FAQs

Yes! We roast and ship orders Monday through Friday, except for holidays. 

For the best results, we recommend letting your coffee rest for at least 3-5 days for most brew methods or 7+ days for espresso after roasting. This allows the beans to release CO2, resulting in a more flavorful and clear cup. Recommended rest time for each coffee can be found on their respective product pages. 

Yes! We're happy to offer pick-up at our roastery location for online orders. You may select this option at the checkout. 

At this time in store pick-up for online orders is only available at the roastery at 50 Wagstaff Drive, Toronto.

Once your order is fulfilled, a shipping confirmation email will be sent including a 'TRACK ORDER' link to track your order through Shopify and a tracking link through the shipping provider. If you don't receive a shipping confirmation within 2 business days, please check your spam or promotions folder. For account orders, track it on your account page. If you still need help tracking your order, email us at [email protected] for support.

We're not able to offer an espresso grind for online orders. For online orders the ground setting is a coarse medium grind best suited for drip, pour over and french press. However, if you visit our cafes or place a cafe order through our app, the baristas can help you using our cafe equipment. 

Our ground coffee option is a coarse medium grind suitable for Auto Drip, French Press, Pourover methods. For further guidance on grind settings please visit our Home Brewing Guides.

Unfortunately once your order has been placed we can't guarantee that changes can be made to your order, but if you notice there is an error shortly after the order has been placed, please reach out to our customer success team and they will do their best to assist. 

To request a change to your order please reach out to our customer success through email: [email protected]

Our customer success team will do their best to ensure that your order is delivered to the right address. If you notice any errors or need a change made to the shipping address please reach out to us here or at [email protected] and we will assist you shortly. If the order has already been shipped, we recommend first contacting the shipping courier through the tracking provided as that may be the quickest way to update the delivery address.

If you or the intended recipient have not received the digital gift card after the order has been placed or the scheduled time, it is most likely, the email has gone to spam or there was an error in the email address. If sending the gift card to yourself, please check your spam, if the gift card is not received, please contact support at [email protected].

If your package is marked as delivered by the shipping courier tracking provided, and you have not received the order and are unable to retrieve it, please contact [email protected] for further assistance. 

If you haven’t received  your order and you haven’t received a shipping confirmation after 2 business days* after the order has been placed, please contact support at [email protected] 

*Orders placed during sales can expect longer than usual processing times. Please contact support for an update if you have not received a shipping confirmation within 7 days of placing an order. 

We strive to provide a smooth service, but if there are any issues with a shipment you received from Pilot Coffee Roasters, please contact our team at hello@pilotcoffeeroasters with the order number, details of the issue and photos attached if applicable and we will be happy to assist.

Can I use my e-gift card in a cafe or my physical gift card online?

Yes, both digital and physical Gift Cards purchased after November 1st, 2022 can be used online or in any cafe location. If you purchased an e-gift certificate before November 1, 2022, your gift certificate will not work in cafe locations by default. If you would like to update your older gift card to allow for in-cafe purchases please contact our customer support team here or by email at [email protected].

My recipient didn't receive their gift card. What can I do?

First, it's always a good idea to ask them to check their spam folder. If it's not there, it is possible that their email domain has blocked the gift card email from coming through. This is sometimes the case with corporate email domains. Please reach out to our customer support team here or by email at [email protected] and we can resend the gift card to an alternate email.

Can I order a large quantity of gift cards at once?

Yes, we can support bulk orders for both digital and physical cards. Please reach out to our customer support team here or by email at [email protected] and we can coordinate your order.

We're not able to guarantee that our team will be able to cancel an order before it is in production, but if you would like to cancel an order, please reach out to our customer success team at [email protected] and they will do their best to assist.

Coffee

We generally do not accept returns on roasted coffee, but if you are not happy with your purchase don’t hesitate to contact us and we will do our best to assist you.

