Coffee Craw & National Pisco Sour Day

Official Poster

Last Saturday, DH, Dan and I headed to the Tenderloin area of SF to check out the city's first coffee crawl. While the Tenderloin may be more infamous for its colorful cast of characters lining the streets, the area has built up a reputation in the last couple years for its independent and excellent coffee spots. The Coffee Crawl was a celebration of these coffee shops and the self proclaimed 'coffee nerds' that love them.
Since we tend to drink a latte...then an espresso...then an ice coffee all before the clock strikes noon most Saturdays, an organized event celebrating coffee seemed like a natural choice.

Cupping Demo outside Farm:Table

We began the 'crawl' at Farm:Table where the Verve espressos were pulled super short and were almost orange in color. Our teeth were instantly ochre-stained from imbibing (picts not included!)

Next we headed to Bamboo Bike Studio where patrons were making their bikes out of, you guessed it, bamboo! What will they think of next?! The coffee offerings were less than interesting but the coffee-braised pulled pork sliders were just as good as that sounds.

Make your own bamboo bike

Bamboo Bike frame

The highlight of the 'crawl' was, unquestionably, the Sight Glass Coffee demonstration at Hooker's Sweet Treats. Led by brothers and Sight Glass co-owners, Jerad & Justin Morrison demonstrated brewing their Kenyan Kii (pronounced 'key') coffee four different ways. Using a V60, a Chemex and a press pot, the Morrison's showed the way different methods produce wildly different flavors in the very same coffee.

Jerad Morrison of Sight Glass, demonstrating press pot

There is a sort of frantic fervor to the coffee scene these days that can verge on comical. Every week there seems to be a new, must-try roaster and a new, almost cult-ish coffee drink to try. Between Intelligencia, Stumptown and Blue Bottle; from 'flat white' to 'Gibraltar' - I have a hard time keeping up, or keeping interested for that matter.
The brothers behind Sight Glass cut through that hype beautifully. Articulate, amicable, and incredibly well informed on their subject, Jerad and Justin Morrison managed to educate and engage without isolating their audience. A job well done indeed. And their coffee was exquisite all four ways!

La Mar

Pisco Sours for All!

To end the day, we decided to honor what ought to be an International Holiday, National Pisco Sour day! The Peruvian national cocktail was being served at La Mar in the Embarcadero for $5 all weekend long. Don't mind if I do!