In San Francisco, people use to desire a superior and excellent cup of coffee. Now, they deserve more: a combination of "my Coffee" and "satisfying quality bread.
Located on Divisadero St., near Alamo Sq., there is a dream place combines wonderful German sourdough breads and selective high quality coffees: The mill, a joint venture between Josey Baker Bread and Four Barrel Coffee.
There is always a long line, sometimes goes up to the door, but no other choice than staying at the end to make it longer. Daily baked sourdough breads taste gorgeous and outrageous, satisfy our hunger even with a half of a piece of toast. There are 4 selected combination for eat-in, such as almond butter and seasalt, pumpkin butter with seasalt. If eat-in selection comfort your appetite, there is the shelf offering variety of breads out of oven.
Coffee there is certainly roasted by Four Barrel Coffee and served by Four Barrel. It may have less selection of coffee beans, but good enough to pair with wonderful breads.
This time, the choice is a cup of almond Latte and the pumpkin butter & seasalt toast: Juicy flavor, naturally friendly, and satisfying.
The mill is "the dream-team" cafe for San Francisco foodies.
Beans: Loma Grande
Roaster: Akai-mi Coffee
Roasting Degree: Medium
Region: Sotará, Cauca, Colombia
Varietal: Caturra, Castillo
Grade: N/A (Auction Lot)
Altitude: 1,770m
Processing: Wet-Process
※14th place, COE Columbia 2013
【Impression】
Medium light to Medium, nutty, fruity aroma as white grape, almond flower, high tone roasted nuts, hazel nuts, Brazil nuts, mild, mellow, soft, clear sweetness followed by crispy bitterness as 98% Lindts' dark chocolate, thick and full layered bitterness, mild and gradual sweetness as grain syrup, malts syrup, a touch of soothing citric sourness, syrupy almonds sweetness as a long lasting aftertaste.
【Note】
Castillo is only the latest and greatest effort taken by Colombian traditional coffee research. Crossbred Variedad Colombia with Robusta, Columbia created the new varietal, Castillo, which is remarkably tolerant for Rust disease, Hemileia vastatrix. Nowadays, it is said that Castillo is the most popular varietal in columbia. Some says Castillo has less flavor and aroma; however, this varietal is now mixed COE winning lots. Originally, Variedad Colombia is a hybrid of Catimor and Arabica, and Catimor is Arabica and Canephora.
Thinking back, Variedad Colombia was poorly evaluated when that came into the market, so was Catimor. Castillo may win the same popularity as they did in the future.
Coffee does not depend on only Variety. It gives amazing flavor only when the long chain of Farmer, Buyer, Roaster, and Barista connected perfectly.
Beans: Udo's Micro lot
Roaster: Akai-mi coffee
Roasting Degree: Medium
Area: Nueva Segovia, Nicaragua
Finca La Virgen
Altitude: 1,250～1,300m
Varieties: Catura, Burbon
Processing: Natural
Screen: N/A
Grade: N/A
【
Impression】
Medium, fruity citric aroma, grapefruits and lime, cacao, lightly jasmine, bay leaf, mellow, clear but rich in flavor, juicy, well balanced sweetness and bitterness, sweetness as maple syrup, cane juice, plum, a touch of citric and cacao acidity, lime, lemon, fruity acidity of fresh green grape, raspberry, crispy bitterness, juicy sweetness as a long lasting aftertaste.
【Note】
Finca La Virgen August 2012 →
La Virgen is often introduced in Akaimi Coffee, which one of the COE nominated estate in Nicaragua.
Beans: Seasonal Special Blend ~Winter 2013~
Roaster: Akai-mi Coffee
Roasting Degree: N/A, After-mix ～ Blend
【Impression】
Medium, aromaful, lemony citric impression followed by Almond flower, Jasmine, sweet aroma as roasted almonds, hazelnuts, toasty, crisp, focused, well balanced bitterness and sweetness, round, hazy sourness follows after dignified sweetness, layers of sweetness raps dark chocolaty bitterness & spiciness, mellow sweetness as a long lasting aftertaste.