Merchandise + Brewing Gear

We can exchange any faulty or broken merchandise, accessories or brewing equipment orders within 30 days of the receipt date (for cafe purchases) or delivery date (for online purchases). Please send us an email with as many details to arrange a replacement order.

The Roaster’s Choice–which is curated by, you guessed it, our roasters – lets subscribers explore our most recent single origin beans. The coffees featured under Roaster’s Choice are not publicly announced and rotate regularly, but always represent what our roasters are enjoying at the moment. A great option for the more adventurous coffee lovers out there! 

Typically each bag of Roaster's Choice within a shipment will be a different coffee, depending on the number of bags ordered. 

Roaster's Choice does not include decaffeinated coffee. 

Feature Espresso brings you the same single-origin coffee we carefully select to serve in our cafes as the feature espresso each month, chosen specifically for its exceptional performance on espresso.  This lets you enjoy our feature espresso of the month, at home! 

This does not include decaffeinated coffee.

Subscriptions* are billed for every shipment at the selected frequency. Your first order is processed and billed at the checkout when creating a new subscription. 

*Gift subscriptions are billed once at the time of purchase.

Your first subscription will be ready to ship within two business days. See the Shipping section of our Help Center for more delivery details. If you’d like to request a custom start date, send us an email and we’ll make the arrangements for you!  

This is usually due to a billing issue. Double-check that all of your billing and payment information is up to date. If any changes are required, your payment method can be updated through the link in the email. If there are no updates to be made to your subscription, you may need to contact your bank regarding this charge.

Our roastery and production facility operates Monday-Friday, with the exception of public holidays. Canada wide orders placed before 3pm EST are shipped the following business day, orders placed after 3pm are shipped within 2 business days. 

If shipping to a business address please add the business name in the shipping address. 

We ship with FleetOptics, UPS, GoBolt and Canada Post**

For quick and easy service, we automatically select the best provider for you based on the address entered at checkout. In certain circumstances, deliveries may be delivered by Canada Post, this can include orders shipping to PO boxes, particular rural addresses and other unique circumstances.

Fleet Optics Air is now available at checkout for eligible postal codes in Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton. For orders under $45, shipping is a flat rate of $13. For orders of $45 or more, enjoy a discounted shipping rate of just $5.

**In the event of Canada Post service disruptions, packages will be shipped with other carriers. Unfortunately, we're not able to ship to PO Boxes or remote Northern Canada addresses during service disruptions. Our sincere apologies for the inconvenience. 

Tracking can take up to 48 hours to update. If you’re still experiencing issues after that time, it is best to contact the shipping provider directly. 

Note: We will always help customers locate their in-transit orders, but inquiring with the shipping provider is usually the quickest way to get updates once a package has left our roastery.

If your order is delayed while in transit, please first contact the shipping provider for more tracking information. If the tracking is not updated within the amount of time advised by the shipping provider, please reach out to our customer success team here for support.

If we are experiencing an unusually high volume of online orders there may be a delay preparing your shipment. After a sale, for example, customers should expect up to a 3-6 day delay before their orders are packed and ready to ship.

At this time we are only offering shipping within Canada and the U.S. Please see our estimated shipping times listed above. 

Following the end of the de minimus exemption August 29th, deliveries to the U.S. may take longer than usual as additional paperwork and processing at the border is now required for cross-border shipments. We thank you for your patience and understanding. 

We offer free standard shipping for orders over $45. For orders below $45, the shipping fee will be displayed at the checkout based on the delivery address.

The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) defines ‘specialty coffee’ as Arabica coffee with a cup score of 80+ points on a 100-point grading system. The coffee must be cupped by a certified Q-Grader, or quality grader, who is credentialed to score coffees based on the standards developed by the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s (SCAA). 

Pilot Coffee only sources coffees that have received a grading of 84-points or higher. 

