Espresso News and Reviews – TheShot.coffeeratings.com

In the transitioning Cape Town neighborhood of Woodstock, which out-Missions the Mission, this espresso bar and roaster perhaps looks like no other you’ve seen before. Located inside the newly-art-conscious Old Biscuit Mill, this small space is a pristine, stark black-&-white-themed coffee lab that exudes meticulous organization. The Old Biscuit Mill is known in town for [...]

Tags: aeropress, blue_bottle, brightness_bomb, cape_town_cafes, coffee_blending, coffee_roasting, cortado, cup_of_excellence, deidrich_roaster, espresso_brightness, espresso_review, gibraltar, hario, hario_v60_dripper, kenya_coffee, la_marzocco, mission, pour_over_coffee, south_africa_coffee, wendelboe

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One of the most important, and most tragic, stories of human history since the age of the Portuguese explorers is the story of Colonialism. Today the vestiges of Colonialism are apparent everywhere from globalization to the impact of slavery and race relations around the world. For example, to look at the history of Cape Town, [...]

Tags: cape_town_cafes, coffee_chains, espresso_review, laptop_zombies, mission, portugal_coffee, south_africa_coffee, Starbucks

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Coffee is as universal a beverage as you can find in this country, and yet countless special interest groups seem to identify with coffee as it were their own exclusive thing. This identification may have a lot to do with a modern culture that values hype and hyperactivity — and associates that most with caffeine [...]

Tags: bicycles, coffee_culture, coffee_identification, espresso_review, fetish_coffeeshops, four_barrel, la_marzocco, mission

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The Mission is one of SF’s best neighborhoods. We don’t necessarily mean Mission Street, however: home to BART’s Plasticuffs Station and a decent assortment of angry heroin addicts. We’re talking about 24th Street — a working class neighborhood with a strong immigrant community, but without many of Mission Street’s rougher edges.
Decent coffee is now on [...]

Tags: brightness_bomb, de_la_paz, espresso_brightness, espresso_review, espresso_sameness, la_marzocco, mission, nuova_point, ritual_roasters, single_origin_espresso

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Some stories are too easy to predict. Like in our Trip Report to Pirate Cat Radio Cafe & Studio back in March. Back then we had heard the rumors that chef-turned-author-turned-TV-glutton, Anthony Bourdain, stopped in at the Pirate Cat to try their bacon maple latte. So naturally we suspected that Pirate Cat might make the [...]

Tags: anthony_bourdain, coffee_tv, latte, mission, no_reservations, stefan_gates

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This is the kind of place that makes you proud to live in San Francisco. We knew we were in for a treat when we walked in, saw the black-and-red paint all over the space, saw the radio studio with its skull-and-crossbones banner that looks out over the café, and heard the DJ airing Motörhead [...]

Tags: acf_cups, de_la_paz, espresso_review, mission, rancilio, stumptown, trouble_coffee

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At CoffeeRatings.com, we believe that what the end consumer experiences is what matters most, regardless of who is behind the results. But often the story about coffee becomes more of a story about people. Rodger’s Coffee & Tea is a good example of this — where knowing a little of the back story helps provide [...]

Tags: coffee_freshness, coffee_roasters, coffee_roasting, espresso_review, filter_coffee, mission, philz_coffee, synesso, third_wave

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For the past few months, we have exchanged notes and e-mails about a number of coffee places and events in the area with fellow SF coffee blogger, Christian G, of Man Seeking Coffee fame. (We’ve added the “G” here in an attempt to give him some rap-star-like mystique.) More recently, we collectively had the idea [...]

Tags: espresso_review, four_barrel, la_marzocco, mission, mistral, stumptown

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With little fanfare, last week Four Barrel Coffee finally graduated out of the ranks of the Malaysian street food experience and opened up its formal café space. So this week we paid a visit to check out the new digs — and update our espresso review. (See: our previous Four Barrel Coffee Trip Report.)
Last year [...]

Tags: coffee_history, direct_trade, duane_sorenson, espresso_review, four_barrel, la_marzocco, mission, mistral, restaurant_coffee, ritual_roasters, stumptown

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This casual café run by Mission locals lives across the street from the slightly newer, and trendier, Sugarlump. That detail alone contributes to an unusual social “halo” surrounding this café — one that forgives the many sins it commits against good coffee.
To be honest, the espresso here is quite dreadful. But this place is notable [...]

Tags: elektra, espresso_review, mission, organic_coffee, overextraction, yelp

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