Congo Coffee & Mikate House Downtown Toronto

As your designated foodie and fellow congolese, I was uber excited to find out there was a new Congolese coffee house in the downtown core. Located right beside Ryerson university it’s a perfect location for a snack in between classes for students.

This shop has two main items: beignet (french) mikate (lingala), similar to what some may know as puff puff in west african countries, and coffee (hot or cold) with different flavours.

The beignet are round deep fried dough that comes dusted with icing sugar which isn’t the norm for traditional congolese beignet but adds a western twist and sweetness to the treat. There are other toppings you can add such as ice cream and nutella. I got a box of 20 beignet which was $15.50 plus tax which would be considered little on the pricier side for traditional beignet.

The coffee is what I think should be the main attraction because not only is it sourced straight out of Democratic Republic of Congo from the Kivu region, but all proceeds on the coffee go towards the owner Nia’s organization “Coffee for Change”. Coffee for Change is an organization that raises awareness of poverty and the need of proper economic development in the DRC. 

I wish this spot was there when I attended Ryerson. I would have definitely spent my money on the coffee knowing that it’s going towards a good cause.