I live in the neighbourhood, so I want to love this place. The decor and music are great. But the espresso is so burnt I have no idea why anyone drinks it. Because I love the cookies and the fact that they use organic milk, I occasionally come here, but usually I end up at Aroma (which doesn't have the atmosphere but has drinkable unburnt coffee--plus the staff are super helpful there). I asked the guy behind the counter at Balzac's to help me understand the differences between the day's drip coffees (explaining that I prefer more rounded, mellow coffee) , and he pointed to a brochure on the counter and told me to read it, if I wanted to know more. Really? I love coffee, and I prefer to buy it from people who are passionate about it and care about my experience. Please train your counter people to be passionate about customers' coffee experience. Even Starbucks (which I don't drink) actually attempts to train their employees to understand and care about coffee.