Detour Coffee Roasters is reinventing Hamilton’s coffee culture one cup at a time

This Hamilton company creates the ultimate coffee experience through its premium blend of quality and flavour

By: Nageen Riaz

The storefront of a cafe features a window with the word “DETOUR” written in white and several chairs facing the window

 Outside of Detour Cafe located on 175 John St. (Nageen Riaz/CanCulture)

Detour Coffee Roasters redefines Hamilton's coffee scene with their single-origin collection, online initiatives and aesthetically-pleasing products. What started out in 2009 as a small café in Ontario’s Dundas community has now grown into a network of four popular spaces located in Hamilton.

Featuring fun flavours, exciting blends and an in-house roastery, Detour takes pride in its coffee by promising an authentic yet playful experience. Customers can indulge in seasonal blends or enjoy holiday-themed specialties, including the recent Valentine’s Day-inspired red licorice coffee. No matter when you stop by, there’s always something for everyone.

A variety of Detour’s coffee on display (Nageen Riaz/CanCulture)

“Some people walk into a café and don’t know what to order because it can feel confusing, so we try to have fun and make specialty coffee feel more inviting,” said Ryan McCabe, the co-director of coffee, sales and marketing at Detour.

Making coffee accessible and exciting is central to Detour’s mission, with dedicated pages on their website that feature everything from brewing guides to virtual coffee trips. Customers are invited to learn more about the different coffee-growing regions of Ethiopia, Columbia and Costa Rica.

“The customer knows just as much about what they love about coffee as the person making the coffee, we try to make people feel that connection.”

“We want to help bring the coffee in and get the stories to our customers as much as possible,” said McCabe. “We do the roasting, marketing and selling of the coffee, but really, we’re trying to tell the story of where it comes from so people can be more in the know of what coffee is, how it’s grown and processed and how that affects flavour profile.”

McCabe says Detour is also actively involved with the sourcing process by travelling to the origin and working alongside importers to deliver the best coffee experience for its customers. The company highlights region, origin, variety and sourcing with one main goal: maximising flavour.

Customers can fully immerse themselves in the rich flavours by engaging with some of the many initiatives the company has to offer, such as the “monthly coffee club.” Those subscribed to the club receive two bags of single-origin coffee delivered straight to their doorstep as well as early access to new coffees and special releases.

Detour is also active on Instagram, where they post about new flavours, make announcements and engage with customers through themed live streams, including their recent “1-800-HOT-SINGLES” segment. The segment gave customers the opportunity to call in with coffee-related questions, participate in giveaways and hear all about Detour directly from the “coffee professionals.”

“The goal is to get more people involved and interested in specialty coffee and more people feeling open and included in it,” said McCabe. “The customer knows just as much about what they love about coffee as the person making the coffee, we try to make people feel that connection.”

With such a strong focus on building a space where community members can come and share their love for coffee, Detour is quickly becoming the go-to spot for coffee enthusiasts. Their creative branding and engaging initiatives, paired with top-quality products, make for the perfect blend of an exciting and informative experience. 

“Our motto, ‘making coffee is fun’, is what Detour is really about.”

We roast your personality based on one of three Tim Hortons drinks

No, you aren’t legally Canadian if you choose Starbucks over Tims, so just skip this article in that case.

By: Jennifer Nguyen

(Erik Mclean/Unsplash)

O, Canada. Practically everybody across our country loves some Tims goodness: doesn’t a double-double every workday morning sound heavenly? 

Wait — you don’t like that? Sorry to exaggerate, but what kind of Canadian are you then?!? 

Actually, let us at CanCulture show you. Go ahead and choose from one of these three absolutely random drinks: iced capp, dark roast coffee or unsweetened brewed iced tea. Then sit back and prepare to feel very seen by our psychic crystal ball.

Iced Capp

You think you chose the iced capp life, but truth is, the iced capp life chose you. It’s a little basic, yes, but aren’t you too? We feel like you’re a happy-go-lucky and friendly person that’s popular in your circle. Though, the phrase “easy come, easy go” could apply, don’t you think? You also stand a good chance of owning a small white dog. If you’re over 27, then you’re a certified kid at heart — seriously, try coffee sometime. You can’t ask for added mocha whenever your friends judge you for not being able to hold caffeine forever.

