration but we responded with “If no one ever uses him, how will he ever be ready?". Truthfully, we probably weren’t even ready to pull the perfect roast through our machine so siding with the roaster-underdog felt like the appropriate alliance.
In typical James fashion, he swept us off our feet. Shortly after notifying him that we wanted to solely use his espresso in our new cafe, he hosted us for a cupping. I wish someone had explained this process to me ahead of time because I would have eaten properly. At 3pm, as soon as his cafe doors were locked, he and his staff meticulously set out 18 different cupping stations with spoons, sparkling water and the beans’ origin information. We spent the next hour slurping and learning, leading to a very vibrate-y evening. Shockingly, the three of us selected the same option, making the decision much easier than stopping our hands from shaking.
We selected a beautiful from Fazenda Cachoeira Coffee Farm in Brazil. “The region's warm, rainy summers and dry winters provide favourable conditions for coffee cherries to ripen and for harvested beans to dry consistently. The farm is recognised for its innovative processing methods, environmental stewardship, and award-winning specialty coffee". James had actually visited the plantation and met the owner which further satisfied our love for how James does business. He had us return a week later for a similar cupping exercise where we chose the level of roast for our favourite bean. James is a scientist, an artist and a humanitarian. We are lucky enough to have shared employees, customers and a like-minded business approach.
Mr.Seto is a lot more than just good coffee but with all of the international puzzle pieces we have put together, it made sense to start here.
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