»In praise of Blue Bottle

Today, three years after opening their landmark kiosk on Linden, Blue Bottle Coffee threw open the doors to their fully-fledged café in Mint Plaza. Undoubtedly Blue Bottle changed the way I think about coffee, the way I drink and enjoy coffee (which I do, a lot), and my enjoyment of San Francisco. They are one reason that Anna and I made regular weekly visits to the Farmers Market at the Ferry Building.

Although I may not visit the café for some months yet, and have not seen the awesome bronze and glass of the halogen-powered siphon bar they installed. I do like the prospects of a thousand sawbucks' worth of coffee, though! For my part, I am now using a twenty-dollar AeroPress, which looks awfully dangerous but produces a decently smooth cup of coffee. I am not yet convinced that it surpasses a French press for quality or for ease of use, but it is compact enough to keep on my desk at work.

update Not only have a dozen people forwarded the news of Blue Bottle's opening (huzzahs all 'round!), but the San Francisco Chronicle notes that "Miette's Caitlin Williams is on pastry duty."