Red Bulb Espresso Bar

Delicious Americano with no bitter after taste. For the sweet tooth definitely try the café bon bon

Having become a recent Stouffvillian, I was really quite sad that I was going to be lacking in any sort of great coffee companies — until I discovered both Social Coffee Company and Red Bulb Espresso Bar. Turns out, they work closely together — as in they work with Social Coffee (I think Kris might have mentioned that already).
ANYWAY, it’s absolutely music to my ears when I can be a «OMG girl» and order a great latte and curl up in a corner and read for a couple hours in somewhere near home. I’ve so far tried their Americano, which is rich in flavour just straight up, their matcha latte which is essentially a guilty pleasure I have b/​c it’s like drinking a green tea ice cream, and finally, their mocha latte — another guilty pleasure of mine. While the matcha latte was a bit too creamy for my liking, I’ve been happy so far with this place. I did try a butter tart and a cookie and I must say that their pastries are… lacking. However, I’ve a huge critic of butter tarts and so far, nothing has beaten Sweet Oven in Barrie. But hey… that’s like, an hour away.
I will definitely come back again!

Excellent coffee. Rivals the best spots in Toronto heck Paris and London (I have been). My usual drink is a large Americano done with 4 shots always fantastic with perfect crema. They only buy small batches of coffee from a local roaster called Social to ensure freshness. Free WiFi and seating. They have food but I have never tried.

Best beans/​Americano I’ve ever had… seriously. I wish it was open later in the day but they are open super early 7 days a week so you can’t ask for too much from a privately owned coffee shop.
I never take my coffee black, but I can drink it black here because of how amazing the quality is. I haven’t tried their speciality drinks but they look bomb, and the kids hot chocolate has marshmallows in it which I thought was really cute. Starbucks tastes like toxic sludge in comparison to Red Bulb. But seriously…
If it is a bit out of your way, it is well worth the drive. I’m going to buy their bagged espresso beans so I can have it anytime of day. Unreal.

A good judge for latte art is when the art stays at the bottom of the cup when the coffee is finished. This place did that while having one of the best tasting cappuccino in GTA, rich body and full of aroma. Worth the drive to Stouffville, just make sure give yourself enough time to enjoy one here AND get one to go!

Nice atmosphere to hang out, read a book, pop onto your mobile phone, computer, tablet kick back and have one of their hot drinks and a Dufflets (Excellent by the way) pastries. Friendly service, quality coffee, overall not bad.
Jim

Great to see independent coffee shops in the suburbs, however the offerings were not as impressive as the idea itself. Food options were limited and did not seem fresh. The coffee itself was good, however. They need some more space; take advantage of the space in the suburbs and expand.

Here is to outstanding local cappuccino that I don’t have to make myself. The «downtown» Stouffville food scene has gotten dramatically better in the last couple of years and the Red Bulb is a big part of it. I’m a stick to the basics coffee guy so cannot comment on the flavored coffees that come and go but if you are looking for the best cappuccino not whipped up in your own kitchen, just drop by here for your local fill of java. If only they had a drive through…

Second time going. Definitely try their regular latte or espresso first to taste the flavour of their bean. I tried their regular latte and its flavourful; made perfectly. Second time I tried the autumn spice latte, and OMG it taste even better. I enjoy the mix of the chai, cinnamon and ginger bread syrup with its espresso shot! Very good!

Red Bulb is the best coffee experience I’ve found North of Toronto. They serve beans from local Toronto roaster, Social Coffee Company. I had their Espresso and enjoyed it. I think that they could have dialled it a little better, but it was a holiday so I’ll cut the baristas a little slack.
Overall a great experience.

best caramel coffee frozen iced drink evaaaaaaaaaahh! :)
the barista guy or owner idk. if he was the owner but the asian guy was suppppppppppppeer nice! he offered me a different choice of drink that’s not on the menu just to try it and mix it up anddddddd oh my god ! i’m in love with it! it taste better than starbucks frappuccino! yuuuuummyy! :) i am coming back for sure !! thank you for the tastyy drink

I loved this place, great lattes with cute latte art, cosy. It is hard to find an amazing independent coffee shop in these regions. However, their customer service is sub par, actually it is atrocious.
After buying a latte, and bag of espresso beans, I sat down to drink my latte, and get a bit of studying done. I was asked to leave after being there only a short while (45 mins). I was just getting ready to order another drink, and hadn’t been there for an hour yet, but was told they were too busy and needed my table. I am appauled at their customer service, and was deeply embarrased by the way I was treated. I will not be returning.

This place is awesome.
Great atmosphere, great coffee and food selection. You can really tell that the owners have a true passion for real coffee. It is the kind of place that feels really quaint and charming and adds to the ambiance of a town that has no Starbucks.
The only problem is the place is very small but that is really only going to be a problem if you are planning on trying to find a place to sit during peak hours.
Overall its the perfect addition to Main Street.

Thanks to Jennifer K. for her awesome 4* reviews which brings me to trying out this hidden gem in stouffville. This small little shop is on Main St. Stouffville with limited parking spaces available in the back. It was tough trying to get my coffee.
I ordered the French Roast & Americano… smells so fragrant and strong, taste so delicious with an after taste. After drinking coffee from here, u don’t ever wanna go back to Tim Horton’s and/​or Starbucks… total different level…
Love the interior design. Its small and feels homey… there are a few tables inside and 1 – 2 outside.
I also ordered the almond biscotti which fitted very well with my French Roast coffeee… its like a perfect marriage =)
I’m definitely coming back as soon as I’m in the hood… thankfully I live less than 10 mins away so its quality coffee at my fingertips… woohoo!!!

