# Recent trip to San Francisco - Coffee Shop Reviews and Pics



## Xpenno (Nov 12, 2012)

So I just got back from San Francisco and thought I'd share some quick thoughts and pictures on the various coffee shops and roasters that me and my other half visited during the trip.

*Blue Bottle Roasters*

Blue Bottle was the first coffee shop that we visited as it was pretty close to our apartment and was located in the very cool Ferry Building. The Ferry Building was brimming over with independents from wine and beer to coffee and ice cream and then on to cheese and fruit. There was even an entire shop dedicated to mushrooms! The building is beautiful and the produce even better.

On our first visit we had an espresso each and took away a filter each. The espresso was very intense. It had qualities of both light and dark roasts, quite chocolaty but with a bit of zing to keep it interesting, a very well balanced shot indeed. The pour over coffee was a different beast all together. It was still on the darker side of what I usually go for back home but it was still a really balanced brew and one of my favourites of the trip. It had plenty of fruit to get into but still maintained hints of the dark side. It was brimming over with red fruit and chocolate and this is how we started pretty much every day of the first week.





































(splitting post due to picture limits...)


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## Xpenno (Nov 12, 2012)

*Sightglass Roasters*

We decided to take a walk over to one of Sightglass shops. We accidently walked through the one area of the city that we were told to avoid, the tenderloin. Well, we survived to tell the tale and whilst the area wasn't exactly as nice as the main downtown area, we were not mugged, shot at or stabbed. After making it to Sightglass and already feeling a little caffeinated from our earlier trip to Blue Bottle we decided to take it easy and just grabbed a couple of espressos. I really loved the decor of the shop and the Probat Roaster was going full tilt right in the middle which just added to the experience. The espresso was of a similar style to those from Blue Bottle although I preferred this one. For me it had a bit more going on whilst still remaining balanced overall, Jill preferred Blue Bottle, both were fantastic.
































































*Workshop Cafe*

Next up was Workshop Cafe. This wasn't on the list but was one that we just happened upon whilst wandering about and needed a quick hit. I was glad that we did as the espresso was really tasty and they were serving up Stumptown's Hair Bender blend. Was a cool place was half of the space reserved for coffee and half a sort of mobile office space where people came to work. A very quick but satisfying visit


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## Xpenno (Nov 12, 2012)

*Flywheel Coffee Roasters*

A friend recommended Flywheel Coffee as somewhere that we might be interested in visiting as it quote "looked like a chemistry lab". We added it to google maps and decided to call in on the way back from a visit to the Ocean Beach. The shop is located in Haight Ashbury which is a very cool hippy district with loads of really cool shops and places to eat/drink.

The shop had a similar style and feel to those visited previously. The thing that set this one apart for me was the coffee. It was by far the best coffee that we had on the trip. The espresso was a think and dense Brazil with loads going on very tasty. The Kenyan filter was just like drinking a cup of Ribena. I couldn't fault either beverage and my only regret is that we visited it too late in the holiday to make it back again.


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## Xpenno (Nov 12, 2012)

*Four Barrel Coffee*

Similar styling to many of the others shops in the area but with a couple of differences. The machines were the fantastic looking LM Mistral with custom logo and then there was the second brew bar which was set apart from the main ordering point. Since we had a busy day planned we just opted for a quick espresso and an orange glazed doughnut for breakfast which we enjoyed whilst watching the roasters at work and both of which were fantastically tasty. On the way out I had an eye on the brew bar and was thinking about grabbing something to take out. I heard the barista talking to another couple about the various coffees that were available and decided to join the queue. We waited quite a while but eventually we got in on the action, we spent around 20 minutes speaking to both the couple in front and the barista as he talked us through the various coffees and made up a couple of quick brews to taste before we committed. The barista was surrounded by various machines, grinders and brewing equipment and had the most amazing enthusiasm for coffee. It was now obvious why this bar was kept separate to the main section as we'd been there for around half an hour and he'd sold about 3 coffees in that time, he did admit that he wasn't the quickest at serving which was an understatement at best. Either way when we finally left we left with two really tasty, and really different pour over brews in our hands as well as some great hints on places to eat and other great coffee shops in the area.


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## Xpenno (Nov 12, 2012)

*Ritual Coffee Roasters*

Last on the list for the holiday was Ritual which was quite a few blocks away but with one of the newly recommended bakeries directly en route so off we went. We arrived at Ritual and really loved the look of the place, it was quite different to most other shops with its more modern look and feel. The most striking features being that all of the kit was white, the machines (Synesso Hydras), the grinders (including Roburs, EK43, EKK43). Since we'd had quite a bit of coffee already we decided to just grab a couple of espressos. We had one house blend and one seasonal blend both of which rocked. They had a different take to most of the other places and I would say that they were roasting lighter and serving closer to roast date. On the Roburs this resulted in a really nice shot which I'd almost describe as light and fluffy which goes against everything I knew at that point. After a long chat with the barista about their roasting style as well as others including some of the bigger UK roasters some of which he was very familiar with, he made some other recommendations of shops to try and we were on our way.


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## Xpenno (Nov 12, 2012)

It's the second time I've been to San Francisco (the first time was 14 years ago) and it's a city that I just love. It's a place that focuses heavily on the quality of product and many places use locally sourced produce. They have it all and if you love coffee, happy people, food, nice weather, earthquakes, beer, amazing scenery, wine and/or gang shootings then I think that you would love it too. Seriously though, earthquakes and shootings aside, it was probably the best holiday I've ever had, I loved every minute.


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## aodstratford (Sep 18, 2012)

Brilliant reviews and photos - thanks. Spoilt for choice there !


