The Library Specialty Coffee
The Library Specialty Coffee is a Toronto-based specialty coffee retailer operating three cafés in the Greater Toronto Area and a Shopify DTC store, sourcing single-origin beans via direct trade with farms across seven producing countries and selling curated coffee, brewing equipment, and gift cards directly to consumers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersToronto, Canada
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What The Library Specialty Coffee does
The Library Specialty Coffee is a Toronto-based specialty coffee retailer operating under the legal entity TLSCOFFEE. The company runs three physical cafés in the Greater Toronto Area — at 281 Dundas St W (headquarters), 917 Queen St W (Queen West neighbourhood), and 32-11 Fairburn Dr in Markham — and sells directly to consumers through a Shopify-powered online storefront that ships across Canada and the United States.
The product portfolio centres on single-origin specialty green coffees sourced through direct trade relationships with farms and cooperatives in Guatemala (Finca El Injerto), Colombia (Las Flores / Vergara Brothers), Peru (JUMARP cooperative), Ethiopia (Edido / Yirgacheffe), Burundi (Matsitsi Trading / Businde Washing Station), Brazil (Claudio Nakamura), and Rwanda (Huye Mountain). Offerings span auction-lot Geisha, anaerobic and natural processed microlots, and two house blends (Moonlight Blend and Seasonal Blend). Pricing on 250g coffee packages ranges from $15 to $41. The company also resells premium third-party brewing equipment (Fellow Stagg kettles, Hario V60 drippers, Kalita Wave filters, AeroPress filters) at $7-$79, and sells digital gift cards in $25-$500 CAD denominations. Distribution is exclusively direct-to-consumer via the Shopify store and in-café sales; no wholesale or B2B channels are operated.
The business model is retail-direct with one-time unit pricing on all SKUs and no subscription tier disclosed. Customers are segmented horizontally into specialty coffee enthusiasts, home brewers, and café visitors, with marketing driven by an email newsletter, in-café experience, and the e-commerce storefront. The company is privately held, has no disclosed funding rounds, no parent company, no patents, and operates with approximately 7 total employees across all locations and channels.
The Library Specialty Coffee firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Library Specialty Coffee
- Legal name
- TLSCOFFEE
- Website
- https://thelibraryspecialtycoffee.com
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- The Library Specialty Coffee is a Toronto-based specialty coffee retailer operating three cafés in the Greater Toronto Area and a Shopify DTC store, sourcing single-origin beans via direct trade with farms across seven producing countries and selling curated coffee, brewing equipment, and gift cards directly to consumers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Library Specialty Coffee industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Specialty Coffee Retail
- NAICS
- Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (722515), Other Specialty Food Retailers (44529)
- SIC
- Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Specialty Coffee Shops (Single-Origin, Third-Wave) (THAFADAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Specialty Coffee & Tea Retail (Beans, Leaves, Accessories) (CRAHAGAI), Coffee, Espresso & Tea Appliances Retail (CRACADAC)
Keywords
Where The Library Specialty Coffee is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Toronto
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
The Library Specialty Coffee business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Specialty Coffee Bean Sales: Direct sales of specialty coffee beans sourced from farms in Guatemala, Colombia, Peru, Ethiopia, Burundi, Brazil, Rwanda, and other origins. Products include single-origin coffees, seasonal blends, and the Moonlight Blend. Prices range from $15 to $41 per package.
- Coffee Equipment and Tools: Sales of brewing equipment and accessories including V60 drippers, Fellow Stagg kettles, Kalita Wave filters, AeroPress filters, and Hario V60 papers. Prices range from $7 to $79.
