“You know what they say,” my aunt used to joke. “Two Jews, three opinions.” I’m true to my heritage. Often, when someone asks me about my favorite [insert blank] in the Bay Area, my answer is full of qualifiers. Best burritos? It varies. Breakfast or veggie? Drunk or sober?
So in the spirit of indecisiveness, we asked the staff to weigh in on a few of their favorite things in San Francisco. Coffee seemed like a perfect starting point, since there are so many different ways to brew it that you’re never going to get consensus on one favorite. If your top cup didn’t make the list, weigh in in the comments section (the more the merrier).
Meaghan: Coffee Bar
I’m straightforward when it comes to coffee. My taste buds can’t take the bitterness of Blue Bottle and really can’t handle the complex flavors of Ritual. For a tried-and-true classic cup that doesn’t get all froufrou in its flavors, I stick with Coffee Bar.
I’m not the first person to rave about this place, and I won’t be the last. For anyone in the FiDi, Coffee Bar’s two convenient locations make it an essential a.m. run before hitting the cubicle. I love that if you’re really not in the mood for morning chitchat, their $2 DIY pour is the antithesis to an all-too-peppy Starbucks barista.
If I’m in a funk during the 2:00 p.m. slump, my go-to pick-me-up is the horchata cold brew. Pricier than your average cup of Joe, at $5 a pop, it’s still worth every cinnamon-sweet ounce of energy to get you through the afternoon. And if you’re lucky enough to make it to Coffee Bar’s Mission location, make sure to order the cheddar parsley scone for a savory-sweet treat.
Keith: Four Barrel for espresso drinks, Philz for Mint Mojitos
I’m not a big drip or pour-over fan. I feel like when you use the espresso machine, you get at the essence of the coffee’s flavor. Espresso is to drip coffee what cream is to milk: it’s the concentrate, the essence of the thing.
With its taxidermy mounts, vinyl music selection and uncomfortable modernist stool seating, Four Barrel epitomizes SanFranciscolandia’s worst hipster clichés. Still, I think their espresso is a force to be reckoned with. There is no other coffee shop that makes such a satisfying Americano: just a splash of cream makes for a perfect balance of bitter, smooth and sweet. I find Ritual too harsh and Blue Bottle too strong. Whatever Four Barrel does in that roasting machine, it’s working out for my taste buds.
Remarkably (and unusually), their decaf espresso bean is just as good. Not kidding — if you can’t do caffeine, Four Barrel has cornered the flavorful decaf-espresso market.
For pour-overs, Philz is king simply by virtue of their interesting blends. Who would’ve anticipated that fresh mint could taste so good in coffee? Philz is also just plain weird: unlike every other coffee shop, Philz treats coffee like one ingredient in a well-balanced soup, rather than as a solo dish. Purists may despise it, but Philz marches to the beat of its own drum, and I kind of like that. Mint Mojito all the way.
Jason: Tosca Cafe for their House Cappuccino 1919
I don’t like coffee. But since I’m an open-minded fellow, whenever I’m with someone prattling on manically about how mind-blowing their espresso or whatever is, I always take a slurp in hopes that I might have a conversion moment. I’ve sampled all the best our city has to offer, and having done so, I’m struck by a harrowing paranoia that everyone around me is so addicted to the stuff that they have no objective ability to experience what it actually tastes like (blech). As far as I can tell, to most people, coffee tastes like not having a headache.
That being said, coffee as a flavoring can be delish. So I submit that the best damn coffee in the Bay Area is the House Cappuccino 1919 at Tosca Cafe. Coffee (not sure what kind — who cares!) with Marie Duffau Napoleon Bas Armagnac, Buffalo Trace Bourbon, Dandelion Chocolate Ganache and organic milk. Grab one on the way to work and another on the way home from work.
Nicole C.: Farley’s for their banana bread
I come from generations of coffee addicts, the types of people who will drink three cups a day despite developing cysts, because it’s that good. I held off until last year, and then I just couldn’t stop. Go figure. I’m drinking iced coffee right now.
Being late to the game means I haven’t quite figured out the nuance in specific roasts. Ritual, Sightglass, Four Barrel, Verve, Andytown — they all taste great to me. What I can speak to is the interior design. I’m a total junky. I walk to a different third-wave coffee shop almost every day. Don’t challenge me on Fitbit. I’ll win.
Some of my favorite details: the noodley lights in Ritual on Valencia. The enormous coffee grinder at Sightglass in SOMA. The WiFi password, “consent,” at Wicked Grounds. (We live in a city with a BDSM-themed coffee shop. Is that not the most SF thing ever?) The graffitied mirror and delicious dragon-fruit bowl at Jane on Fillmore (that shit’s so good I put it on our Instagram). The water cooler at Farley’s labeled “Life Juice.” The fact that Equator on Market often plays the soundtrack to Amélie.
I also really fuckin’ like banana bread. I could rate coffee shops on banana bread alone. Jane’s banana bread is a slice of gluten-free heaven. And when I go to Farley’s, they straight up ask me if I would like a slice. I have a problem.
And don’t forget: if you plan on working at a coffee shop, be the hero our city deserves, and bring a power strip.
Nicole K.: Flywheel in the Haight for their Kenya
Before moving from New York City to San Francisco, I couldn’t tell the difference between a cup of Folgers and Philz. OK, maybe I’m over-exaggerating a little, but my point is that I didn’t know how to appreciate a good cup of coffee. Four years later, water-downed, filtered coffee makes me cringe. I’m what some would call a coffee snob. I’d rather feel tired for the day than drink a shitty cup of Joe.
Luckily for me, I live next to the best coffee shop: Flywheel. Their pour-over blends from Kenya, Costa Rica and Ethiopia (which change every few months) not only taste delicious but also provide you with the perfect cracked-out-by-caffeine feeling. I hear the cold brew here is pretty awesome, too, and it can last you for a couple of days (but I haven’t had the heart strength to try it yet).
This is also a popular spot for the work-from-home crowd. When I first started coming here a couple of years ago, it was always empty. Now it’s hard to find a spot after 11:00 a.m. on a weekday.