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Ritual looks the nuts , love the look, the machines , and the coffee sounds god dam tasty too...( kaminksy used to roast here no ? )

The filter from blue bottle you gave me is really nice , sweet , deep , nommy


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## Xpenno (Nov 12, 2012)

aodstratford said:


> Brilliant reviews and photos - thanks. Spoilt for choice there !


Thanks









We were so spoilt for choice and there were still many places we didn't even get to.


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## drude (Apr 22, 2013)

Great post. I love San Francisco. Had some of the best food I've ever eaten there, but didn't find as much good coffee as you did. The Old Cigar Store was pretty good, and near Mama's Bakery, which may well be the best breakfast on the planet. The rest I drank were mediocre. Great pics too. Makes me really want to go back.


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## Xpenno (Nov 12, 2012)

Mrboots2u said:


> Ritual looks the nuts , love the look, the machines , and the coffee sounds god dam tasty too...( kaminksy used to roast here no ? )
> 
> The filter from blue bottle you gave me is really nice , sweet , deep , nommy


Yeah, really liked Ritual, everything just looked so cool and the coffee, yes!


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## Xpenno (Nov 12, 2012)

drude said:


> Great post. I love San Francisco. Had some of the best food I've ever eaten there, but didn't find as much good coffee as you did. The Old Cigar Store was pretty good, and near Mama's Bakery, which may well be the best breakfast on the planet. The rest I drank were mediocre. Great pics too. Makes me really want to go back.


Agreed, we didn't have a bad meal in the whole two weeks, in fact I'd say that pretty much every meal was exceptional, everything is just so fresh and tasty. I had some good recommendations for the coffee shops before I left so started off on a good foot and then the locals/baristas were only to happy to recommend other shops to try.


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## funinacup (Aug 30, 2010)

This is absolutely perfect timing - I'm heading to SF in 8 days. We're staying in SF for 3 days then picking up a car and heading to LA via a few other places.

Great pictures & writeup. What was the new popular bakery you heard about?

Thanks

Michael


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Awesome work dude. Nice pics, well jealous!

Thanks also for the Honey process Pacamara from Bluebottle matey


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## DavidBondy (Aug 17, 2010)

Nice photos and report Spence! Looks like you had a good time!


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## Xpenno (Nov 12, 2012)

funinacup said:


> Great pictures & writeup. What was the new popular bakery you heard about?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Michael


Thanks!

In order

Devil's Teeth Baking Company - Raspberry Jam Bar was like OMFG!!!

Acme Bread Company - Cinnamon Loaf was just superb!

Tartine Bakery & Cafe - Pretty much anything looked like a winner

Stella Pastry & Cafe - again everything looked fantastic


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## Phil104 (Apr 15, 2014)

Thank you for a brilliant set of reviews Spence - the person who was posting about doing a round the world coffee focussed trip could learn a lot from you. Sadly when we were in San Francisco 10 years ago I wasn't drinking coffee - although probably most of the places you have reviewed weren't there then in any event. Quite agree about the vibe there.


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## Xpenno (Nov 12, 2012)

Phil104 said:


> Thank you for a brilliant set of reviews Spence - the person who was posting about doing a round the world coffee focussed trip could learn a lot from you. Sadly when we were in San Francisco 10 years ago I wasn't drinking coffee - although probably most of the places you have reviewed weren't there then in any event. Quite agree about the vibe there.


Thanks









When I went 14 years ago it was mainly Pete's and Starbucks both of whom roast everything to death!


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## ronsil (Mar 8, 2012)

That's a great piece Spence. EK43s well to the front. Your pictures give a real feel for the place

Last there in 2002. The coffee scene was just starting to develop at that time. Best coffee we found at coffee shops in the lobbies of commercial buildings.

On the streets, as you say, mostly Starbucks/Petes.

My memories are mostly of fantastic SF sourdough bread with lunch sandwiches or surrounding chowder.


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## iroko (Nov 9, 2012)

WOW, looks like you had a great time, thanks for the fantastic pics and write up.

Sounds like coffee and food heaven.


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## Daren (Jan 16, 2012)

Yep - I second Iroko. Your pictures are quality.


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## Scotford (Apr 24, 2014)

Now THAT is a properly good write-up.

Good job!


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## Southpaw (Feb 26, 2012)

Wow, it all looks amazing! Some of them look so good I'd just want to spend time in the shops, oh and they also do top notch coffee - wow again. Good write up - thanks for sharing


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## DoubleShot (Apr 23, 2014)

WOW! Must have missed this thread when originally posted, @Phil04 mentioned it another new thread. Thanks btw.

Great work Spence, especially for all the photos too! ?

Will have a full read through...


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## spune (Oct 3, 2011)

Lovely thread with some nice pictures, thanks a lot for the wanderlust! I just love the décor of the places, I could sit in them all day... Glad you had a great trip. What drew you to going there in particular?


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## Brewdog (Jun 29, 2014)

I want to go...... Cracking trip report


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## PeterL (Aug 5, 2015)

I have a holiday criteria; good food, good wine, good coffee, I will compromise on one not more, a 3* has them all......

SF is one for sure....


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## Xpenno (Nov 12, 2012)

spune said:


> Lovely thread with some nice pictures, thanks a lot for the wanderlust! I just love the décor of the places, I could sit in them all day... Glad you had a great trip. What drew you to going there in particular?


Thanks









We have friends who moved out there on a longterm work thing. I loved San Fran, loads to do and see, lots of happy people and earthquakes and shootings aside it was a perfect holiday.


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