Design has always been my passion.

From my early days, I was always involved in the creative process: art, photography, fashion.

Graphic design is my other form of transforming what is inspiring disturbing or funny.

It’s a bit of my comment on the world around me.

Form life.

Nothing is more inspirational than the time we are living in.

But if I should give you just one word then street art would be the most accurate.

There are many but my favorites are: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jeff Koons, KAWS, and Ben Johnston.

I was born in Poland but Canada is my home.

Yes, except for English, I speak Polish. Currently, I study French.

Yes, on every packaging of JAVA ROASTERS coffee LOL.

But who knows… maybe I become a full-time artist one day.

In Toronto you can visit Graffiti Alley (Fashion District, Downtown).

It’s a super-cool place full of amazing artworks.

Very inspirational.

Also TAGTO  (www.tagto.ca) is a must-visit.

I am lucky enough that JAVA ROASTERS is not a coffee roastery only, from the very beginning we created here a coffee-lifestyle brand.

So in conclusion one is not far from another.

.Hahaha… not Canada, Toronto to be more specific.

We love them and we call them “trash pandas”.

Raccoons are everywhere and they are just like people: some are calm, some are curious and some are just vicious assholes.

(Pardon my French) But they are our people.

Propeller Coffee Co. was founded in 2013 with a vision of building one of North America’s leading and most sustainable specialty coffee roasters and a true partner to independent cafes, restaurants and others looking to serve great coffee.

Personally, I’d been a strategy consultant for 13 years – working in the UK, EU, US, and Canada, and had recently had kids and was looking for a more sustainable lifestyle and had always dreamed of starting my own business.

The initial days were tough – but we managed to establish ourselves as a quality sustainable roaster – winning Roast Magazine’s Micro Roaster of the Year in 2016 for both our coffee and our sustainability/community initiatives.

And in 2017 we became the first microroaster in Canada to become B-Corp certified.

The last year has been brutal – but our team has been awesome, stayed safe (gratefully), and truly rallied to make it through, and hopefully, we’re coming out of this period stronger, tighter, and more focused than ever before.

We are - our team members have family backgrounds ranging from England and Wales to the Netherlands, Sri Lanka, Russia, Taiwan, and Tibet.

No – I was born in a Tibetan refugee camp in South India, and my family and I moved to Canada when I was 5.

This is a tough one.

There are definitely a few cities on my must-visit list that I haven’t managed to get to yet, but I hear have amazing coffee scenes.

Melbourne & Sydney, Australia come to mind.

Of the places I’ve been to though, Seattle has got to be up there.

Some people in the third-wave crowd look down on it as just the birthplace of Starbucks, but the coffee industry there has kept up with the times since then.

There are so many great cafes there, several of the better roasters in North America, and even a few of our favorite green coffee importers.

It’s also a regular host of the SCA expo and just seems to have this culture generally of respecting coffee as a specialty product and not just a commodity.

Just like at the cafe & roastery – the secret to good filter coffee at home is in the details – weighing, timing, measuring, and using filtered water and great equipment.

Consistency and precision are the keys - being mindful of what you’re doing.

The people I know who make the best coffee at home treat their morning brew as almost a ritual.

A sort of active meditation to start the day.

Personally, I brew each morning for my wife and me - using a Kalita 185, into a Hario thermal server, a Hario scale, a Monarch Methods pour-over kettle, and a Breville Smart Grind Pro.

• Catch a Leafs, Blue Jays, Raptors, or Toronto FC game
• Go to the top of the CN Tower – stunning 360-degree views
• Check out Toronto’s incredible restaurant & food & beverage scene – Toronto and Canada are truly one of the best and most diverse in the world. It’s been tremendously hurt by Covid but has also been incredibly resilient and courageous, and we pray & hope that many make it through.
• Visit High Park – especially during the cherry blossom season!
• Visit Niagara Falls and wine country to the west.
• Visit Prince Edward County and its wine, beer, cider & food makers to the east.
• Check out the wilderness around the city and to the north – we are a northern country and it doesn’t take long to get into some stunning Canadian lakes, forests and wilderness.
• And of course – come visit us at the Roastery!

"Thank you for this opportunity to work with I Know Jerry.

Making friends around the world in our specialty coffee industry is the best part about being in the business!

Stay safe & we all look forward to meeting you in person someday soon."

Hi!

Our doors were open at West End of Toronto in November 2019.

We have a small and strong international team.

Our name “Ethica” comes from the mid-century philosopher Baruch Spinoza and his masterpiece, Ethics.

Spinoza seeks to explain how a human can be free despite the external factors of the environment and psychology.

It talks a lot about happiness and how a human soul can find one.

Not to be absolutely satisfied with anything except with what is true.

Gregory Koifmann is our founder and head roaster, he was born in Moscow, Russia, and grew up in Israel. He worked in the food industry for a long period.

The idea of creating Ethica came to his mind in one of his visits to West Palm Beach, to the place called Subculture.

It is a simple space, nothing fancy.

Type of place that brings together the community, creativity, and craftsmanship of bustling cafes.

The perfect spot that will always bring the satisfaction of the visit, as well as make you come back.

He had an idea and inspiration for creating a space where people can experience the same.

Unfortunately, the first year of our operation was also the year when COVID-19 started.

This is something that no one could predict and we survived through a chain of Toronto lockdowns, and in the end, it even made us stronger.

Toronto is wonderful.

Besides being a super vibrant city, the coffee community here is diverse and unique.

Torontonians have a strong connection to their neighborhoods and local communities.

This year we received amazing support from people who felt connected to our brand; without our customers, friends, and suppliers it would be very hard to continue doing what we love.

We also work a lot with the local Toronto art community on the collaborations that we showcase in our coffee shop/roastery.

(Greg) When I don’t work, I spend time with my family.

(Greg) Every year you can see minor trends, but right now there is a big tendency to roast new varieties and anaerobic processes.

(Greg) A cup of coffee for me is a pause in my day, so I try to enjoy the most of it.

My favorite place to drink coffee is outside in the fresh air.

To make a long story short: the story started in 2018 when we moved to Toronto and found our dream place in Leslieville (East part of Toronto).

Of course, before there are plenty of years of experience, planning and administration.

BUT in 2018 Toronto has become our home and the cool coffee roastery run on girl power was born.

Just two of us for now.

We’re fully in charge of production, administration, creation, branding, customer relations and a thousand more beautiful things.

We call the city TO and the 6ix mostly.

`during NBA season or after NBA season?

LOL

We both are big fans of basketball (and Toronto Raptors of course).

We both like to spend time very actively, cycling.

We have an interest in art so visit galleries, and look for inspiration.

We’re also currently working on launching our blog (www.handsomecreatures.com IG @handsomecreatures) Stay tuned!

Hah!

It’s a very good question.

In the Specialty Coffee world, there is not such a thing as bad coffee.

If they happen they are coffee with defects.

Kay: Colombia & Uganda, 

Leah: Burundi & Tanzania

Kay: I won the Polish Cup Tasters Championship in 2016 and the Canadian Cup Tasters Championship in 2020.

Many concepts are serving great coffee like Fix Coffee + Bikes, The Library, and Ethica just to name a few.

“Always inspire and be inspired."