Tony Medeiros is a Montreal-based blogger with over 20 years of experience covering pop culture and the culinary scene. Known for his engaging reviews and unique insights, he has built a trusted voice for readers seeking informed and entertaining perspectives on food and entertainment. @sandboxworld @tonymedeiros @goodinothers
I went to the library the other day, of all places, and stopped for a drink. I looked at the chalkboard menu and there it was, sitting between the lattes and cold brews: Canadiano. I knew what it was immediately, but seeing it actually written on the menu made me stop for a second. I found the whole thing amusing because somehow this idea had made its way into a multicultural library, of all places, with what looked like a quick swipe of chalk across a menu board. There is something wonderfully simple about being able to rename something and instantly know exactly what it is. The drink hadn’t changed, the recipe hadn’t changed, but suddenly an Americano was a Canadiano, and that little change gave the same cup of coffee a completely different personality.
So naturally, I ordered one. And here’s the funny part: it tasted like an Americano. That’s because a Canadiano is essentially espresso and hot water, so there wasn’t going to be some great Canadian coffee revelation waiting for me at the bottom of the cup. What had changed wasn’t the drink itself, but the story surrounding it, and that’s what made me pay attention.
The Canadiano became much more visible in 2025 when B.C.-based Kicking Horse Coffee launched a campaign encouraging cafés across Canada to use the name. The company said it had actually been using Canadiano at its Invermere café since 2008, so it wasn’t claiming to have invented the term. The timing was what made the idea take off. With Canada-U.S. trade tensions dominating the conversation, renaming an Americano became an easy way for cafés to have a little fun with Canadian identity.
Montreal got into it too, which is where I think this becomes a much better restaurant story. Café CoCo & Bean on the West Island changed Americano to Canadiano, while Café Oui Mais Non and La graine brûlée were also reported to have embraced the name. Café Cass went in its own direction with Québecano. Once something actually appears on a café menu, it becomes more than an online joke. Customers have to order it, someone has to make it and suddenly the name becomes part of the experience.
That’s what I liked about seeing Canadiano on the board. The café didn’t have to invent a new coffee. It didn’t need another syrup, another topping or some ridiculous 14-word description. Somebody simply changed one word and gave a familiar drink a little personality. I ordered it because the name caught my attention, and that’s pretty good work for a piece of chalk.
The coffee itself has a familiar story. The popular version says American soldiers in Italy during the Second World War added hot water to espresso because they wanted something closer to the longer coffee they were used to drinking at home. The exact history is more complicated than that neat little story, but the drink we’re talking about is still espresso diluted with hot water. So my Canadiano wasn’t breaking any new coffee ground. It was something I already knew, wearing a different name.
And honestly, I think that’s why I enjoyed it. The Canadiano doesn’t need to taste different. It just needs to make you notice it. I noticed the menu, wondered where the name came from, ordered it and ended up thinking about the whole idea while drinking it. A coffee that gives you something to talk about before you’ve even finished it has already done something right.
Would I order another one? Absolutely. Not because I think it’s better than an Americano, but because I like the little bit of personality it brings to the café. Going out for coffee should have some interaction to it. Someone makes the drink, you have a conversation, you notice something on the menu and maybe you leave with a story.
For me, that’s the Canadiano. It’s not a revolutionary new coffee and it doesn’t need to be. It’s an Americano with a story attached to it.
So, elbows up, order a Canadiano, and whatever you do, do not mess with Canada. I’ll take mine double-double.