Artisanal Coffee Roasters in the SF Bay Area

Food Trend: Small-Batch Coffee is Something to Buzz About

Sep 30, 2009

No longer your average cup of coffee; small-batch coffee roasters are perfecting this morning staple one cup at a time.

There’s something brewing in the air and it smells like coffee. What’s the buzz about? It has to do with a little, brown bean familiar to almost everyone and only in the San Francisco Bay Area could the average cup of Joe be elevated to greater heights than some fine wines. Long gone are the days of skim-milk-half-foam-extra-hot-lattes as new boutique roasters are bringing back heirloom coffee beans and taste sensations only found in a cup of fresh roasted, individually brewed, deep, dark and delicious coffee.

While the Bay Area has been home to many food movements, this one involving the humble bean seems to have caught many by surprise. Sure, everyone’s heard of the Slow Food Movement, eating organically and supporting our local farmers but many have been caught unaware by what some experts in the food world consider the deconstruction of the basic cup of coffee. Given these tough economic times, the fact that people are willing to splurge on a cup of coffee makes sense; getting top value for $4 - $5 compared to the money spent on a good bottle of wine is hard to argue with and it’s no wonder that people are flocking to coffee kiosks in droves searching for this affordable and delicious new trend.

At Blue Bottle Coffee Company, lines snake out the door as people are buying what Blue Bottle is selling – artisan, microroasted coffee from all over the world. Similar to micro-brewing beer, Blue Bottle is spear heading a return to the notion that smaller and slower are better than bigger and faster; watch out Starbucks! Because each cup is brewed upon being ordered, the wait for an average cup is about 3 – 4 minutes which would seem unheard of in this age of technology where consumers typically pay a premium for speed. But the folks at Blue Bottle are on to something and if their ever-growing popularity is any indication, then they’re on to something big.

Some however aren’t convinced and stick to their morning Starbucks habit refusing to believe that artisan coffee is here to stay. “I don’t really like the taste of coffee” said one Starbucks customer who believes that his mocha Frappucino tastes more like dessert anyway – something small batch roasters are loath to offer, as such ingredients as mocha flavoring, whipped cream and artificial sweeteners are huge no-no’s at these back-to-basic coffee stands.

Everything that goes into making a cup of coffee ultimately affects its taste and many microroasters agree that each step in the brewing process must be painstakingly thought out when brewing to ensure pure, caffeinated perfection. That means that such issues as water taste, water temperature, the coffee bean itself and the type of preparation that’s used (i.e. filter, French press, etc) all play an integral part in what your coffee will ultimately taste like. And although freshness begins deteriorating almost immediately after brewing, it looks like this trend is here to stay so you better drink fast.

Blue Bottle Coffee Company

The copyright of the article Artisanal Coffee Roasters in the SF Bay Area in Food Trends is owned by erin haver. Permission to republish Artisanal Coffee Roasters in the SF Bay Area in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.