San Francisco Coffee Tour

It was a beautiful Saturday morning in the city, and I had several hours to kill before my meetings began. Upon the advice of some locals, I visited their suggested cafés. Picking up the BART at Powell, I rode to 16^th and Mission and then walked to 4 Barrel Coffee. Upon entering, on the right is a small coffee bar where they serve different coffees by the cup. I chose the Kenya Kikuru, a fruity, slightly acidic cup that looked murky in the cup but tasted great. Other single-origin choices included, among others, coffees from Sumatra, Nicaragua and Ethiopia.  The single-cup offerings could be purchased as either espresso or drip coffee. The center of the store is the regular counter for ordering, and in the back is the coffee roaster surrounded by bags of green coffee beans. Space was tight, so I finished my coffee and headed to the next stop for a pastry.

Four Barrel Roasters

Tartine was recommended as the best pastry shop in the city, and I can see why. When I arrived, the line snaked out the door. Inside, every seat was taken, with people standing at counters eating their treats. The illuminated display case was filled with cakes, tarts and cookies, while the adjacent case contained croissants, scones, quiches and sandwiches. Behind the tiny coffee bar in the corner, a barista tried to keep up with drink orders. The chocolate items all use Valrhona, a well-known, very-high-quality French chocolate that I have worked with for years.  I had to smile when I saw the Opera cake, a traditional chocolate cake with a shiny mirror finish decorated with real gold leaf. Years ago, one of the chocolates I made was called a palet d’or, a small chocolate decorated with gold leaf. Applying the paper-thin sheets of gold as decoration is difficult because the sheets are so flexible and stick to everything, so if you are not careful you end up gilding everything in sight. These cakes, however, were beautiful. My order from the pastry case included a chocolate ganache tart, meringues with cocoa nibs, shortbread and a chocolate brownie. The brownie was individually wrapped, so I knew I could save it for later!  Upon paying, I received my coffee cup and handed it to the barista, who directed me to self-serve airpots in the corner. I had to smile — the coffee was from 4 Barrel roasters. The black coffee was a great contrast to the sweet meringues and rich chocolate tart I enjoyed. As I sat at the tiny single table, enjoying my snack, the line to enter continued to expand down the block, and people continued to come and order. Everywhere, people were sitting, standing and enjoying pastries and coffee, but I had been sitting for a while, and I was sure that somebody could use my seat. It was time to go

Cakes at Tartine

Walking to Ritual Coffee Roasters, the café that was the most highly recommended by my friends, I passed several other coffee shops. I walked into two of them and promptly walked out. After my last two experiences with places that were jammed, it felt odd walking into a café with so few people. So I kept walking. I knew I had arrived when I saw a line of people patiently waiting to enter. Ritual Coffee Roasters has a striking, simple logo and a clean, Spartan interior. The focus is on the coffee, and they are clearly passionate about sourcing and serving the best coffee. A book on the counter displays photographs and information about each single origin. When I arrived, they were serving Finca Los Andes, a Cup of Excellence coffee from El Salvador, which their literature describes as “sweet and creamy, with flavors of blackberry, orange, and maple.” With medium body and crisp acidity, it was a nice way to end my day of coffee tasting and my tour of some of San Francisco’s best independent cafés.

Ritual Coffee