Direct Trade means working directly with the producers who share their high quality specialty coffees with the roastery. It’s a sourcing philosophy that emphasizes genuine relationships, mutual benefit and full transparency between producer, roaster and consumer. Through Direct Trade, we know the premium prices we pay go straight into the hands of our producer partners. And by travelling to origin regularly, we know first-hand that each coffee we purchase has been produced ethically, sustainably and with the highest level of skill and care.  

While Direct Trade is not always accessible for a variety of reasons, most of the coffees we source meet our Direct Trade policy standard. Look for the Direct Trade icon on our bags that indicate when this standard has been met. 

As roasters we target the sweetest point in each coffee's development. We believe that point is typically unlocked within the spectrum of a medium roast, which produces a clear expression of each coffee's unique profile. This philosophy–known as omni-roasting–gives you the flexibility to enjoy our entire lineup of coffees by any brew method: from filter to espresso! 

The roast scale on the product page and shown on the bag indicates the roast level within the medium roast change. 

Our coffees are roasted to be enjoyed with all brewing methods.

We follow a philosophy known as omni-roasting which means the coffee has been roasted to be prepared and enjoyed with any brewing method from filter to espresso, it all comes down to personal preference! 

If you’re interested in a classic espresso profile that’s available year round, you may want to try Heritage, our signature blend served as espresso at all of our cafe locations.

The brewing parameters can be found on the coffee product page. If the brewing parameters are not yet available on the coffee product page, our team is still working on them and they will be available shortly. If you would like the brewing parameters for a coffee that is no longer listed on our website, please reach out to us at [email protected] and we would be happy to provide them for you!

Our coffees do not have added flavouring. The tasting notes listed on the packaging are the natural flavour notes of the coffee that our team of coffee experts has identified during the cupping process, similar to the way a sommelier would identify tasting notes in a wine.

Unfortunately we're not able to provide the caffeine content for our coffee beans. There are many variables that will affect the caffeine content of a beverage, including the exact dry dose of coffee used each time, brewing method and extraction time. 

If brewing at home and trying to reduce, but not avoid caffeine altogether, brewing with a blend of your favourite beans and a decaffeinated coffee like Catalyst can be an enjoyable way to reduce caffeine intake.

Our Catalyst decaf coffee is decaffeinated by Descafecol: the first and only decaffeination plant in Colombia. 

Descafecol uses sugar cane Ethyl Acetate decaffeination which is a natural decaffeination process that maintains the integrity of green coffee flavour. Not only does EA processing provide excellent, even sweeter cup quality, a decaffeination partnership with the coffee producer at origin lowers our carbon footprint and is more environmentally friendly. 

While we appreciate the nuance of every bean, we also understand that palates and taste preferences vary. To help you find the perfect cup, we share the following details on our bags and labels:

Origin Details:

All single origin coffee labels include country, growing region, growing altitude, farm name, producer name and coffee varietal. 

Tasting Notes: 

Our roasters will taste and assess each coffee to identify three distinct tasting notes; the first two describe taste and the third describes the texture or ‘mouthfeel.’ 

Roast Profile Sliding Scale:

Our custom 'Light-to-Dark' scale represents a spectrum within our medium roast profile. Coffees on the 'Light Roast' end of the scale will typically be more 'Adventurous', while coffees on the 'Dark Roast' end will be more 'Classic'. 

Roast Date: 

We roast, bag and ship our coffee Monday through Friday. Coffee ordered online will typically arrive within seven days of its roast date. 

Best Before Date: 

While your coffee won't 'go bad', the complexity and intensity of flavour will diminish over time. Your coffee is optimal for brewing one week after the roast date, and we recommend enjoying your coffee within six months of roasting.

'Direct Trade' Icon: 

Direct Trade means 'relationship coffee'. These coffees are purchased directly from our producer partners and allow us to share their unique story.

Biotre 2.0 Logo: 

Our 300g coffee bags are made from renewable and compostable resources such as wood pulp. BiotrēTM is an environmentally friendly option that uses less fossil fuels during manufacturing and has a significantly lower carbon footprint than most packaging on the market. Additionally, our bags are resealable and feature a degassing valve to maintain each coffees quality. 