Cute little coffee shop. Nice to get a cool refreshing drink while walking down Main Street Stouffville. Patio tables available outside. Service was quick and friendly. One thing that really turned me off though were the bunches of flies that were making themselves at home inside the coffee shop.

So we were driving past and I needed something (not Star***ks, not Tim H****n’s, not a chain) but we were in the sticks. hmm…then I remembered seeing the cute, funky signage and we stopped there. The very patient barista waited while I babbled (incoherently, half asleep) and I ended up w a tasty Earl Grey Almond milk Latte and a FANTASTIC matcha, white chocolate scone (trust me, totally not a white or milk chocolate fan). Almost didn’t get the scone, but am all about anything matcha. SO glad I did. Not too sweet, tastes like it’s made with quality ingredients. Latte I added a tiny bit of cinnamon and it was great. Quite pleased, would go back.

easily the best espresso i’ve tried north of toronto. That includes thornhill, vaughan, markham, and anything above. I sometimes drive south to get my te aros, darkhorses, and sam jameses but red bulb is around the same level and its a much more pleasant drive from richmond hill.
got this recommendation from a stouffville email I got from Unilocal.The majority of excellent reviews are spot on.

A hip, friendly, charming little café, located on the Main St. of Stouffville. Who knew such a gem would exist north of the downtown core of Toronto? Simple, red and white urban décor, with big windows, perfectly warmed by the Spring sunshine.
The place is not big at all, with only two handfuls of chairs/​tables but its cozy. Their menu is written on chalkboards, with lots of good looking sweets in the pastry fridge. You know you’re at an awesome café when they have «French Press» coffee on the menu – not a lot of places have that.
We ordered 1 French Press coffee and 1 latte, for here. Stunningly poured latte art, in shape of a leaf, it was one damn good latte. Strong espresso with hints of nuttiness (no bitterness at all) and frothed milk at the perfect temperature. Beauty in a cup!
The Medium roast coffee took its plunge and it was DELICIOUS and velvety smooth. You can even slightly see the coffee oil, the magic of the French Press, that’s where all the flavours are!
A perfect morning at the Red Bulb accompanied by extremely friendly staff. I’m sure when the weather gets better, the hustle and bustle is going to kick in at the already busy café.
I’m sure it’ll be my most frequently visited spot.

The extremely convincing reviews written by other Unilocal coffee aficionado’s encouraged me to make the trek here last week after an early breakfast. Unfortunately and totally unplanned my breakfast spot plied me with about 5 cups of Joe before I could say uncle, so trying the ‘bean’ at Red Bulb is still on my to do list.
That being said I still wanted to go for a visit and the promise of free Wifi and a hip HIP coffee spot semi-​close to home had me excited. Arriving on Main street in Stouffville I quickly found street parking (which was silly because RB has a parking lot around back — I know for next time).
Walking in I was warmly greeted by the staff and the décor of this spot impressed me right off the bat. A trendy sophisticated looking counter, back splash and display of pearl white and fire engine red was bright and beautiful and provided an amazing contrast with the more traditional older looking furniture (and the older building the café is situated within).
Being 5 cups of Joe deep I decided on a cup of their loose leaf green tea to calm myself before I began working. On the counter as you order they have small jars of the tea for you to smell and pick you fav — I love it when shops do this.
I had the pleasure of speaking to both of the owners during my stay and I learned quite a lot about this place that I found amazing.
Did you know …
…the espresso blend they use is unique only to them, no one else has this exact flavor!
…they work exclusively with a local (Richmond Hill) award winning roaster and pick up freshly roasted beans weekly
…the Roaster is named Social Coffee and Tea Co (2012 SCAA Roasters Choice 1^st place winner)
If these stats were not enough to entice me to come back (repeatedly) I learned that they have a house specialty drink called Café Bombon. It is an Asian inspired espresso based drink flavoured with condensed milk.
I am more than a little excited to venture back to work my way through their coffee menu. Good things are certainly brewing in Whitchurch-​Stouffville.

I have been searching for independent Espresso bar or Coffeehouse in the Markham area and with no success… All Markham has are Starbucks and Second Cup. oh and God forbidden those Tim Hortons popping up everywhere!
Red Bulb Espresso Bar though not in Markham but only 10 minutes or so drive North… and it is a lovely addition to the Stouffville neighbourhood.
The interior of Red Bulb is nicely decorated… bright and airy with a lot of little decorations on the wall (needlepoint crafts, wondering if the owners got them from garage sales!)
The Seasonal Gingerbread Latte is delicious! :) Just like drinking my dessert which my friend probably thinks it is just so not right for a real espresso bar experience.
OK! I am green with envy! I want one of this espresso bar in Markham! I want to be able to get a good latte at 5:30 AM (damn this people are hardworking)! I want to able to chill out and surf the Internet with a good cup of Joe!
For now on, I guess the only option is to hop in my car with my laptop and drive myself up to Red Bulb!