I just spent a week in Toronto, and as an espresso addict I spent some of my time in search of good coffee. While I didn't get to try all the cafés that have good buzz on the Internet, in my limited experience Toronto's espresso needs work. The cafés I visited typically have great spaces and great looking baked goods, but on my personal bad/acceptable/good scale, their espresso was only acceptable. Mind you, I am picky, so acceptable is better than 90% of the establishments out there, but this does not compare to New York or Vancouver, where I have had great espresso from multiple cafés. Maybe this is why Espresso Map, which I find very reliable, only lists one location in Toronto, which I did not get the opportunity to try. Toronto shouldn't feel too bad, because it is not alone. In Boston, a city of roughly similar population and size, I only know two places that serve what I consider to be good or even occasionally great espresso. I blame Toronto's problem on Tim Horton's. Ontarians think Tim Horton's is the be all and end all of coffee. Actually, that might explain the problem in Boston as well: New Englanders love their Dunkin' Donuts.