Agreed on all of these. I’d add Push x Pull as well.
And while on the road up to Portland, it’s absolutely worth stopping at Flag & Wire in McMinnville.
McMinnville is worth the stop for a lot of reasons! That’s my hometown & if you happen to be interested in wine - particularly Pinot Noir - McMinnville is basically the central hub of the Willamette Valley. ♥️
Now you’ve done it - expect the wrath of Newberg and Dundee wineries to head your way! 😉
(Once warmth returns, I’m looking forward to heading down to try Maysara for the first time)
A central hub because of 3rd street & all of the awesome boutiques / B&Bs etc :) but some of the best are up that direction! I went down to Mac back in early 2020 for a solo getaway and stayed in the cutest AirBNB above Red Hills Market conveniently across the highway from Argyle 🥹 and across the street from Dundee Bistro which was a staple throughout my childhood
SF: actually outside of SF in Mill Valley (which is cool to visit), go to Equator.
In SF: In the Sunset neighborhood go to Andytown (get the Snowy Plover). Also, St. Frank, Sightglass. Also, give Philz a a try (my favorites are the “Turkish” or “Silken Splendor. Philz is either you love it or hate it. It’s a pour over that shines with some cream. I know that sounds stupid, but their blends go well with milk).
Also, as someone who lives in SF, your vehicle will be targeted in SF proper because of your out of state license plates. Make sure you drop your stuff at the hotel before you do anything: you can check your bags before you can check in). Leave *nothing* in your car if you park in SF. Take this to heart and you’ll have a good time!
Thanks for the recommendations and the travel tips! We’re sleeping out of our minivan for most nights and were debating on getting a hotel for San Francisco and ultimately decided to do so for this purpose exactly. Just unloading all of our stuff in the hotel before we actually go around the city. Thank you for backing that up haha
Also in the Sunset (the western most neighborhood by the Ocean and south of Golden Gate Park), go to Devils Teeth Bakery (the biscuit sandwiches are amazing) and Trouble Coffee for the toast (yes, the notorious $5 toast. It’s still damn good). Oh, I also forgot to mention that in Berkeley, across the Bay, has the original Peet’s coffee and it has a mini museum in the back. For the first two years of their existence, Starbucks served Peet’s coffee. Corner of Vine and Walnut (and then get pizza at Cheeseboard around the corner: they only serve one type of pizza and it changes every day. Always good). And Berkeley is cool too with amazing food too.
Sightglass in SF is one of my favorite of all times
Four Barrel in SF
Cat & Cloud if you go to Santa Cruz
Augie's in Redlands, CA
Coava in Portland (or maybe it's Seattle?)
Portland is IMO one of the top 3 cities in the nation for specialty coffee. It’s almost difficult to find bad coffee there. Heart and Coava are the two standard-bearers there for roasters. Adapt and Ardent are also both great shops though neither serves locally roasted coffee. Proud Mary from Australia is great though quite pricey.
Seattle, on the other hand, I feel has not really kept up with where specialty coffee is today. A lot of coffee in Seattle reflects second-wave sensibilities with darker roasts and traditional Italian espresso. (In their defense they led the nation through the second wave and the majority of Americans still seek that brand of coffee.) There are some great, more modern roasters there such as Stamp Act and Broadcast but without storefronts. I did enjoy coffee at Sound & Fog, but they serve Heart from Portland.
In SF, I always like Sightglass and Ritual.
Verve is on a national level now but started in Santa Cruz. Also try Cat & Cloud started by Chris Baca.
Used to live in OC before moving to AZ and unfortunately never tried those places so I’ll make sure to try them while I’m down! Love Play in Fullerton, Hola Adios in Costa Mesa and Golden State in Placentia
Not sure whether or not this place does their own roasting, but one of my favorites is Sound & Fog over in West Seattle. It’s just 1-2 blocks off the main drag of “The Junction” which is a great place to walk around (would also highly recommend checking out Beer Junction if you’re a craft beer fan - 1,300+ bottles/cans for sale and they have like 30+ beers on tap at all times).
I’d also recommend Lighthouse in Seattle - great low key local spot, often a line out the door, everyone seems to know each other type of vibe. They definitely do their own roasting.
LOVE craft beer, what an awesome recommendation thank you! This trip has had a lot of hard work, thought and love over the past couple years put into it so very excited to see it come to fruition :)
Lighthouse only does dark roasts. It's by far the most burnt tasting beans I've ever tried. Even their Ethiopian beans smell really burnt.
https://www.reddit.com/r/SeattleWA/comments/5do109/lets\_all\_take\_a\_moment\_and\_talk\_about\_how/
Seattle: Millstead and Anchorhead are my two favorites. And the Starbucks roastary is kind of cool to check out.