Yes. We work directly with coffee growers to source 100% specialty grade arabica beans with an 85+ cupping score which have been graded by licensed Q-graders and assessed for quality, defects and mold, and we ensure the beans are stored optimally to maintain their integrity.

We test the moisture levels of the beans multiple times in house prior to final packaging. This allows us to assess in real time if the beans have reached moisture levels that would support the growth of mold.

Pilot Coffee Roaster's new Pilot Coffee Club allows members to earn points with every* cafe, app and online purchase.

*Excludes gift cards

To earn rewards for online orders, you can sign up for the Pilot Coffee Club on our website here. For cafe ordering, enroll at the checkout or download the app and sign in with your mobile number. 

Existing Loyalty customers should use the same e-mail address and phone number as their existing account(s) to link their accounts across our new expanded rewards system. 

Download the Pilot Coffee Club app (available for iOS and Android)

Yes, your phone number and email are required to set up and link your account(s), earn and redeem rewards, receive exclusive offers, and manage your payment methods. 

For in-cafe purchases, once your payment method is linked to your account, you will automatically collect points with every purchase using that card*.

*This does not include payment methods tapped from digital wallets

Members earn a minimum 1 point for every $1 you spend. Plus, as a Pilot Coffee Club member, keep an eye out for special point multiplier events where you can earn even faster, depending on your membership level.

Yes! Pilot Coffee Club members can earn and redeem points online, in-app or in any of our Pilot cafes seamlessly.

All items, except for gift cards, are eligible for earning points. Have a subscription? You will earn points on every recurring order.

You will not earn or be able to redeem loyalty rewards when you check out as a guest. You must be signed into your account to participate. Points for orders placed as a guest cannot be added to your account retroactively, and the order total cannot be applied towards your membership annual spend total.

There are three membership levels

• Explorer: free when you sign up for your Pilot Coffee Club membership, no minimum annual spend required
• Advocate: For members who spend $500/year
• Connoisseur: For members who spend $1,000+/year

Enjoy member benefits like 2-3x points during point multiplier events, a free Birthday gift and 10% off of coffee filters when you join the Pilot Coffee Club. Members in the Advocate and Connoisseur tiers will receive increased points during point multiplier promo events and additional benefits and rewards options. 

Pilot Coffee Club members can redeem points online, in-app or in any of our Pilot cafes seamlessly.

Yes, you can combine rewards with automatic savings events, like our seasonal sales. However, rewards cannot be stacked with another reward or offer code in the same transaction.

No, rewards can only be earned and redeemed directly through Pilot Coffee Roasters app, website and cafes.

Yes, the standard free shipping threshold still applies to the cash-paid portion of your order. If your order total after rewards does not meet the threshold, a shipping fee will be charged.

You can find your points balance, membership level status, available rewards, and account history in the Pilot Coffee Club app or through your online account on our website.

Yes, orders can be placed up to two days in advance. Coffee bags and retail items will be held for 48 hours before the order is cancelled and refunded.  If you’re unable to pick up your order within 48hrs, please contact the pick-up location. 

Perishable items (prepared beverages, baked goods) will not be replaced or refunded for pick-ups past the selected pick-up time.

App notifications are sent when an order is received, in progress, has been picked up by a courier or is ready for pick up. To receive these updates, please ensure your app notifications are turned on.

Yes, you can now pre-load credit to your account on the app which can be redeemed as a digital gift card in-app, in-cafe and online. 

To collect points, you must use the same phone number in app and online. If your account details are correct and you do not see points from a purchase within 48 hours, please contact us at [email protected] for assistance.

If your purchase was connected to your account but the points are not reflected in your points balance, please wait 48hrs before checking again, if the issue persists please contact us at [email protected]

Can I get points for online orders?