- E-Gift Cards: Digital gift cards delivered via email with denominations of $25, $50, $100, $200, and $500 CAD.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Single-origin specialty coffees from various global origins |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Coffee brewing equipment and accessories |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Digital gift cards for online store |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels3 records
The Library Specialty Coffee product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Library Specialty Coffee is a specialty coffee retailer and café operator that sells curated single-origin and blended coffee beans sourced from award-winning farms in Guatemala, Colombia, Peru, Ethiopia, Burundi, Brazil, and Rwanda, alongside premium brewing equipment (Fellow Stagg kettles, Hario V60 drippers, Kalita Wave and Aeropress filters) and digital gift cards. The company runs a Shopify-powered direct-to-consumer e-commerce store serving Canada and the United States and operates three physical cafés in the Greater Toronto Area (Dundas St W and Queen St W in Toronto, and Fairburn Dr in Markham).
Product overview
The Library Specialty Coffee is a specialty coffee retailer and cafe operating across the Toronto area. The business offers a curated selection of single-origin specialty coffee beans sourced from renowned farms worldwide (Guatemala, Colombia, Peru, Ethiopia, Burundi, Rwanda, and Brazil), featuring unique varietals like Geisha and Gesha with distinctive processing methods including natural, washed, anaerobic, and auction lot selections. The product portfolio also includes house blends (Moonlight Blend and Seasonal Blend) designed for espresso and filter brewing. Complementing the coffee offerings, the company sells premium coffee brewing equipment including Fellow Stagg kettles, Hario V60 drippers, Kalita Wave filters, and Aeropress accessories. E-gift cards provide a gifting option for online purchases. Additionally, the company operates three physical cafe locations in the Greater Toronto Area, providing an in-person specialty coffee experience.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- El Injerto - Auction Lot Geisha - Guatemala
Companies that use The Library Specialty Coffee
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
The Library Specialty Coffee technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
The Library Specialty Coffee partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Finca El InjertocoreFounded in 1874, Finca El Injerto is one of the world's most acclaimed coffee estates located in Huehuetenango, Guatemala. The company sources auction-lot Geisha coffees from this multi-generational family farm known for sustainable, carbon-neutral practices. Finca El Injerto supports its community with housing, healthcare, education, and infrastructure while preserving the largest private forest reserve in Huehuetenango.
- JUMARP (El Palto) CooperativecoreJUMARP (Junta Administradora del Fondo Promocional del Café del Distrito de El Palto) is a cooperative of nearly 190 small coffee producers in Peru. The company sources organic and fairtrade microlots including La Palmera from Mercedes Carranza Montenegro, a founding member of the cooperative that supports quality-driven, community-centered coffee production.
- Matsitsi Trading / Businde Washing StationcoreMatsitsi Trading, founded by Matsitsi Zuberi in 2015, operates three washing stations in Burundi's Kayanza and Muyinga provinces. The company sources from approximately 650 local farmers, paying 20% above local market rates for high-quality cherry and providing permanent staff with nearly 60% higher wages than typical casual labor rates.
- Las Flores - Vergara BrothersminorBrothers Johan and Diego Vergara operate Las Flores farm in Huila, Colombia, combining tradition and innovation in coffee production. Diego leads fermentation and drying precision while Johan drives experimentation with new varieties and processes, producing consistently remarkable coffees that have influenced other producers in the region.
- Huye Mountain CoffeeminorEstablished in 2011, Huye Mountain Coffee is a private washing station providing farmers in Rwanda's Huye district access to international specialty coffee markets. Around 1,330 producers deliver cherries to 26 collecting stations, with daily truck collection during harvest season.
- Nakamura's FarmminorClaudio Nakamura's family began coffee farming in Brazil in the 1940s. The family moved to Chapada de Minas in 1986 and is part of ICCM (Coffee Institute of Chapada de Minas). They produce natural anaerobic coffees using ten-day fermentation processes without additives, prioritizing local workforce and manual harvesting.
- Yirgacheffe Coffee FarmersminorYirgacheffe is considered the birthplace of coffee in Ethiopia's Southern Nations region. The company sources Edido coffee from multi-generational small-scale landholders whose heirloom varietals grow naturally among other species in coffee gardens and forests. Yirgacheffe was the location of Ethiopia's first wet processing mill in the 1970s.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
The Library Specialty Coffee competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Dark Horse Coffee Roasters: Canadian specialty roaster with cafés in Ontario and a strong DTC channel; comparable in single-origin sourcing depth and café-plus-e-commerce model.
