JimWright Senior Member Joined: 17 Jan 2006 Posts: 252 Location: SF Bay Area, CA
Espresso: LM GS/3, Estro Profi Grinder: Macap M7KR Vac Pot: Yama Drip: Other: Eva Solo, Press Pot
Posted Sat Apr 4, 2009, 7:13am Subject: Re: I'm getting reports of BB opening -in- the Ferry Building SF
Huzzah! A place to get coffee while walking the Embarcadero now... If only the Cowgirl Creamery would start selling the Strauss Barista Milk at retail I'd end up there weekly.
christiang Senior Member Joined: 14 Dec 2007 Posts: 50 Location: Berkeley Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Mini Gaggia Grinder: Mazzer Super Jolly, Porlex... Vac Pot: Hario 2-cup Drip: Chemex (Kone and paper),...
Posted Sat Apr 4, 2009, 3:25pm Subject: Re: I'm getting reports of BB opening -in- the Ferry Building SF
Actually, they sell the Silva for this same price over at the cafe as well. They have quite a bit of really nice gear at the cafe, but all marked up. They have the Ponte Vecchio Lusso for about $1100 and some fancy Japanese gear like the pour over kettle, 2 cup hario siphon and a cold coffee brewer, like a mini version of their gigantic "still." I guess the latter equipment all has to be imported so the markup is not too far fetched, but I think they are definitely shooting for a wide margin. I think the main thing is that it's a good place to actually see this equipment up close since there aren't too many places that sell this equipment around here that you can see in person.
Posted Sat Apr 4, 2009, 3:39pm Subject: Re: I'm getting reports of BB opening -in- the Ferry Building SF
I just paid a visit to the Ferry Building today -- that rockin' lever machine is a Kees van der Westen Idrocompresso Triplette, with naked portafilters! And their primary grinder is either a Mazzer Royal or Robur with electronic dosing. The biggest grinder I've ever laid eyes on! As I expected, the lines were long for both the Triplette and the Marzocco -- even then, you would not have noticed any drop in business at their outdoor Farmers Market kiosks! I'd say they're doing all right!
As for the quality of the Retrofit espresso from the lever, the complexity was better than I expected -- it may have to do with the barista. It was certainly comparable to my best shots on the Lusso, and noticeably better in the volume & crema. The division of labor seemed to be with the guy doing most of the shot-pulling (he's closer to the grinders), and the woman taking the orders & doing most of the milk-steaming & pouring.
Posted Sun Apr 12, 2009, 6:51pm Subject: Re: I'm getting reports of BB opening -in- the Ferry Building SF
I was at the Ferry Building on Saturday morning when there’s also a very nice farmers market going on outside. Inside the building lots of people were standing in line at the Blue Bottle lever espresso machine location.
Posted Sun Apr 12, 2009, 6:51pm Subject: Re: I'm getting reports of BB opening -in- the Ferry Building SF
Around the corner is the Blue Bottle LM machine where the line was a bit shorter. Some customers ahead of me ordered macchiatos, which had very pretty latte art. So I also decided to order a macchiato but then a cute hot chick from Australia standing behind me started to chat coffee talk with the male Blue Bottle barista, and suddenly I became invisible. I thought, oh no, I’m going to get screwed. And I was. I got this ugly no latte art macchiato. Tasted pretty good though. They sell these 2.75oz cups for $27.50. A cappuccino cup and saucer runs $40.25. Ouch!
Posted Sun Apr 12, 2009, 6:52pm Subject: Re: I'm getting reports of BB opening -in- the Ferry Building SF
I also got this Gibraltar, which is a subject of controversy nowadays. Click Here (theshot.coffeeratings.com) James told me that the Gibraltar glass is about 4.5 oz and a few years ago they were too small to use for cupping so the baristas used them to practice making cappuccinos.
Posted Sun Apr 12, 2009, 6:53pm Subject: Re: I'm getting reports of BB opening -in- the Ferry Building SF
The fourth Blue Bottle stand at the Ferry Building farmers market had no line when I was there at 1pm. But they did have about ten people waiting for their coffee drinks.
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post
Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum. No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum. Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards. Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics. Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies. Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies. Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts. Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.
![GaryH: Blue_Bottle_FM_April09_1a.jpg](javascript:ImagePopup("/images/43184/Blue_Bottle_FM_April09_1a.jpg", 900, 675, "GaryH: Blue_Bottle_FM_April09_1a.jpg");)
= No New Posts since last visit 