Restoration Cafe


At Merchants’ Restoration Cafe we don’t cut any corners.

From coffee origin, to processing equipment, date of roasting, brew method, all the way down to our ceramic mug; we approach each step of our supply chain from a thorough education and understanding of coffee’s science, history, cultural context and its environmental impact.

Our vision is a greener, more just world with better-tasting coffee! Our flagship coffee, Cafe Solar®, is a working model for coffee production that is the first to combine coffee growing, forest restoration, and 100% off-grid solar-powered processing.

A Triple Bottom Line Cafe

Triple Bottom Line is what we like to call “new school” economics. It takes into accountnot just the profits and returns to shareholders but also the business’s impact on the people in its supply chain and the environment affected (its “stakeholders”). A Triple Bottom Line approach leads to better business and a better world by measuring and properly accounting for the true (or “hidden”) costs of its operations.

We share the same three bottom lines as our parent company and source of quality, sustainable green beans; Merchants of Green Coffee. They are:

Fresh Coffee (Economic; ensuring profits)

Fair Trade (Social; empowering people)

Green Business (Environmental; restoring the planet)

The 3 Keys to the Best Tasting Coffee

Restoration Cafe is about responsible sourcing and serving the best cups of coffee possible, so we adhere to the following 3 (indisputable) keys to making the best tasting coffee. These 3 keys can be applied in any cafe, restaurant, home or office …

As with fine wine, coffee is a terroir product; which means that its flavours are determined by the part of the world in which the coffee is grown, as well as the characteristics of its environment. The best cups of coffee start with the best source of green beans. The highest quality green beans are arabica varieties from high elevations, grown and processed with care (fair trade, organic).
Once roasted, coffee starts to oxidize; so in order to be considered truly fresh, roasted coffee must be consumed within 3-7 days (at most!) after roasting; within 3 hours of grinding; and within 15 minutes of brewing. When consumed fresh, high-quality coffees taste naturally sweet (due to the caramelization of the sugars in the roasting process) and reveal each origin’s delicate, regional flavour profiles.
Proper coffee brewing involves controlling two main variables: 1. Water Temperature and 2. Steeping (or “Extraction”) Time. The water temperature must be just-off-the boil (90°C-98°C/195°F-205°F) in order to achieve proper extraction; and the steeping time should be 1-3 minutes, depending on the grind size.