Four Barrel Coffee: The Mission's Latest Artisan Coffee Roaster

This past weekend, I visited Four Barrel Coffee after reading a story in the San Francisco Chronicle about the new forthcoming coffee roaster and cafe in the Mission District. Jeremy Tooker, who co-founded Ritual Roasters, is opening his own coffee bar. The Chronicle story said that Four Barrel Coffee is still under construction, but in the interim offers a coffee counter in the alley behind the store.

After a bit of searching, I found the alley coffee counter, which is not much larger than the coffee counter of Blue Bottle Coffee Company in Hayes Valley. I typically don't drink caffeinated coffee in the afternoon as it interferes with my sleep, but I ordered a double cappuccino. The barrista took care making my double cap and created a pretty rosette in the foamy top. Four Barrel's cappuccino, however, is a bit smaller than that offered by Ritual Roasters. It's a good thing I had brought a water bottle to offset the intensity of the espresso.

My first impression is that Four Barrel Coffee is comparable to both Ritual Roasters and Blue Bottle Coffee Company, which I believe offers a much better cup of espresso than most cafes in the city. Philz Coffee also offers very good coffee  hand-made by the cup, but it's pricey. But, if you want really good coffee or espresso, I would recommend you visit any one of these four locations.

On its web site, the Chronicle story on gourmet coffee cafes also includes a video of the Japanese siphon coffee champion, which is a similar, if not the same, as the vacuum concept. At home, I use a Bodum Mini Santos vacuum pot. Not only does the Mini Santos make good coffee, but it is fun to watch the process: the water boils in the bottom chamber and is sucked up into the top chamber by vacuum where the coffee grounds are located. The coffee begins to percolate once all the water is pulled into the top chamber. Then, the machine shuts off and the resulting coffee drops down into the bottom chamber. It's pretty neat.