Posted Thu Feb 28, 2008, 2:47pm Subject: Looking for a local roaster in east SF bay
Hi I live in concord (east side of the SF bay area) and am looking for some recommendations on a good local roaster that I can frequent. I am almost out of beans and need to pick something up local while I wait for my order of black cat to get here. I really don't want to run anymore of my SO harrar through my silvia, because TBH it's much better in my french press than it is as espresso :)
Preferably this would be something within walking distance of BART if it's not in the concord/walnut creek/pleasant hill area. I don't really want to go much further than Oakland, if I can get away with it although I am flexible. I used to live in south bay and had lots of easy choices, but not anymore :(
I might resort to heading down to santa clara and try out barefoot on sunday, but I'd really like something closer that I can frequent on a semi-regular basis without making a daytrip out of it.
I'm looking specifically for good blends for straight espresso as well as cappuccino (for me) as well as something that can stand up to soy (for my wife). I really prefer to frequent local neighborhood microroaster type establishments when I can, some place where I can touch and taste and smell it instead of pointing and clicking online.
roblumba Senior Member Joined: 30 Jan 2006 Posts: 349 Location: San Jose Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Thu Feb 28, 2008, 4:10pm Subject: Re: Looking for a local roaster in east SF bay
Barefoot is roasting a bunch of the Finca Vista Hermosa and all the money from the sales are going to the farm. If you want some beans for SO or for other brew methods (french, vac, etc) buy a bunch because they just roasted some today, fresh on the shelves, and they are roasting more over the weekend.
You also get a bulk discount for buying more than 3 bags (-$1/bag). And you get a free double shot with each bag. I had 2 doubles and gave the third to my friend who came with me and bought a bag.
For SO espresso they recommended the Vista Hermosa COE winner or the Michicoy. I bought 2 bags of the Vista Hermosa and 1 of the Michicoy.
TagTeamJesus Senior Member Joined: 12 Sep 2007 Posts: 238 Location: San Francisco, CA Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Silvia with Watlow PID Grinder: Macap MC4; QuickMill... Drip: French press, oui, oui!
Posted Thu Feb 28, 2008, 4:24pm Subject: Re: Looking for a local roaster in east SF bay
Wayne, you and I seem to meet often in these threads to discuss Blue Bottle. Could that be because Blue Bottle is oh so tasty? Mmmmm, they are my only current source for beans.
Gary, my favorite ever is the Yemen. It's a single origin that they don't always have, but lately they have it often. To my palate, more on the chocolate side of things without really any citrus. And I like that. When there is no Yemen in season, I usually go for the Hayes Valley Espresso. The 17 ft Ceiling is the one they are pulling at their new cafe in San Francisco, and I thought that one was pretty good too, but my 6 roommates and I agree so far that the Yemen is best.
The decaf is not boring at all. It's really nice. The barista described it as also being very chocolatey, and I thought that was accurate. I'll have to get some more decaf again sometime soon. I just always forget about it.
Posted Thu Feb 28, 2008, 4:35pm Subject: Re: Looking for a local roaster in east SF bay
Thanks, all! I'll probably stop by pacific bay on the way home tonight (since blue bottle's website mentions they only allow pickups on mondays and fridays it seems) and I might wander down to santa clara on sunday when my wife is spending the day with her sister in sacramento. I'll definitely give bluebottle a go, too.
I've been jonesing for good coffee all day at work... after finally breaking down and putting a PID in my silvia last night, I want to spend the weekend geeking out on coffee heh.
roastaroma Senior Member Joined: 21 Nov 2007 Posts: 259 Location: San Francisco, CA Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Sirena Grinder: Rocky Drip: Bodum French Press Roaster: Blue Bottle Coffee
Posted Fri Feb 29, 2008, 7:36am Subject: Re: Looking for a local roaster in east SF bay
Ciao Gary,
Re BB's blends, I have not tried their decaf, but I can say a little about the ones I have tasted.
For manual drip, the Alma Viva is outstanding; it is perfect black -- milk & sugar will not improve it. For drip & French press, Bella Donovan is rich & hearty, BB's most popular blend for good reason.
Re BB's espresso blends:
The Roman & Temescal are closer to the N. Italian end of the flavor spectrum. The Roman is the most temperature-sensitive, and I learned reverse temp-surfing esp. for this blend, my personal favorite. By contrast, Hayes Valley is on the heavy chocolate side -- and it's hugely popular with those who developed a taste for that style. (I have not had Black Cat, so cannot draw any parallels.) Retrofit is the most forgiving blend for newbies, but not as memorable as the others.
I've only had one of their single-origins: the Cooperativa Vasquez COE, a Nicaraguan Caturra. It's not ideal as espresso, but perhaps as an Americano (it only dawned on me later). Drip or vac-pot would be better for this one, I think.
Posted Fri Feb 29, 2008, 7:56am Subject: Re: Looking for a local roaster in east SF bay
I stopped by Pacific Bay last night and thought I'd give an update. It was a nice place with a friendly staff who appeared to be pretty knowledgeable about what they had and what they were doing.
They had two espresso blends but only one on hand, the Diablo. They pulled a shot for me and I tried it and while it was good, it definitely wasn't great and I wasn't overwhelmed by it. It was very bright and brassy to me, but it had only been roasted two days ago and it probably needed another day or two to rest. I picked up a pound of it to try after letting it sit for a little while longer.
The decaf, on the other hand, was... uhm... well honestly it was quite terrible. It was like sour cherries. It had plenty of body but it was all sour, all the way through. It had some low earthiness to it, but the sour cherry was firmly threaded through everything in this coffee and I couldn't even finish it. I was rather disappointed. If I had pulled that shot it would've been a sink shot for sure. It had been roasted 10 days ago, so it shouldn't have been too old yet. Not sure what was up with it but I opted to skip it.
The barrista recommended I updose the diablo slightly and pull it at 203 (wow). That was indeed what they were pulling it at when I looked at their machine. I'll try pulling it a little cooler myself and see if it blunts some of the brassiness of it.
They had some SO beans they recommended for espresso as well, so I might go back and try some this weekend. It certainly was a nice little place, albeit in kind of a busy part of town.
Rawman Senior Member Joined: 14 Jun 2003 Posts: 915 Location: SF Bay Area, CA Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Expobar Office Control ,... Grinder: Mazzer Mini Vac Pot: Silex Vintage Vac Pot Drip: Bodum chambord FP, Melitta... Roaster: Buzzroaster, HG/DB
Posted Fri Feb 29, 2008, 9:54am Subject: Re: Looking for a local roaster in east SF bay
I have only been to Pacific Bay once, and got a cap that was pretty good. I saw that they had whole bean roasted coffee for sale, and saw the roaster so figured since you were close it was an easy choice. I was on my way to Fairfield and found that it has easy access to the 680 so figured I'd stop by. Also they are hosting the western regional barista championships..
I home roast so I don't buy that much roasted coffee. When I do, my first choice is usually Barefoot, especially since I'm 2 miles from there.
We should get this thread moved over to the US West forum.. probably a bit more appropriate there.
Rawman the Expobarbarian.. AKA the Original Jon R.
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