CUP OF DREAMS: IF YOU ROAST IT, THEY WILL COME

I am among the many whose coffee-drinking routine exceeds the occasional morning cup and enters the territory of compulsory ritual. So you can imagine my child-like glee when I came upon the intoxicating micro-roasts and sparkling siphon coffee machines of Blue Bottle Café, or as I like to call it, Mecca.

Tucked away from the craziness of SOMA, Blue Bottle is among the sleek, renovated loft spaces that make up Mint Plaza. The signage is practically non-existent, but if you go during peak coffee-jones hours, the line out the door is sign enough. The meticulous and somewhat elitist mentality of the establishment, means that the service is more about showcasing the product than it is about doting on the costumers. This is fine by me, because their coffee, and I can honestly say this without hyperbole, is the best I’ve ever had.

You won’t find any toffee-nut lattes or nonfat gingerbread mochas on the Blue Bottle menu, because the people at Blue Bottle understand that coffee isn’t meant to taste like a Hostess Cupcake. That being said, their mocha is utterly decadent and totally pure. Made with Michael Recchiuti chocolate (another delectable SF obsession of mine) their mocha is a steaming hot cup of all that is wonderful about the Bay Area. It’s everything a mocha is meant to be: velvety, chocolaty, laced with espresso, and in my belly. It is the unparalleled smoothness of their coffee that makes Blue Bottle so transcendent and renders anything else something akin to sandpaper.


Along with an extensive variety of beans and a few choice drinks, there is a select and straightforward menu of breakfast items in the morning, ranging from refined brioches to the always-decadent prosciutto poached egg on toast. My personal favorite is the grapefruit half, which is sprinkled with sugar and then seared, creating an unbelievable burnt-sugar crust on top, like some sort of a delightful breakfast crème brulee. It is at once refreshing and satisfying and the perfect accompaniment to a fabulous cup of coffee. Their menu, like their coffee, is filled with subtle yet sublime surprises, echoing the overall feeling of the purity and richness of the establishment itself.

Their recently-opened Ferry Building location is smaller but remains just as fabulous with all the trimmings. And while you’re there, just a few storefronts away, you can pay a visit to Recchiuti Confections and have a S’mores Bite (or twelve) to go along with your cup of coffee. If you’re looking to get a taste of Blue Bottle coffee before fully diving into their fabulousness, stop by one of their espresso carts at any of their Farmer’s Market locations and savor each wonderful drop as you peruse the produce selection that day. Blue Bottle is one of those delectable discoveries that makes living in Bay Area so great.


So please, if you’re going to call yourself a coffee drinker, don’t do so until you’ve at least had the chance to try – and then become addicted to – Blue Bottle Coffee. You won’t be disappointed…and if you are, then there’s a chance you might be related to the Devil...I’m just sayin’.