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.
      

VERVE @ downtown Santa Cruz

 Back in Santa Cruz for the first time since VERVE opened this new cafe in downtown.  Located nearly the end corner of the town, Verve is still fascinating enough and charming enough.  

Inside is beautifully coordinated with dark colored wood&metal furniture of which design carried from original cafe by the beach, creating atmosphere of high fashioned, cutting edge type third wave coffee shop.  

The place was filled with college students from, perhaps UCSC, occupying tables with Macs and text books.  How lucky they are to have such nice study place besides packed in old book-y smelled library.

Some barista can be recognized by face from the original cafe, so that quality of espresso were nothing new.  Relieved...

Cup of the day!
Smooth and creamy soy latte...  Did they change the bland?

After all those years, Verve still stamps their name on paper cups, which made me smile...besides, they have sweat shirts selling w/ their name on...sigh.

RED ROCK Coffee

Here is something new.

Red Rock coffee at Mountain View. 

Mountain View has been place to go for "Farmers Market" on Sat. Morning, but not visiting, shopping or dining place to me for a long time.  For some reason, there are plenty time to stroll around this town to find a new charm in this.

Redo Rock has been one of "coffee break" place for my friend, coffee geek as well :)

He recognized "For Barrel", the roaster in SF mission, but more surprised to find the way they brew coffee.

  

Here is coffee brewing expert with a charming coffee goods to pour a cup.  "Smart Drip-per".

1.  Set filter paper.

2.  Measure beans and grind.

3.  Measure weight of drip-per.

4.  Pour water to designed weight.

5.  Stair for while.

The function is quite simple as idea is.  Basically, this coffee dripping tool is combination of paper drip-per and coffee press.  Just like serving tea, allowing time to brew, steam, may bring body of coffee.

The whole brewing process is entertaining.
Assuming that it must be critical to find balance between water temperature and character of beans, including origin of beans, roasting degree and so on.

This coffee brewing methods is somewhat interesting.
later alone, I found this tool at Four Barrel and Verve, both now growing third wavers.  According to Jay Egami, Coffee distributor, Representative of UCC America, happened to have a sample of this coffee drip-per.  Made in Taiwan.  Well, no doubt.  Taiwan and China are two of countries show rapid growth in coffee distribution and coffee culture.  As Australia does, they are very aggressive to invent something new.

Well...  Getting back to the point, the coffee was good.  
This brew methods may require a little skill and practice and give you a wonderful full flavored coffee.  
Coffee must have its body and flavor, which strongly relay on water temperature initially poured.  It seems a man who made us a cup in the noon well acknowledged of this temperature and time relation.

Bolivia Maria

Beans Name: Bolivia  Maria
Roaster: Unir, Hisashi Yamamoto Coffee

Roasting degree: City
Area: Finca Copacabana,  Yungas, La Paz Department, Bolivia
Altitude: 1,350～1,500m
Varietal: Typica (Yungas)
Grade: SHG
Screen: 17up
Processing: Fully washed, 100% sun-dried

Shade Grown, Micro-region-calama

【Impression】
Medium to dark, smooth texture, creamy, silky, high tone of citrus aroma with cacao, jasmine like flowery aroma as bottom note, well-balanced and harmonized flavor, fruity sweetness as white-grapes and a touch of black currants, crispiness of roasted of macadamia, a tint of bitterness of dark chocolate, fruity sweetness with tangy bitterness as a shot lasting aftertaste.
The very first ship as black, then add a bit of almond milk and maple sugar.  This will make unique  silky texture stands out and make a special cup for lunch break.

This has well established stable body and leaves strong impression, but not like "Cafe Verona" at Famous international coffee chain-store.

【Note】
Finca Copacabana is located in Northern part of Las Yungas(Yungas Valley), near Lake Titicaca, which stretches from Southeastern Peru to Central Bolivia on the Eastern slopes of the Andes Mountains.  Yungas means "Warm Lands" in the native Andean language.  As this name shows, the Nor Yungas has fertile Red clay soils and semitropical warm weather.  Especially, it's altitudes make this area great for cultivating coffee.  
The beans from Finca Copacabana is sometimes called Maria's with respect of the owner Maria Azucarunz and her devotion to the farm. 

This Typica varietal is cultivated specially in the area call Cerro Condoriri, where Persian Silk Trees are growing luxuriantly giving enough shade for coffee trees.  Typica varietal grown this area is named separately  "Yungas" because of its unique flavors and rareness.