Coffee in Berkeley, CA

James Springfield

So can anyone recommend some really good roasters near Berkeley, were visiting from OZ, and so far been really underwhelmed
There seems to be an emphasis on fresh espresso rather than aging the Beans a few weeks

Not trying to diss anyone, just my impression so far

I was going to get some sweet Maria's, but left my hand grinder at home thinking I wouldn't need it

I'm travelling with my portaspresso and struggling to get it ground fine enough to not gush out

Cheers
James

Reiss Gunson

im not sure how close is close for you, but i can recommend without reservation the work of my former high school colleague, Andrew Baker of http://www.chocolatefishcoffee.com/pages.php?pageid=8Chocolate Fish Coffee in Sacramento - it is about an hour and a half away from Berkeley

James Springfield

Sweet thanks

We should be able to swing by there on our travels
Cheers
James

Reiss Gunson

ok, I've dropped andrew a text to let him know you might doorstep him :P

James Springfield

Great, thanks for that

Marc Young

Though I would hardly call this list definitive, here is a link to an article from September 2015 that lists and ranks many Bay Area roasters. The majority will be within a 30 minute drive from Berkeley.

https://www.thrillist.com/drink/san-francisco/the-definitive-top-11-bay-area-coffee-roasters

Many of the roasters are 3rd wave and I'm not sure where your taste preference lies but I'm sure you'll find something suitable to you with a bit of research.
Happy travels!

James Springfield

Awesome, thanks Marc

Marc Young post=11499 wrote: Though I would hardly call this list definitive, here is a link to an article from September 2015 that lists and ranks many Bay Area roasters. The majority will be within a 30 minute drive from Berkeley.

https://www.thrillist.com/drink/san-francisco/the-definitive-top-11-bay-area-coffee-roasters

Many of the roasters are 3rd wave and I'm not sure where your taste preference lies but I'm sure you'll find something suitable to you with a bit of research.
Happy travels!

James Springfield

So I've tried, highwire, bluebottle and stumptown blends ( that's all they serve as espresso) so far, all quite dark roasted, they're okay but nothing to write home about, not a lot of sweetness or complexity, very muddled homogenous flavours

They all have very nice high end espresso machines and grinders

Sacramento may be too far out of our way unfortunately, we're going to Monterey then Yosemite then Tahoe, so it's not really on the way to any of those spots, but we'll see how we go

Cheers
James

James Springfield post=11500 wrote: Awesome, thanks Marc

[quote=Marc Young post=11499]Though I would hardly call this list definitive, here is a link to an article from September 2015 that lists and ranks many Bay Area roasters. The majority will be within a 30 minute drive from Berkeley.

https://www.thrillist.com/drink/san-francisco/the-definitive-top-11-bay-area-coffee-roasters

Many of the roasters are 3rd wave and I'm not sure where your taste preference lies but I'm sure you'll find something suitable to you with a bit of research.
Happy travels!

Marc Young

Are you staying in Berkeley before you head down to Monterey? If so, then you will pass through San Jose which is where Chromatic Coffee is located. After stopping at Chromatic you can go a bit out of the way and head to Santa Cruz which is home to Verve Coffee before completing the drive to Monterey.

While in Monterey you can check out Acme Coffee Roasters in Seaside (about 10 minutes outside of Monterey) and Bright Coffee which is in Monterey. I haven't tried either Acme or Bright but they seem to be well regarded for the most part.

Salvatore Taibi

It's been a while, but Acme was my go-to roaster when I lived in Carmel. Super folks.

James Springfield

Thanks guys, yep going thru San Jose so will check out chromatic, and will also check out the scene in Monterey/cruz/Carmel

Will see if I can get to four barrel in San Fran tomorrow if I can

Thanks
For all the great tips

Cheers
James

Salvatore Taibi post=11503 wrote: It's been a while, but Acme was my go-to roaster when I lived in Carmel. Super folks.

Simon Y

I live in the Bay Area and have tried many of the third wave roasters here. My favorites with the L-I + HG one are Ritual's Sweet Tooth and Four Barrel's Friendo Blendo. Both are light roasts and do well at 18g/28g in ~28s. Ritual's seasonal espresso right now is the Last Exit, and I prefer the Sweet Tooth. I'm afraid my palate and ability to articulate aren't sophisticated enough to give a good description of why I prefer these blends, but I keep going back to them, so hopefully that's better than nothing. Good luck!

James Springfield

Awesome, thanks for the info Simon
Cheers
James

James Springfield

So I had a double ristretto (served in a paper cup, errgh) at bright espresso in Monterey, it was lovely
Bright ( a bit young) and fruity

Pulled on a two group San Marco lever

Turns out its kuma coffee from Seattle, using their bright bl no

No bags of beans in stock for my travels though, so the search continues

James Springfield post=11506 wrote: Awesome, thanks for the info Simon
Cheers
James

James Springfield

[quote=James Springfield post=11507]So I had a double ristretto (served in a paper cup, errgh) at bright espresso in Monterey, it was lovely
Bright ( a bit young) and fruity

Pulled on a two group San Marco lever

Turns out its kuma coffee from Seattle, using their bright blend

No bags of beans in stock for my travels though, so the search continues

Reiss Gunson

thanks for posting James.

James Springfield

I stopped into chocolate fish. In Sacramento today and bought some beans, I'll try them tomorrow
The espresso was okay, no dark flecks and missing some body, but sweet
I also tried a nitro coffee, the cream on top was yummy, but the liquid was like watered down instant, not my cup of tea
If only they could do it as a concentrated ristretto
The store is awesome though

Attached files

Curtis Smith

I have not yet been to Chocolate Fish, but will make the effort. Next time in Sacramento, you must try Temple Coffee. After sending my HotTop off to its new home and waiting an unexpectedly long time for the Bullet R1 to arrive, I have been living on Temple.

Curtis Smith

Next time you are in Sacramento, try Temple Coffee. After my HotTop was sent off and while waiting an unexpectedly long time for the Bullet R1 to arrive, I have been living on Temple beans.

James Springfield

Sweet, thanks Curtis

Cheers
James