e53er Senior Member Joined: 21 Apr 2002 Posts: 138 Location: L.A. Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: NS Oscar, Solis SL90 Grinder: Mazzer Mini, Solis Maestro Vac Pot: Bodum Santos Drip: KMB, Presto Scandi, pourover Roaster: Poppery II
Posted Wed Jun 1, 2005, 5:15pm Subject: Bay Area mini trip report
Over Memorial Day weekend we drove up to the Bay Area. Given the lack of top notch coffee in L.A. (hey, San Dimas is over an hour away for me!), I made it a point to visit some of the coffee titans mentioned places in these forums to see what some of the best cafes around could offer and how it would compare with what I can do at home.
First up was Barefoot. After a long drive up the 5 and 101, we swung by late p.m. Saturday. Promptly ordered a double and a capp. IIRC, it was the Sweetness blend they were using. Let me just say that it was the first time EVER, in my four years with espresso, that I had a couple of excellent drinks in a U.S. cafe. The double was truly sweet, as was the capp with a rosetta.
The next day we headed up to the City. Went to Blue Bottle's kiosk in Hayes Valley. I would have missed it if I hadn't swung a quick right into the alley. Fortunately, there was a parking spot right in front. Again ordered a double and a capp. A very intense double, and the capp had a heart on top.
Five minutes later, I was at Cafe Organica (nice meeting you, Eton!). Again blessed by the parking gods as I pulled up to a spot just a few steps from the corner. Once again ordered a capp with the Organic blend (kicking myself for breaking protocol and not ordering a double as well). First time seeing a naked pf in action. Eton poured a rosetta. Had wifey try it out, and she agreed it was a superb cup.
Was gonna try out Ritual, as the Blue Bottle fellow and Eton recommended them, but alas, familial obligations would not permit me to drive to a record three cafes in a row, especially with Ritual being a bit farther away.
All in all, I batted 1,000 and left truly impressed with the state of top tier coffee in the Bay Area. If I hadn't moved back to L.A. a couple years ago, I would have definitely been more involved with the activities going on here. What a difference a couple of years makes!
So, did what I sample blow away what I could do at home with my merely decent setup? Well, to be really honest, no. What I learned was that, sure, it would usually be better (and consistently so) than what I can make, but it wouldn't be orders of magnitude better. Just goes to show you the importance of having a good setup and solid grounding in the fundamentals. Still, those of you looking for a reference for comparison with your own shots (as I had) need to go no further than any of these fine cafes. Great work!
Posted Wed Jun 1, 2005, 6:10pm Subject: Re: Bay Area mini trip report
It was great to meet you too! Sorry about being low on coffee... im still getting the ordering amounts from the different roasters down. I hope you had a good stop at cafe organica...maybe ill see you on ur next visit to SF area.
I was going to pull you a double on the house but before I could you left... haha oh well theres always next time. You can always mail-order organic panic! from taylor maid farms www.taylormaidfarms.com and try it at home?
again...thanks for making my cafe a stop on ur bay area mini tip!
Rawman Senior Member Joined: 14 Jun 2003 Posts: 921 Location: SF Bay Area, CA Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Expobar Office Control ,... Grinder: Mazzer Mini Vac Pot: Silex Vintage Vac Pot Drip: Bodum chambord FP, Melitta... Roaster: Buzzroaster, HG/DB
Posted Wed Jun 1, 2005, 8:55pm Subject: Re: Bay Area mini trip report
Hm, it's sad that people can make it all the way up from LA to visit Eton, and I can't make it from the South Bay! I'm going to the zoo on Monday with my daughter's class. I'll stop by for sure. What hours are you open?
PS, e53er, thanks for the report :)
Rawman the Expobarbarian.. AKA the Original Jon R.
Spinnaker007 Senior Member Joined: 24 Apr 2003 Posts: 1,775 Location: Chicago! Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Thu Jun 2, 2005, 11:15am Subject: Re: Bay Area mini trip report
Hey, DOM is in the house! Haven't see you in a long while...Guess there is not much of "me" time after getting married, eh?? : ) P.S. Sorry to hear about your back...
e53er Senior Member Joined: 21 Apr 2002 Posts: 138 Location: L.A. Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: NS Oscar, Solis SL90 Grinder: Mazzer Mini, Solis Maestro Vac Pot: Bodum Santos Drip: KMB, Presto Scandi, pourover Roaster: Poppery II
Posted Fri Jun 3, 2005, 1:19pm Subject: Re: Bay Area mini trip report
Eton is living my dream! Opening his own cafe AND in SF no less!
(coming from someone who lived in S. East Bay for years but couldn't live in SF so had to drive up every week or two to enjoy its delights...a drive from the South Bay can't be that bad could it?)
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