Tangy bitterness grows when cup is chilled.
【Note】
Warm winter welcome enjoyment from Akai-mi coffee. This year, Loma Grande adds sweet but heavy and rich flavor. Seasonal blend always entertain and surprise coffee geeks with a creativeness of the roaster. Also, they reminds us of that coffee is balance and creation of flavor, aroma, and so on... Thank you always for reminding me the core of coffee.
This time, Loma Grande and Udo's Micro lot came with this one.
Beans: Eleven Of Spades ～ Blend
Roaster: EXTRACTO COFFEE ROASTERS
Roasting degree: Medium
【Impression】
Light to medium, flavorful, lightly citric, chocolaty, almond flower, sweet, well balanced, smooth, juicy, fruity, top note sweetness of fresh pear, apricot and plum, Polysaccharides like slow sweetness, brown rice malts, plane almond milk, oat milk, clean bitterness, nutmeg like spiciness hidden, multi-layers of sweetness as a long lasting after taste.
【Note】
First one to try for mellow coffee lover enjoys pour-over. "Eleven of Spades" is Extracto's signature blend and the first one to recommend for first timers to bring home. Eleven of Spade stays rather lighter compared to "Seattle roast" but reminds me of Blue Bottle in SF.
Beans: Yamazakura ～Blend～
Roaster: Sepia Coffee
Roasting degree: Medium
【Impression】
Light to Medium, sweet nutty aroma as almond butter, maple syrup on a hot frying pan, slight citric tone as yuzu on the bottom, light texture, watery, juicy, well-balanced sweetness and bitterness, honey like layered sweetness, mellow bitterness, tint of fruity sourness, pear, black berry, blue berry, delicate and refreshing, juicy sweetness as a long lasting after taste.
Yamazakura ”山桜" means Wild cherry blossoms. This blend is characterized with fruity & flowery aroma combined with soothing after taste inspired by silently blossomed dark pink yamazakura.
【Note】
Ymazakura is specially created for Cafe Yama by Sepia Coffee, coffee bottega Sepia in Sakaide city, Kagawa-ken. The owner of Cafe Yama performs pour-over with HARIO and offer aroma-ful cup with their original blend, Ymazakura and Yamabuki.
These two beans can be purchased at Cafe Yama, Tadotstu in kagawa.
Cafe Yama:
1 Chome-４-３８ Sakuragawa, Tadotsu, Nakatado District, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan
Beans: Uganda BugisuAA
Roaster: Beans Tei
Roasting degree: Medium
Area: Bugisu sub-region, Eastern Uganda
Altitude: 1,600～1,800m
Varieties: Typica
Processing: Washed, Sun-dry
Screen: S18 up
Grade: AA
【Flavor scale】
Aroma: 4
Sweetness: 4
Acidity: 2
Bitterness: 3
Richness: 3
※Grade 1 to 5
【Impression】
Medium body, aromatic, sweet and floral, caramel, red currants, cacao, apple flower, freshly baked whole wheat Baguettes, smooth in texture, gentle, well-balanced, buttery, mellow, rich fruity sweetness, chestnuts honey, raw almonds&cashew, bright but low tone bitterness as cacao beans, blackberry like acidity hidden, juicy sweetness as a long lasting aftertaste.
【Note】
Bugisu has been recognized as the finest coffee beans production area in the global coffee market. There are hundreds of small coffee farms, maybe individual farmers, cultivating on the western side slope of Mt. Elgon, This lot is delivered from 49 micro farms on the west slope of Mt. Elgon which cultivate naturally.
A green beans broker emphasized "Natural farming", pesticides and chemical fertilizer free farming, as the recognized point of this beans. However, this is cynic. Any chemical farming "aids" have brought by the people, countries, that the brokers are selling the cultivation. Both natural and organic farming were "usual" for the farmers in Bugisu, but now it seems "usual" has changed to the industrialized farming style.
