We have a new home... go to www.jimmyscoffee.ca and explore all things "Jimmy"

Jimmy's has some exciting art up this month.
It's a show put on by SKETCH.  

Sketch is a part of our neighborhood that is unknown to most residents even though it predates the gentrification of our strip of King West.
They've been around about 13 years and have been in their current location at 580 King West for about 9 of them.

Sketch is a creative response to street-involved & homeless youth.  The team there has made a space where opportunities abound and positive reinforcement on the value of the individual is evident the moment you walk in the door. 

Sandra Brewster, Market & Gallery Coordinator, has put together a show and it is now on display at Jimmy's. 

Next time you pop in, take an extra five minutes and sit in the lounge to enjoy the art.  I hope if you see something you love that you will purchase it and encourage a young person who is emerging with help from Sketch.

And next time you walk by the Lee Valley and wonder what all the kids and dogs are doing - you'll know!  They are hanging around Sketch to make art, to make change, to work on something - themselves, a painting, a recording, to screen print some message they want to send to the world.
They are hanging out on King Street because with the help of Sketch (the space, the people, the vibe) they can start to bloom.

For more on SKETCH, check out their website www.sketch.ca
Join up for the LIKEness on Facebook.
Follow them on Twitter!

Jimmy's is busy.
    It's no secret.  The mornings are awesome and the afternoons have very little catching up to do.  Our days are steady and there's always someone behind the counter making coffee.
    We've had some great challenges to overcome.  We bought some awesome grinders when we opened.  Doser-less, fun grinders that made portion a breeze and took grinding time down to 5 seconds at the longest (a double decaf shot).
    But by the afternoon these bad boys were over heating.  Was it the 150 - 200 drinks we were doing in the morning?  Was it the oils on the burrs?  Were we taking good enough care of our babies (yes, our grinders are like well-cared-for-babies). 
    So we upped the ante.  We didn't want to buy a new grinder and then replace it a few months down the road.   We're already shopping for three-group espresso machines - so why add grinders to the list again in another six months?
    Introducing the Mazzer Robur. 
Hopper: 1.8 kg.
Weight: She's a beast.
Burrs: Conical burrs  (From Wikipedia: steel burrs which allow them to grind effectively while rotating relatively slowly, usually below 500 rpm, reducing frictional heating of the ground coffee, thus preserving maximum aroma. Conical burr grinders are quieter and less likely to clog than disk grinders.)
Time to grind a 19g double?  3.05 SECONDS.

No, for real.  Grinders are just as, if not more, important then your machine.  A grinder can inadvertently heat the coffee - destroying the oils that make for great aroma, body and flavour.  A grinder can have an inconsistent grind that will make your shots pull funny.  And that's just the beginning...

So, if you want to come geek out over the awesomeness of the Robur, come by.  Stefanie will put on her silly face and pull you a shot of wonder.

Jimmy's is growing everyday.  We have you guys to thank for loving the coffee.  AWESOME POSSUM.

~ Max

Been to Jimmy's in the last month?
You might have noticed some really great art in our "lounge."

July's artist is Clifford Mardinger, a Toronto resident since 2001.  Clifford has been drawing and painting for most of his life. While his art teachers pushed him to pursue a career in fine arts, he instead chose a career based on his love for animals, and graduated from veterinary school in 2000, at the Université de Montreal.

Various subjects are explored in his work. Often, one can see both extreme brightness and darkness in the same piece, a manifestation of light and dark, good and evil, birth and death, past and present. Through his favorite technique of glazing, he adds depth in order to transcend time, bringing about ethereal images of ourselves and the Earth, often dark and melancholic, but always hinting at optimism. The use of words, especially in Hebrew, evoke thoughts of mythical transcendence, ancient knowledge, fatality, and consciousness.

Clifford’s work is for sale and pieces can also be commissioned.

His personal blog address is www.tovet.blogspot.com

He can be reached at canadian.vet.art@gmail.com

Thanks, NYT!

Check-ah-it-out at Speed Dating with a High! on Eventbrite.

There is more information on the community board at Jimmy's or you can contact Derek, the event organizer at the email provided on Eventbrite.

Yeeessssss.

New Art! 
Jimmy's is always a lark but this post is really about the artist hanging up new work at Jimmy's this month. 
Susanne Clark makes exciting, vibrant art.  You can check out her website here. 
She also keeps a fantastic blog that will keep you coming back for discussion and updates.

Her paintings are hung in the back lounge.  They are beautiful images that I am thrilled to have a month to enjoy.  Come by and have a peak!  Enjoy a coffee, ponder the colours and techniques.  If you decide you need to take one home you can contact Susanne directly.

We are pleased as punch that summer is here.  We've got the air conditioning on light so that the building doesn't over heat for those allergic to the sun, the back patio is in full swing and the dog-friendly front porch is packed as well. 

Oh!  One more exciting thing!  Phil's friend & Jimmy's regular, Jeff Seymour, has a play opening tonight! 
Featuring the fine acting of Jeff Seymour and Len Lesser (of Uncle Leo fame) tickets are available at: http://www.uofttix.ca/view.php?id=642
If you are of my sort and want to read a summery that is just short of a spoiler, follow this link.

Don't say I never told you so.  I told you so!  ~ Max