- Pilot Coffee Roasters: Toronto-based specialty coffee roaster and café operator offering single-origin beans across multiple cafés and wholesale — the most directly comparable local competitor with overlapping café footprint and DTC channel.
- Detour Coffee Roasters: Ontario specialty coffee roaster and café operator with direct-to-consumer online sales; competes in the same single-origin, third-wave niche in the Ontario market.
- Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters: Canadian specialty roaster focused on single-origin and microlot coffees with direct-to-consumer e-commerce; comparable in origin-storytelling premium positioning.
- Reunion Coffee Roasters: Toronto roaster/café selling single-origin and blended coffees direct-to-consumer online and through retail locations — a near-exact analog in product mix and city footprint.
- Balzac's Coffee Roasters: Ontario-based specialty coffee chain with cafés across the province including the GTA; competes for the same in-café specialty coffee customer and operates an e-commerce bean store.
- Sam James Coffee Bar: Toronto specialty coffee bar with multiple locations and a wholesale roastery; competes head-to-head for the same third-wave customer base and cafés in similar neighborhoods.
Broad incumbents
- Hario: Global incumbent manufacturer of V60 drippers and filters — the exact equipment The Library retails; not a direct competitor but the upstream supplier of one of their hero product lines.
- Fellow: Premium coffee equipment brand whose Stagg kettle is a hero SKU on The Library's storefront; a brand partner and adjacent competitor in the home-brewer equipment category.
Emerging players
- Monigram Coffee Roasters: Toronto-based specialty coffee roaster with a growing DTC and café presence; comparable in curation style and target customer but at smaller scale.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat2 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
The Library Specialty Coffee social profiles
Digital presenceThe Library Specialty Coffee financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Library Specialty Coffee leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
The Library Specialty Coffee funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Library Specialty Coffee M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Library Specialty Coffee
What does The Library Specialty Coffee do?
The Library Specialty Coffee is a specialty coffee retailer and café operator that sells curated single-origin and blended coffee beans sourced from award-winning farms in Guatemala, Colombia, Peru, Ethiopia, Burundi, Brazil, and Rwanda, alongside premium brewing equipment (Fellow Stagg kettles, Hario V60 drippers, Kalita Wave and Aeropress filters) and digital gift cards. The company runs a Shopify-powered direct-to-consumer e-commerce store serving Canada and the United States and operates three physical cafés in the Greater Toronto Area (Dundas St W and Queen St W in Toronto, and Fairburn Dr in Markham).
Is The Library Specialty Coffee a public or private company?
The Library Specialty Coffee is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was The Library Specialty Coffee founded?
The Library Specialty Coffee was founded in -1. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is The Library Specialty Coffee based?
The Library Specialty Coffee is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, in the North America region.
How does The Library Specialty Coffee make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Specialty Coffee Bean Sales are the primary driver. The others are coffee Equipment and Tools and E-Gift Cards.
Who are The Library Specialty Coffee's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Dark Horse Coffee Roasters, Pilot Coffee Roasters, Detour Coffee Roasters, Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters, Reunion Coffee Roasters, Balzac's Coffee Roasters and Sam James Coffee Bar. Broad incumbents are Hario and Fellow. Monigram Coffee Roasters is listed as an emerging player.
Does The Library Specialty Coffee have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Library Specialty Coffee.
What industry is The Library Specialty Coffee in?
The Library Specialty Coffee's product category is Specialty Coffee Retail. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFADAA, Specialty Coffee Shops (Single-Origin, Third-Wave), with a secondary code of CRAHAGAI, Specialty Coffee & Tea Retail (Beans, Leaves, Accessories). Its NAICS code is 722515 and its SIC code is 5810.