By Shaun Alphonso
Long before free trade and instant coffee, there was Diabolos’, a home-brewed, student-run bar for organic and fair-trade blends that warmed the hearts of penny-bare students with sweet and complex blends grown on farms struggling to make a living half way around the world. Born at the height of the student revolution of the 60s, the small shop was created to feed the originality and growing uniqueness of the student body.
Not much has changed today, apart from the constantly growing market for coffee. Corporate imperialism has taken Canadian markets by storm since the founding of Starbucks and Second Cup. But can any other brew compete with the rich histories of the student-run coffee shop? With students and staff opting for the convenient, albeit overpriced, coffee-on-the-corner, it is no wonder that this small business is standing on toothpicks.
But there is hope if we are to realise that Diabolos’ coffee bar is made of stories—farm stories and student stories. It is surprising to think of a $1 cup of coffee. It is surprising when you consider that each cup is made from green beans grown in a small farming community in Peru (for example), tended by well-paid employees, cared for in picking and travelling, then carefully roasted and ground in Toronto. The cost may well be higher than the asking price. The shop’s staff work on just above minimum wage to brew each fresh pot. And all that effort gets you a $1 cup of coffee.
To consider further that each bean came from a well-cared-for farming community, with all patrons being treated fairly, at a time when exploitation is ripe, is to consider exactly how precious fair-trade coffee is. To consider that even in a time when other farming communities looked to the highest bidder and employed children for precious little cents, is to consider just how progressive, revolutionary, and necessary Diabolos’ still is today.
Today, Diabolos’ is one of the only two locations on the University of Toronto campus to serve student-run, not-for-profit, fair-trade coffee, for relatively nothing. At the same time, it is the only one with a long history of struggle to keep the diverse community interested and alive in its goals. Constant concern over the environment and the economy has caused costs to increase. But you couldn’t tell the difficulties from a $1 cup of coffee. Prices have increased barely, if at all, in past years. And with prices only barely above costs, the company is again starting to feel strain.
But there is hope if we are to recognise what is being done to enhance the days of the diverse student body. Diabolos’ is constantly reaching out to local artistic communities of musicians and poets, allowing them to showcase their talents. And at a time when vegetarianism and veganism are becoming all too popular, and the sacrificial lives of cows are being recognised as painful, Diabolos’ provides the cheap alternatives that all can enjoy, with as healthy a conscience as an immune system. Good Karma aside, Diabolos’ breeds community and encourages involvement.
In partnership with various groups in the University College community, a new reading library is being installed in the Junior Common Room. New UC talent is being discovered each day. And the hard-working staff, who refuse to call themselves baristas, is one of the many indications of a growing trend against today’s money-grabbing coffee empires, and a bolstering of the core, socially-conscious values held by an increasing number of students and faculty.
To purchase a cup of hot love and a famous hand-made muffin, Diabolos’ can be found in the Junior Common Room at University College, indeed, the heart of student life. The shop re-opens on the first day of classes at 8:30am. Enjoy an oversized couch and a taste of fresh, healthy, conscience-friendly community.