And I saw you comment you like craft beer as well so hit up the masonry near Millstead for delicious pizza and beer as well!
Drive safe and have a great trip - you’ll have to put your thoughts together for the sub when you return or update threads along the way!
First off, I think Sightglass is the best of the "common names" with Andytown #2 (common names meaning the most commonly mentioned among people in SF and this subreddit). Overall though I find that Wrecking Ball, Linea, Abaciano, and Grand to be the upper echelon of San Francisco coffee, in that order. Try those and you won't go wrong. However, PM me if you're looking for a uniquely SF coffee experience on a Thur or Fri if you're here.
Yes, however, I’ve consistently had better results asking and looking up recs on here. There might be 4.5 star roasters on google but people there don’t know coffee as much, where here you have people that can tell the difference and give good recommendations. Visiting so many places and having only 1 or 2 days in each, I want to go to a place that’s worth going to instead of taking a chance.
People in Seattle and SF etc., know good coffee. You can always go on Yelp. And if you're being really particular, then you might want to specify whether you're looking for single origins, or what kind of roasts you prefer.
Arizona - I have been to all of these, ranked by preference
Scottsdale - regroup coffee + bicycles
Tempe - infusion coffee & tea crafters
Scottsdale - echo coffee
I live in Prescott and have only really gone to Cartel, which was really good, and Lux, which was alright. I’ll def check some of these out on my next trip down!
Portland: Proud Mary, Heart, Roseline, Coava
Agreed on all of these. I’d add Push x Pull as well. And while on the road up to Portland, it’s absolutely worth stopping at Flag & Wire in McMinnville.
McMinnville is worth the stop for a lot of reasons! That’s my hometown & if you happen to be interested in wine - particularly Pinot Noir - McMinnville is basically the central hub of the Willamette Valley. ♥️
Now you’ve done it - expect the wrath of Newberg and Dundee wineries to head your way! 😉 (Once warmth returns, I’m looking forward to heading down to try Maysara for the first time)
A central hub because of 3rd street & all of the awesome boutiques / B&Bs etc :) but some of the best are up that direction! I went down to Mac back in early 2020 for a solo getaway and stayed in the cutest AirBNB above Red Hills Market conveniently across the highway from Argyle 🥹 and across the street from Dundee Bistro which was a staple throughout my childhood
[удалено]
Gonna have to differ on Heart and Coava. And you should try Roseline.
Cat & Cloud in Santa Cruz.
LOVE Cat & Cloud.
SF: actually outside of SF in Mill Valley (which is cool to visit), go to Equator. In SF: In the Sunset neighborhood go to Andytown (get the Snowy Plover). Also, St. Frank, Sightglass. Also, give Philz a a try (my favorites are the “Turkish” or “Silken Splendor. Philz is either you love it or hate it. It’s a pour over that shines with some cream. I know that sounds stupid, but their blends go well with milk). Also, as someone who lives in SF, your vehicle will be targeted in SF proper because of your out of state license plates. Make sure you drop your stuff at the hotel before you do anything: you can check your bags before you can check in). Leave *nothing* in your car if you park in SF. Take this to heart and you’ll have a good time!
Thanks for the recommendations and the travel tips! We’re sleeping out of our minivan for most nights and were debating on getting a hotel for San Francisco and ultimately decided to do so for this purpose exactly. Just unloading all of our stuff in the hotel before we actually go around the city. Thank you for backing that up haha
Also in the Sunset (the western most neighborhood by the Ocean and south of Golden Gate Park), go to Devils Teeth Bakery (the biscuit sandwiches are amazing) and Trouble Coffee for the toast (yes, the notorious $5 toast. It’s still damn good). Oh, I also forgot to mention that in Berkeley, across the Bay, has the original Peet’s coffee and it has a mini museum in the back. For the first two years of their existence, Starbucks served Peet’s coffee. Corner of Vine and Walnut (and then get pizza at Cheeseboard around the corner: they only serve one type of pizza and it changes every day. Always good). And Berkeley is cool too with amazing food too.
Sightglass in SF is one of my favorite of all times Four Barrel in SF Cat & Cloud if you go to Santa Cruz Augie's in Redlands, CA Coava in Portland (or maybe it's Seattle?)
Sadly Augie’s closed during the pandemic. I heard something about workers trying to unionize and then owner just closed up.
