Blue Bottle @ Heath Ceramic

There is newly opened Blue Bottle Cafe at Heath Ceramic on 18th Street in the urban core of San Francisco.

On 18th and Florida St., newly opened Heath's retail shop has wider variety of their products, including tiles, than one at Ferry Building.  Heath Ceramic announced that on-site tail making will start by early 2013, so that visitors have more enjoyment there together with a nice cup of coffee.

Located in the middle of factories, it seems most of parking space are taken by their workers and few space available for visitors.  Blue Bottle here appears to me a worksite cafeteria for Heath and people working around.  So far, this Blue Bottle is not identifiable; however, it has high possibility to be something special.  A friend of mine is trying to apply new hand brewing method here, very unique and no one has done in SF coffee community.  This site has high possibility to be "the signature" and open a new stage for Blue Bottle's history.    

Four Barrel Coffee: Time to roast!

Just in case, if you do not know...

Four Barrel Coffee 

is 

The Coffee Roaster. 

Here is a little entertainment while waiting for a order to come.
Four Barrel has their roasting factory at the back of the cafe.  This "Bottega", if appropriate to call so, is widely open to entertain sensory cortex; olfactory perception, visual perception and auditory perception.  

There is a bar, a narrow, long, waist-high table, facing roasting machines, which may be highly attractive and adsorptive for coffee "geeks" like me.  

Opening up a coffee roasting factory is somewhat brave step to take.  
Certainly this opens to authorized people only; however, the space is filled sounds and aroma rising from roasting machines as well as  jute bags filled with green beans, which have names on.

Stay at the bar whole day watching the factory may allow us to lead the mind to imagine "SECRET" of Four Barrel coffee...maybe, after a year spending there.

Enjoy the factory while waiting and having your cup.   

    

Four Barrel Coffee

Home coming Coffee time !

As usual, there are a long line and no empty seat&table around 10am..

Well, it is very understandable.

Four barrel serves the best cafe latte among the third wavers in SF/South bay, as far as I know.  Although there are the brew bars offering various specialty coffees, often called "hand crafted coffee" now, espresso is the way to enjoy "Four barrel" the most.



Here is the best barista!
The best cup of latte satisfies you when you see him in front of espresso machine.

According to my friend, he won the first place twice in United States Barista Championship, former known as the North American Barista Competition.

Does this matter?
Actually, I would say "NO".

"How may cups do you serve a day?", we asked.
"Well, I don't know.  I cannot count.", he replays instantly.

Making hundreds of espresso drinks everyday, his skill improves cup by cup, maybe second by second.  Nothing can teach more than experience, especially meister job like this.   

Amazingly, a cup of cafe latte, actually soy latte, kept its silky foam, over an hour, to the last sip!!  Cafe Latte means "Mariage of strong, flavorful espresso with fluffy, silky foamed milk"; not espresso poured in milk.

There are hundreds of cafe's here in San Francisco Bay Area.  Many coffee lovers enjoy, some may visit to enjoy, edgy coffee drinks from various cafes/roasters such as Blue Bottle, Sightglass and do on.  If  Four barrel sounds new to you, keep this name on the top of your list. Try espresso drink when He is in front of the machine.

Beautiful Hand brew Bar by the entrance

Various beans to pick of

Ritual Roaster @ Hayes Valley

Ritual Coffee Roaster KIOSK @ Hayes Valley

On one sunny afternoon, the outside coffee stand allow you to breath.  Ritual Kiosk stands back to back with a delicious ice-creamer, .Smitten Ice Cream.  

Lucky enough for Smitten Ice Cream?
or
Lucky enough for Ritual?   

Well, take a cup and make a guess.

At Proxy
432b Octavia St
San Francisco, CA 94102
415.865.0989 Phone
Every day: 7am - 7pm

ARAMO COOPERATIVE:Ritual Roaster

Beans: ARAMO COOPERATIVE

Ethiopia 

Ritual Coffee Roaster: the cutting edge of coffee roasting in SF, among third wave coffee roasters.

Why?

Because of Ben Kaminsky, three-time winner of the National Cupping Championships, who is titled as Ritual Coffee's quality control expert.

Photographed is beans with his recommendation given to Joy Egami, Blue mountain distributor and the representative of UCC America.  It was just lucky enough to picture and to taste a cup roasted by SF, no world's the best cupping master's coffee.

Flavor was wonderful, even with subtraction of bias which may have caused; however, the beans was too high and subtle in craftsmanship to recreate "the flavor".
Flavor was very edgy and sensitive, which may apply to all beans presented by Ritual coffee.  Their beans selection has no doubt: single origin or micro rot, natural process, selected with highly sharpened cupper's seances.  Every single aspect of their coffee beans were carefully manipulated and operated to bring out the best flavor hidden in the beans.


BUT, here is my question: 
Is there anyone re-create the flavor?
Is there anyone operate commercial amounts in that quality?
Is there anyone can brew this with original flavor?

I wish we would say "YES" to all.

Edgy & whizzy roaster needs barista to synchronize, at least to follow, to transform his creation into a liquid.  
There may be few sensitive enough to taste difference; however, I hope people will enjoy "real" flavor of this precious cutting-edge coffees more and more.      

KA'U Starbucks Reserve

Here is famous Ka'u, distributed by Seattle's best, world famous coffee chain, Starbucks.

Ka'u became such a booming coffee farm for last 5yrs or so, producing high quality and well taken care of beans to surprise the market.  Rusty's Ka'u is one of legendary coffee beans in Ka'u area which mostly distributed by Blue bottle coffee by James.

This Ka'u is a way off what Ka'u really is.  
Starbucks roasts for espresso, originally to bottom up the second grade, or lower, green beans with deep-roast.  They have succeeded to upgrade value of coffee in the States as well as to re-establish/to accelerate coffee culture.
Now is time for the third wavers, specialty coffee, single origin, COE, and so on..., so, maybe, it is time for them to brush-up idea of coffee roasting.  


Ka'u is special.  
If there is appreciation to farmers and their work, their way of treating beans may differ.