Umi is a cooperatively run cafe in the heart of Ottawa's china town. We specialize in Fair Trade organic coffee grown by indigenous peasant cooperatives in the South.

Umi Café works with La Tierra Cooperative, local wholesale roasters and distributors of coffee and artisan fair trade goods. Together they provide direct market access to producer co-ops in Bolivia, Columbia, Chiapas (Mexico), Guatemala, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Sumatra, advancing these communities development goals as equal partners in joint projects to develop autonomous, democratic models of organizing.

Foods from Umi Cafe
Comments

2012 Jan 23
I like the service and atmosphere at Umi so much better now that the ownership has changed.

The family that owns it now are friendly and remember me and my regular order even though I'm not a regular coffee drinker and only pop by a couple of times a month.

The baked goods are spectacular! They have maintained the vegan menu items and have some gluten-free options.

2010 Oct 26
Umi is not a co-op anymore, but otherwise the atmosphere remains the same--neighbourhood coffee shop, books for reading, board games (hidden in the benches), displayed art for sale, vegan sandwiches, etc.

One difference is that the baked goods have more attention tended to them now (at least the muffins + cookies). Or maybe because it was a Monday...

The piano has been gone for awhile though. That could be either good or bad, depending on your view.

2009 May 17
I went here today for the first time. Super friendly service and relaxed atmosphere. There were children playing the piano while I was there. It's in my neighbourhood so I'll probably go back. Yummy "raw" cookies.

2009 Jan 13
I have gone to this friendly little coffee shop a few times. It is the definition of a local neighborhood coffee shop, including some books free for the reading.

The coffee is good, as could be expected for folks linked with a local roasting operation. It's similar to bridgehead, with a more independent spin. If I was closer, or of there were busses, I would be patronizing them frequently.

They also have homemade soups and other treats. If you want organic, fair trade sweets or some beverages, its a good place to go.

2009 Jan 6
I stopped by here this afternoon on my walk home from work (the bus strike is getting me into shape).

Grabbed a medium latte and B.Goods vegan cookies (wholewheat chocolate chilli), in total for $5.45, which isn't too shabby (about the same as Bridgehead). The cookie was delicious, as was the latte, but about half way through, it started to get an off taste, almost acidic. I'm not entirely sure what caused it, but I'm certainly willing to give Umi another shot.

The atmosphere seemed a bit lacking in that it was not welcoming, but for people on the run, the coffee/snacks are well-priced and yummy!

Welcome Umi!



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