About This Web Site |
Rivaled perhaps only by Seattle, San Francisco is considered one of the most coffee-obsessed cities in America. Despite its strong coffee culture and a myriad places that serve espresso, finding a great espresso in the city is very much a hit-or-miss proposition. Through standardized reviews of the espresso at over 400 locations, I designed San Francisco Espresso: A Pocket Guide to help readers navigate through San Francisco's many cafés, coffee houses, and restaurants to find a quality espresso. This Web site, CoffeeRatings.com, is the online version of these efforts.
In 1822, the French invented the first espresso machine, and the Italians have since perfected the modern espresso over the past century or so. However, only in the past two decades have most Americans become acquainted and enthralled with the exquisite qualities of coffee when pressurized water is passed through its finely compacted grounds.
In fact, America is so new to espresso that standards simply do not exist and the sophistication of consumer tastes are just starting to develop. As a result, the quality of espresso in America is terribly inconsistent - and San Francisco is no exception. It's no wonder that so many coffee lovers do not explore beyond the safe and predictable confines of the nearest Starbucks. (And you will discover here that even the espresso at Starbucks can be very inconsistent between different locations.)
The San Francisco Bay Area has a long history of coffee: from the foundation of both Hills Bros. and Folgers Coffee in the 1800s, to Alfred Peet (founder of Peet's Coffee & Tea) whose coffee expertise was central to the genesis of Starbucks, to Oakland's current role as the #1 specialty coffee import port in America. There's even a namesake coffee roaster, the San Franciscan, that's still in popular use by coffee roasters throughout the world.
However, finding a good espresso in San Francisco can be a risky business fraught with an overwhelming array of options. In the process of using this guide, readers will not only be directed to some of the finest espresso in the city, they will also better educate their own espresso "palates" and develop a greater sense of their own preferences.
If you go to Rome, you might hear local debates over who makes the best espresso in the city: Sant'Eustachio, Tazza d'Oro, etc. Similarly, if you asked someone in Seattle where to find the best espresso, nine times out of ten you'll probably hear Espresso Vivace or Zoka. In Chicago, you'll hear Intelligentsia. In Vancouver, Canada, you'd likely hear Caffe Artigiano or JJ Bean.
So what's the answer for San Francisco, given its long coffee history and latte-sipping culture? Your responses will probably vary all over the map, from a couple North Beach cafés, to Starbucks, to local hangouts, to "there isn't excellent espresso in San Francisco."
With hundreds of establishments serving espresso in the City, and over 400 reviewed for this guide/Web site, the good news is that San Francisco does have great espresso. The bad news is that many places serve espresso in name only.
Separating the good from the not so good espresso is what this guide is all about. As a side benefit, I also hope to raise awareness and promote better standards for quality espresso in the area - among both baristas and consumers.
While this guide does make reference to the ambience of San Francisco's many places to drink espresso, it is about the coffee - plain and simple. If you're looking for a guide to poetry readings, jazz performances, and where to pick up that Nietzsche-reading dreamboat, you might want to look elsewhere.