Trip Report: Alvin’s Scrumptious Coffees & Teas
Posted by TheShot on 14 Mar 2006 | Tagged as: Beans, Local Brew, Roasting
Alvin Azadkhanian is something of an SF institution amidst the ever industrialized approach of coffee roasting and serving. This unassuming storefront/café has a few plastic sidewalk tables & chairs out front under awnings and a few simple diner tables inside. They sell everything from Bodum Santos vac pots, La Pavoni Europiccola machines, many organic roasts for around $10/lb, and even the ridiculous Kopi Luwak at $75/4-oz.
But Alvin’s is far from pretentious. Cut from the same cloth as Henry Kalebjian of the Outer Sunset’s House of Coffee, Alvin’s is a friendly neighborhood place. And the master roaster will serve your espresso himself. (There are pictures of him roasting out of a PROBAT roaster on the back wall.)
Using a two-group Futurmat, Alvin pulls a larger shot with a marginally thin and pale crema. Roasting, rather than espresso preparation, is visibly Alvin’s passion. His espresso has a milder, smooth flavor. But instead of tasting weak, it’s delicately flavorful of fresh mild pepper and some cedar. He serves it in an ornate-looking, Chinese-made demitasse (ironically branded as “Italian Styles”).
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[...] Philz brews it in single-serving drip filters — but moderately good places like Plumes Coffee House in Monterey (among a number of others) have been doing that for years now. And while their roasts are pretty good (I took a pound of their Heavenly Blend home anyway), they didn’t strike me as any fresher or better than you could get at The Beanery or, say, his Sunset roasting counterparts: legendary, friendly neighborhood “loners” such as Alvin Azadkhanian of Alvin’s and Henry Kalebjian of House of Coffee. So what’s the secret? [...]