Showing posts with label Bay Area. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bay Area. Show all posts

Sunday, August 19, 2012

CC: Trouble Coffee



Subject: Trouble Coffee
Location: San Francisco, CA
Free WiFi ? : yes
Rating: 5+ [see key]


When you do a bit of research on coffeehouses, usually the first place you look is their website. Most have pictures of the establishment as well as the usual "About Us" and "Menu" pages, both with occasional useful information about what they really offer and what to expect. 

And a very small percentage of the time, you get a website that makes you curious as to the establishment purely by its odd nature. Take Trouble Coffee & Coconut Club, a small coffeehouse on the far west side of San Francisco that seems to defy convention, but at the same time seems to provide the necessary information if you're willing to seek it out. It did it's job on me, as I added it to my list of places to visit even though it was somewhat out of the way of my travels. 

Sporting an outside seating area complete with flower boxes and a large log, I knew I had found Trouble long before I stepped inside. The interior, while very cozy, maintained an intimate and welcoming feel amidst an array of stimuli. As for coffee, they brew Ecco Caffe, specifically blends called Elbow Grease and the Hammer, the former offered as drip coffee and the latter as espresso. The shots of the Hammer were short with brown crema, smacking of vanilla, peanut, ginger, caramel, cola and lemon; a tart yet balanced spro. The Elbow Grease drip proved (surprisingly at the time) dark, with notes of well-done steak, cigar, white bread, sugar cookies and spinach. I found out later that Elbow Grease is an attempt at a non-bitter French Roast, to which it certainly achieved a great taste compared to a typical French Roast, but I personally found it too dark to be very pleasant. 

In walking away, I can say that the only thing I would have changed would have been the Elbow Grease. Otherwise, Trouble Coffee seems like a great local hangout where folks come to commune over good coffee and toast. If you happen to be on the western edge of San Francisco, make your way over to Trouble Coffee.

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Mugged: Panama Elida Estate [Verve Coffee Roasters]

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What does "Mugged" mean?


Subject: Verve Coffee Roasters
Coffees Mugged: Panama Alto Quiel Boquete Elida Estate Dry Process Catuai
Rating: 5+ [see key]



The Bay area is one chunk of California I long to return to, as much has transpired since I have been there last in early 2007. Coffee has taken off quite rampantly, with lots of promise and interesting prospects (you can see a sampling of such things in many Bay-based blogs such as Man Seeking Coffee or The Shot).

Yet once again, I am tided over until I can make such a trip with some whole bean coffee from afar; this time, 12 ounces from Santa Cruz's Verve Coffee Roasters.

Verve's Panama Elida Estate happened to be
the third coffee from my partially debited GoCoffeeGo order and was definitely a coffee I was looking forward to. Not only has Verve won quite a few hearts with their stellar roasting and exceptional cafe operations, but the description of this particular Panamanian coffee truly had my mouth watering.

I received the coffee roasted-to-order from Verve in a simple brown bag (one of very few quality roasters that strays from the CO2 valve) about four days after ordering. I mugged the coffee in the usual three methods of french press, drip and siphon.

The french press initially exploded with a fusion of raspberry and date, followed by a little lemon grass and following in the caboose was a tinge of smokiness. I was tremendously pleased with not only the flavor but the smooth body of the coffee.

The drip also produced a strong, sweetly sour berry flavor with the subtle taste of date, but the cup had much more of a smoky flavor. Overall, there was a nice sweet and sourness to the whole cup and still a nice smoothness.

The siphon stood out with a still beautifully berry-licious cup of coffee, though there was much less of the strong sweet and sourness and more of a light, tea-ish body. This cup was also much earthier than the other two.

As I neared the end of this coffee, I really wished I had more of it to go around. If you're looking for an amazing, flavorful Panama, definitely try out this particular crop from Verve while you can.