A PASSION FOR GREAT COFFEE AND A COMMITMENT TO QUALITY

OUR MISSION

We want to roast great coffee, and work with great people to do it.

But it is more than just 'great coffee'… every bag of Pilot Coffee Roasters beans represents a global community of dedicated professionals, specialized skill and a lot of hard work.

What drives us is our passion. 

What guides us is our commitment to quality, innovation and exceptional service.

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

With a passion for great coffee, Andy and Jessie Wilkin founded Pilot Coffee Roasters under the name Te Aro Coffee Roasters in 2009. Located in Toronto’s Leslieville neighbourhood, the name was inspired from Andy’s upbringing in Te Aro – an area of downtown Wellington, New Zealand – and was built to establish our core values of sourcing ethical, Direct Trade coffee and building transparency in the process from farm to cup. Te Aro operated as a specialty cafe and micro roastery, supplying coffee, equipment, training, technical support and consulting services for new cafe owners across the city. Two years later, a second cafe was opened on the Ossington strip in Toronto’s west end, and by 2013 we rebranded to Pilot Coffee Roasters, moving roastery operations to our current headquarters at 50 Wagstaff Drive.

BUILDING OFF SUCCESS

Our dedication to quality, education and state-of-the-art facilities propelled us to earn 2014 Micro Roaster of the Year by Roast Magazine. With the international acclaim from the award and a growing presence in Toronto’s specialty coffee scene came new and exciting opportunities. More cafes were opened downtown, new Direct Trade partnerships were developed and a cold brew production department was introduced, quickly establishing Pilot Cold Brew™ as a leader in the category. 

A DECADE LATER

Today Pilot Coffee Roasters is a full-service roastery, cold brewery, training provider and cafe operator with multiple locations across Toronto and wholesale accounts from coast to coast. Our passion for great coffee and commitment to quality remains at the heart of everything we do.

RECENT ACCOLADES:

• GROWTH 500 – Canada's Fastest Growing Companies – 2019

• GREAT PLACE TO WORK CERTIFIED – 2019
  Recognized on the following sub-lists;

• Best Workplaces for Inclusion

• Best Workplaces for Millennials

• Best Workplaces Managed by Women

• RGD IN-HOUSE DESIGN AWARDS – Award of Merit for Branding and Packaging – 2019

• SCA – DESIGN LAB

  • Best 'Spaces' – 'Nominee'
    (Ossington Ave. Location)

  • Best 'Packaging' – 'Nominee'
    (Cold Brew) 

• CANADIAN INTERIORS AWARD
  Best Offices 2019 – ‘Winner’

• EY ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR
  Ontario, Canada

  • 2018 'Nominee'

  • 2016 'Finalist'