Berkeley perks up for Coffee and Tea Festival
Posted by TheShot on 07 Aug 2011 | Tagged as: Add Milk, Café Society, Local Brew
Next month Berkeley hosts its first ever coffee and tea festival, and the SF Chronicle used the opportunity to mention Berkeley’s coffee and espresso roots: Berkeley perks up for Coffee and Tea Festival. The piece adds a bit of worthy Berkeley coffee history, even if it’s a slight retread of a 2009 piece in The Daily Californian. Both articles discussed Caffe Mediterraneum’s merits as the birthplace of the caffè latte. And, hey, Berkeley is where I had my first real cappuccino way back in those ancient 1980s.
3 Comments »
So, when are you actually coming over here to review Local 123, both branches of Remedy, Bica, Modern, Cafe Gabriela, etc. ?
Thanks for your posts. I recently went to Vancouver and enjoyed a number of cups (brewed and espresso) at 49th Parallel. Artigiano was good but not at that level. To over-generalize, Vancouver seems to prefer light, rich and smooth over the darker and more acid that seems to have become more popular around here (epitomized to me by Sightglass).
I’m overdue, no question. My bridge crossings have been few of late, however.
I haven’t been to Artigiano in years, but I did have a friend bring me back some 49th Parallel last month. Definitely on the smooth side, and even a little too smooth for my tastes.
A complete contrast with Sightglass. I haven’t had Sightglass’ roasts on-site yet. But of those cafés using their coffees, I can’t help but feel overpowered by the brightness in the flavor profile they go for.
To keep abusing that wine analogy, Sightglass seems of the school of the big-fruit/over-oakey Cabernet, blowing out your tastebuds and preventing you from tasting much else. Whereas I generally prefer more of the 49th Parallel/Vancouver “style”, if you can call it that: emphasizing secondary characteristics, nuance, and subtlety over beating you over the head with an acid mallot.
My reactions to 49th Parallel and Sightglass coffees are the same as yours, and I have tried their espresso on-site. The 49th Parallel espresso was at least very nicely complex, whereas I felt like the Sightglass was a bit one-note-y (with searing acid).