Yes! Pilot Coffee Club members can now earn and redeem points online, in-app or in any of our Pilot cafes seamlessly.

Do I need to download a new app? 

To continue ordering in advance for pick-up and delivery from our cafe locations, please download our new mobile app (available for iOS and Android). The old app is no longer enabled.

You do not need to download the app to continue collecting points in-cafe only.


For existing customers

Existing customers do not need to re-sign up to continue using rewards in-cafe. However, if you wish to earn and redeem online and receive additional perks, you will need to sign up online here and consent to marketing communications. Please ensure you use the same mobile phone number, and your existing rewards will sync to the new account.


I want to earn online and use the app, how do I link my accounts? 

After signing up online here and downloading the app, select "Let's get started to access your account" in the app and sign in with the same mobile number, to link your accounts. 

Unfortunately we don't offer custom label coffee bags, but we do offer a bulk discount on 300g bags for quantities of 20+ bags ranging from a 10-25% discount. For more information on bulk coffee orders, please check out our page here.

We're sorry to say that we don't offer catering, however 96oz take out coffee carafes are available for pick up by pre-order for small groups, they are best suited for 10-12 coffees. 

Disposable coffee carafes can be ordered from the cafe location in quantities of 1 or 2 from most of our cafes, except for a few locations including the Wagstaff Roastery, Union Station and Bay + Adelaide. Please feel free to reach out to us at [email protected] if you have any further questions or would like to get in touch with the team at one of our cafe locations to place an order. 

Thank you for thinking of us! Unfortunately our cafe locations are not available to rent for public or private events. 

Green coffee beans are not available for purchase, all beans available for purchase are roasted by Pilot Coffee Roasters.

Unfortunately we're not able to offer custom roasting services for personal green bean supplies.  

Unfortunately we do not offer custom white label roasts.

The Heritage blend is our most popular blend. Great when prepared with any brewing method, especially espresso. 

Heritage is our espresso blend used at all of our cafes. 

The roast and best before dates are printed dd/mm/yy. 

Pilot Coffee Roasters operates cafes throughout Toronto and Southern Ontario. To see if there is a Pilot location near you, head over to our locations page for a list of our current cafes.

Specialty Coffee Supply

Quality and consistency are the foundation of a successful coffee program. That’s why we source exceptional specialty grade coffees through long term Direct Trade partnerships. We offer consistent and approachable signature blends as well as a variety of single origins, all roasted to showcase their best natural qualities.

Cafe Consultation
If you are opening a new cafe or growing your existing coffee shop, our team is here to share our experience. From bench layout to a robust retail shelf and marketing materials, we provide comprehensive advice to make your venture a success.

Training
Delivering great coffee consistently requires an engaged and knowledgeable team. We work closely with your baristas by providing training sessions and educational resources to produce the best tasting cup every time.

Equipment + Tech Support
We procure industry leading machines to ensure our partners have the best performing equipment on their bench. Our Technicians will make sure your equipment is in top working order and step in when you need an emergency repair.

Are you a cafe or business looking to carry Pilot Coffee? Reach out to us by filling out the wholesale contact form here: Wholesale

We know the importance of staying fuelled at work and great coffee can make all the difference.
Do you want to impress employees and clients? A serious coffee program will do just that, because quality matters. 

Reach out to our team to set up a coffee program that will keep your team going:

• Brewed Coffee program
• Eversys Espresso program
• Equipment Maintenance + Repair
  
  

Learn more at: Wholesale

or reach out to us at sales@pilotcoffeeroasters.com

A great dining experience deserves great coffee. A strong restaurant coffee program is built on quality and consistency. Whether delivering a great drip coffee service or building a dependable espresso program we have the tools to support your success.

• Small or Large Brew Program
• Eversys Espresso Program
• Equipment Maintenance + Repair

To carry Pilot Coffee in your restaurant, reach out to us by filling out the contact form found here: Wholesale