Approved Cafés, Bakeries & Coffee-Serving Establishments

This list features independent cafés, coffee shops, bakeries, and convenience stores serving coffee that meets CBI's freshness and quality standards. Whether it's a full-service café or a corner shop pulling well-prepared espresso, these businesses have committed to craft, training, and customer experience.

The standard is Canadian. The list is open to the world. CBI Approval was written here, is governed here, and carries the name of a Canadian institute — but a café in Rowayton or Rome that meets it is as approved as a café in Red Deer. We would like “meets the Canadian standard” to mean something to a coffee drinker anywhere, the way it already does for a few other coffee countries.

We don't accept payments or sponsorships for a place on this list, and we take nothing in commissions or referral fees. These are simply the rooms where we would happily drink the coffee.

This is a selective list. Businesses can be removed when found not to be upholding the standard. If you believe a café on this list no longer qualifies, contact us directly. We will never publicize rejections — all results are held in full confidence. Removal decisions are made by the Approved Business Committee, made up of coffee professional peers, by formal vote.

What Approval Requires

Every business on this list has affirmed that they operate to the following:

  • Espresso prepared with coffee roasted within 3–14 days, adjusted on taste
  • Filter coffee prepared with coffee roasted within 3–30 days, adjusted on taste
  • Specialty-grade 100% Arabica coffee
  • Grind-on-demand and proper extraction practice
  • Trained staff and a customer-first approach to service

23 approved businesses. Last reviewed: October 2026.

Interested in becoming CBI Approved? → Review the standards and submit your application here

Jump to: British Columbia · Alberta · Saskatchewan · Manitoba · Ontario · Quebec · Nova Scotia · United States

Canada

British Columbia

Alberta

Saskatchewan

Manitoba

Ontario

Quebec

Nova Scotia

United States

Connecticut & New York

Where We Don't Yet Have a Café

The bar does not move with the border. Fresh roast dates, specialty-grade 100% Arabica, grind on demand, and staff who were actually trained — the same in Halifax, Chicago, or Lisbon.

Most of this list is in Canada, for the simple reason that Canada is where our labs and our graduates are, and so far that is largely who has applied. Within Canada we have nobody yet in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland & Labrador, or the three territories. Beyond North America the list is open and empty.

If you serve coffee to this standard, wherever you are, we would like to hear from you.

The Other Approved Lists

This page covers cafés and coffee-serving businesses. You can also browse our Approved Coffee Roasters and our Approved Partners.

Become a CBI Approved Café

If your café, bakery, or coffee-serving establishment meets our artisan third-wave standard, we invite you to apply. Apply wherever in the world you serve coffee — this list already crosses the border. Approval is based on staff education, bean freshness, equipment quality, and service — not payments or sponsorships. Review the standards and apply here.