Vegan Coffee and Cake

One of the most frequent questions we get at the till is if our cakes and coffee are dairy-free, vegan, or can be made with an alternative milk. As the sole vegan working at Zest Café, our Greysen is the best to offer guidance on our many vegan-friendly cake selections and milk alternatives! Read their thoughts below:

            Since opening, sustainability has been one of Zest’s missions. Like all coffee shops and cafes, Zest’s greatest impact on the environment comes from the dairy we use. The dairy industry is one of the greatest pollutants. In 2015 alone the dairy industry produced 1,700 million tonnes of CO2 (3.4% of total emissions)![1] The most effective way to cut down on these emissions is offering milk alternatives, which we do! We offer oat and soya. But recently we chose to commit more fully to reducing our use of dairy by eliminating surcharges for dairy-free milks to encourage consumers to opt-out of dairy pollution!

            When it comes to cakes we also have lots to offer. At any given time we have out three to five vegan cakes, as well as our vegan croissants that are filled with raspberry jam! Some of my favourites are Carrot & Pistachio Cake, Raspberry Brownies, and (of course) the croissants! But why don’t you stop by and judge for yourself! Our vegan cake selection generally rotates between:

  • Raspberry Jam Croissants
  • Vanilla and Hazelnut Crowns 
  • Date Slice
  • Empire Biscuits (perhaps our most popular vegan treat…)
  • Berry Banana Bread
  • Blueberry Bakewell (another favourite of mine!)
  • Dark Cherry Marzipan
  • Chocolate Orange Truffle (low-gluten)
  • The Fix (low-gluten)
  • Dark ‘n’ Fruity (low-gluten)

Whoo, almost ran out of space typing all those out! As you can see, we have no shortage of options for our dairy-free, climate-conscious, and vegan friends!

Hope to see you in soon for a vegan coffee & cake!

[1] Emily Kasriel, ‘Can Dairy Adapt to Climate Change?’ BBC Future, BBC, 9 Dec. 2020, >https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20201208-climate-change-can-dairy-farming-become-sustainable< .