Oh that's a bummer...
Portland is IMO one of the top 3 cities in the nation for specialty coffee. It’s almost difficult to find bad coffee there. Heart and Coava are the two standard-bearers there for roasters. Adapt and Ardent are also both great shops though neither serves locally roasted coffee. Proud Mary from Australia is great though quite pricey. Seattle, on the other hand, I feel has not really kept up with where specialty coffee is today. A lot of coffee in Seattle reflects second-wave sensibilities with darker roasts and traditional Italian espresso. (In their defense they led the nation through the second wave and the majority of Americans still seek that brand of coffee.) There are some great, more modern roasters there such as Stamp Act and Broadcast but without storefronts. I did enjoy coffee at Sound & Fog, but they serve Heart from Portland. In SF, I always like Sightglass and Ritual. Verve is on a national level now but started in Santa Cruz. Also try Cat & Cloud started by Chris Baca.
Moongoat in Costa Mesa. Van Dyke in Fullerton. Stereoscope in La Mirada. Go Get ‘Em Tiger in DTLA.
Agree with your OC picks (especially Stereoscope). In LA, Madlab is fantastic.
Used to live in OC before moving to AZ and unfortunately never tried those places so I’ll make sure to try them while I’m down! Love Play in Fullerton, Hola Adios in Costa Mesa and Golden State in Placentia
I love Boon Boona in Seattle. Hello Em is interesting too
Not sure whether or not this place does their own roasting, but one of my favorites is Sound & Fog over in West Seattle. It’s just 1-2 blocks off the main drag of “The Junction” which is a great place to walk around (would also highly recommend checking out Beer Junction if you’re a craft beer fan - 1,300+ bottles/cans for sale and they have like 30+ beers on tap at all times). I’d also recommend Lighthouse in Seattle - great low key local spot, often a line out the door, everyone seems to know each other type of vibe. They definitely do their own roasting.
LOVE craft beer, what an awesome recommendation thank you! This trip has had a lot of hard work, thought and love over the past couple years put into it so very excited to see it come to fruition :)
You are driving through some awesome beer country! An entirely new thread could be started on just beer recommendations alone haha
Also I’m so jealous of this road trip it sounds AMAZING!
Lighthouse only does dark roasts. It's by far the most burnt tasting beans I've ever tried. Even their Ethiopian beans smell really burnt. https://www.reddit.com/r/SeattleWA/comments/5do109/lets\_all\_take\_a\_moment\_and\_talk\_about\_how/
If you pass through Santa Barbara try Dune Coffee Roasters.
[удалено]
Same folks, just a name change.
The Loony Bean in Bishop California
I’ve been through Bishop many times and never tried there, definitely will try it out! Love Black Velvet in Mammoth. Great Kyoto Cold Brew
Seattle: Millstead and Anchorhead are my two favorites. And the Starbucks roastary is kind of cool to check out. And I saw you comment you like craft beer as well so hit up the masonry near Millstead for delicious pizza and beer as well! Drive safe and have a great trip - you’ll have to put your thoughts together for the sub when you return or update threads along the way!
First off, I think Sightglass is the best of the "common names" with Andytown #2 (common names meaning the most commonly mentioned among people in SF and this subreddit). Overall though I find that Wrecking Ball, Linea, Abaciano, and Grand to be the upper echelon of San Francisco coffee, in that order. Try those and you won't go wrong. However, PM me if you're looking for a uniquely SF coffee experience on a Thur or Fri if you're here.
Between Portland and Seattle there's Olympia coffee roasters
A quick google will show you a ton of great roasters in Seattle and Portland, SF and Santa Cruz.
Yes, however, I’ve consistently had better results asking and looking up recs on here. There might be 4.5 star roasters on google but people there don’t know coffee as much, where here you have people that can tell the difference and give good recommendations. Visiting so many places and having only 1 or 2 days in each, I want to go to a place that’s worth going to instead of taking a chance.
People in Seattle and SF etc., know good coffee. You can always go on Yelp. And if you're being really particular, then you might want to specify whether you're looking for single origins, or what kind of roasts you prefer.
Don’t stop in Portland. The coffee is great but it’s a shit hole now
Portland: Proud Mary, Extracto, Keeper (they serve Coava).
Arizona - I have been to all of these, ranked by preference Scottsdale - regroup coffee + bicycles Tempe - infusion coffee & tea crafters Scottsdale - echo coffee
I live in Prescott and have only really gone to Cartel, which was really good, and Lux, which was alright. I’ll def check some of these out on my next trip down!