Monthly Archives: September 2014

National Coffee Day

Posted on by
Reply

Happy National Coffee Day to all my fellow caffeine addicts and coffee lovers out there!

To celebrate this special holiday I started my day off with cold brewed coffee. But wait, it gets better. I started my day off with two free cold brewed coffees. Thanks to Fun and Cheap SF I knew that Bread & Cocoa was giving away free cold brewed coffee to the first 100 people, starting at 8am. Obviously I planned my day around making it there in time to take up this opportunity to celebrate my favorite holiday. I talked to the knowledgeable and friendly roaster and got to know a bit more about their commercial roasters company (Mr. Espresso Oak Wood Roasting) and the cold brewed coffees I was lucky (and determined) enough to enjoy. It turns out that they are the people that launched the coffee program that now exists at Bread and Cocoa!

The cold brew today was their 7 bridges blend, which relates well to the Bay Area and to connects with the people here. Since it’s never brewed hot, it allows you to really taste the coffee notes without bitterness and acidity because the coffee never has to be cooled down. The beans are from South and Central America, then roasted in Oakland. The main flavor profile is velvety, with flavor notes with different levels of sweetness, including brown sugar and dark chocolate. This blend is roasted pretty dark, mixed with dark and light beans that complement each other with smokiness.

A few takeaways:
1. I love cold brewed coffee.
2. It left an amazing after taste.
3. The best (and only real) way to celebrate National Coffee Day is with multiple cups of coffee.

20140929-182201.jpg

20140929-182450.jpg

Advertisement

For the love of Lovo espresso

Posted on by
Reply

My perfect ending to a perfect weekend visiting San Luis Obispo ends with a departing breakfast at Sally Loo’s Wholesome Cafe. This means a large iced soy latte and acai bowl.

Sally Loo’s is proudly pouring Four Barrel Coffee. They only use organic milk, and you have a choice between whole, nonfat, raw, almond, and soy. I love places that actually have both non-dairy alternatives, soy and almond, and love the dairy-free trend (and I’m even more impressed when they have coconut milk as an option).

They are obsessive about the way they pour their shots. They dial in the espresso (to make it pull correctly by checking how corse and fine the espresso beans are going into the porta filter) and they are constantly playing with it throughout the day to make sure the taste and flavor profiles are matching the espresso specks, checking for how heavy it should be and how long it should pull for and the amount of grounds you should look for, given to them by Four Barrel. The baristas constantly taste it (rough life) throughout the day. This is a new single origin espresso, called Lovo, Nicaragua, from a single farm that knows how to grow great beans. Each single origin espresso they have right now has their own flavor profile, and Lovo is bright, juicy and citrus.

I strongly recommend a stop by Sally Loo’s for their quality choices in coffee and espresso, as well as for their food offerings.

20140921-113822.jpg

20140921-115042.jpg

Espresso Treat

Posted on by
2

I have decided that a good shot of espresso is the best after-work treat, especially when it’s from Blue Bottle!

The Blue Bottle on Mint is (dangerously) conveniently located in between work and the Powell Bart stop I get on to go home, making it incredibly difficult NOT to stop any time that I’m not in a rush or pressed for time. The tall ceilings and tall windows let in plenty of natural light for a bright and upbeat atmosphere. One day I want to try their extremely concentrated and mad-scientist looking slow drip cold coffee system- maybe a morning in the near future. I’ll keep you updated. For now this adorable espresso shot and small glass of sparkling water are the perfect amount for me.

20140916-181254.jpg