CALIFORNIA COFFEE
Blue
Bottle Coffee Company: Oakland-based
Blue Bottle Coffee Company started as a small operation that sold individually
steeped cups of coffee and tiny batches of home-roasted beans at East Bay
farmers’ markets. We’d stand waiting for
our cups for half an hour or more. And
it was worth it.
Fortunately for coffee drinkers
everywhere, Blue Bottle continues to expand rapidly. They opened a café in Oakland, then more
cafes throughout the Bay Area and beyond.
I’m told that they even have a café in New York.
The
Pepper Peddler: Davis-based The Pepper Peddler uses
bicycle-peddle power to roast its coffee beans.
For reals. And
the result is unique and delicious. The
beans come out still oily. The oil slows
the water’s passage through the grounds.
The resulting coffee is thickly flavorful.
Peet’s Coffee & Tea:
I consider Alameda-based Peet’s to be one of California’s proudest exports. It was founded by Alfred Peet, the guy who
taught Starbucks’s founders how to roast coffee. Unlike Starbucks, however, Peet’s refused to
expand out of the inner Bay Area (a fact that made us locals smugly happy). But then it changed its mind. Suddenly, Peet’s coffee is ubiquitous, making
life better for millions of people everywhere. I do not drink enough tea to have opinions, but my tea-guzzling wife tells me that Peet's is quite good.
No comments:
Post a Comment