22 AMERICANWAY
NOVEMBER 15 2008
D R I N K
CONSIDERYOURSELF A COFFEE
connoisseur? If you haven’t visited
SanFrancisco recently, you’re in for a
perk. Inspiredby the recent Slow
Foodmovement, many city coffee-
houses have become tastinggrounds
for subtle and intricately prepared
brews. Unlike electric-drip varieties
served inmost cafés and restaurants,
the followingpurveyors create perfec-
tion out of freshly roasted, handcraft-
ed coffees and several well-honed
extractionmethods.
By serving only individually brewed
cups, theBayArea’s long-running
local chain
PhilzCoffee
(3101 24th
Street, 415-875-9370,
fee.com) converts loyal latte drinkers
to drip-coffee drinkers. Baristas pro-
duce afinely texturedbrewby placing
several tablespoons of one of 20
handmade blends into a cup-toppa-
per filter and adding a steady stream
of hotwater.MissionDistrict’s
Ritual
CoffeeRoasters
(1026Valencia
Street, 415-641-1024,
roasters.com) andPotreroHill’s
Cof-
feeBar
(1890Bryant Street, 415-
551-8100,
)
use theClover, a stainless-steel ma-
chine that combines the simplicity of
aFrench-press infusionwith the ef-
ficiency of a vacuumpump, resulting
in a deep, sediment-free coffee. The
Clover allows individuallyprogrammed
filter size, water temperature, and
brew time according to the coffee’s
flavor profile and a customer’s tastes,
which can be saved in a database for
regular patrons. But SanFrancisco’s
most alluring coffee contraption is at
BlueBottleCafé
(66Mint Street,
415-495-3394,
fee.net). Consisting of two vertical
glass globes and a siphon, the coun-
try’s only halogen-powered vacuum
pot looks like something straight out
of a science lab. Also called a siphon
bar, it produces a light brewby ap-
plying heat to the lower globe, which
creates a vapor that forceswater up
the siphon and into the topglobe
where itmixeswith coffee grounds
(with the aid of some stirring) before
beingpulledback down through a
filter by a negative pressure vacuum.
Likewe said, straight out of a science
lab. —
LauraKiniry
ToBrewYourOwnCupatHome,
UseOne (orAll) of These
ChemexClassicSeries6
cup
, $34.
icbean.com
Aerobie’sAeroPressCof-
fee andEspressoMaker
,
$28.
YamaVacuumBrewer
HCA5
, $70.
beanery.ca/bean/home.php
BodumChambord8-Cup
CoffeePress
, $40. www
.bodumusa.com
Lamill CoffeeBoutique
,
1636Silver LakeBoulevard,
LosAngeles, (323) 663-4441,
CaféGrumpy
,
224West 20th
Street, NewYork, (212) 255-
5511,
JP’s Java
,
2803San Jacinto
Boulevard, Austin, (512) 494-
0015,
StumptownAnnex
,
3352
Southeast Belmont Street,
Portland, (503) 467-4123,
MainExtractions
Where toFind
BrewedCoffeeOut-
sideof theBayArea