Dark roast coffee

We could say you’re one predictable individual, but that’s what makes you so trusted. You like having your agenda and bullet journal in your black bag. But you’re also to be feared, lowkey. Like, not even a double-double or an americano will do? Because if you’re into dark roast, your wallet will thank you for just starting to make it at home. Unless there’s magic in the water at Tims, then we won’t judge. We really don’t want to mess with you. Maybe you can take our advice and take yourself less seriously sometimes. Then you’ll see how fun it could be to just live and let live. 

Unsweetened brewed iced tea

Oh, you’re DIFFERENT. That’s why you go with one of the few zero-calorie items on the menu. Plus, a tea — iced yet sugar-free — at Tim Hortons, which is famous for coffee… are you like British with a twist, then? Either way, you like floating your own boat like that. If you have godsent willpower like we’re sensing, we hope you allow yourself some guilty-pleasure sugar every once in a while. It’s okay to like regular sweetened iced tea like the rest of us. We promise it won’t make you any less cool!

Boxcar Social: The taste of coffee from around the world

By Akanksha Dhingra

(CanCulture/Akanksha Dhingra)

(CanCulture/Akanksha Dhingra)

A sunny day, a small cafe, and a variety to pick from. Nothing sounds better than a day out on the streets of Toronto and a chance to taste coffee flavours from around the world, without having to travel.

Boxcar Social’s Summerhill location is a two-storey cafe with glass windows, natural light and unique infrastructure. White walls, artistic decor and red bricks can be the background of your next Instagram picture.

Boxcar Social in Summerhill, Toronto has unique infrastructure and a warm vibe. (CanCulture/Akanksha Dhingra)

Boxcar Social in Summerhill, Toronto has unique infrastructure and a warm vibe. (CanCulture/Akanksha Dhingra)

Be it the coffee beans from Africa and South America farms or the coffee roasters of Oregon and Scandinavia, it is all accessible to Torontonians now thanks to the new and interesting initiatives put together by the Boxcar Social team. They say you can see the world through coffee, and now customers can come see for themselves.

Prior to now, tasting coffees from Burgundy, France and Tanzania was nearly an impossibility for me. Along with the welcoming staff, the calm, comforting atmosphere one experiences when entering the cafe is something you would not want to miss.

The story behind the bean

One of the many different coffee flavours served and tested at Boxcar Social. (CanCulture/Akanksha Dhingra)

One of the many different coffee flavours served and tested at Boxcar Social. (CanCulture/Akanksha Dhingra)

“We are a multi-roaster coffee house and our aim is to not stick on specific coffee flavours,” said Niall Curran, a professional coffee taster and host of the tasting.

The multi-roaster cafe is a concept in which the shop purchases and sells beans from various roasters instead of making their own product.

Niall Curran at the tasting event. (CanCulture/Akanksha Dhingra)

Niall Curran at the tasting event. (CanCulture/Akanksha Dhingra)

The cafe works with different roasteries that are located in different parts of the world. Not only do they serve coffee, wines and scotch, but they also focus on narrating the hidden stories behind the coffee beans.

“My job is to taste different coffees and approve them for the cafe,” explained Curran.

Boxcar Social does not rely on one bean but instead has an evolving coffee profile. Every week, new coffee samples come in that could potentially be served in the cafe’s ever-changing menu.

“We are really interested in why it tastes the way it tastes, and we get that flexibility by being a multi-roaster,” said Curran.

According to Curran, the cafe’s main goal is to bring together interesting flavours that taste good.

“It is a really fun way to operate this coffee shop, we bring the best wines and coffees of the places one cannot always travel,” he said.

You can tell how much focus the cafe puts on coffee, wine and craft beers as the Boxcar team hosts a free coffee cupping event every Saturday, which is often crowded.

The coffee cupping event is a thirty-minute process of grinding, smelling and mixing the beans. It gives customers the chance to grind coffee beans themselves,  taste every coffee and decide their favourite.

Curran is a great host and storyteller who explained the story behind the bean and the country it belongs too. It would make you wonder about the coffees you drank before without knowing how the beans got to your cup.

Curran expertly guides customers throughout the coffee-grinding process and you can expect to go back home with some newly learnt coffee tasting methods. If you are a caffeine lover, this is your next go-to spot.