On the east coast we call them coffee snobs, those people that think Starbucks is purposefully burnt so people will flavor their coffee with vanilla and hazelnut syrups that are just sugar and chemicals, those people who make fun of folks that like 7-11 and Dunkin Donuts coffee, those folks who lug french presses around, need 14 bar pressure on their espresso machines and scoff at anyone who dare say they like instant coffee, but alas I have become a coffee snob.
However, in the west, specifically the Northwest which starts in San Francisco, this is not seen as snobbish, it’s seen as normal. One of the ways in which I tried to explain the difference between the Bay Area and New York was to describe how people enjoyed food, wine and beauty more than they enjoyed large houses, luxury cars and fancy clothing. I tried explain that it wasn’t out of the ordinary for someone to call me up erev shabbos and tell me that they were having pasta with red sauce so I should bring red – that had never happened to me while living on the east coast. I would be told to bring a suit, otherwise people in shul may look at me funny, but never would I be told to bring a Riesling over a Cab.
I was thinking about coffee snobbery today as I ordered my custom cup of coffee at Philz Coffee in Palo Alto, I found Philz this past Saturday night on Yelp, as I was searching for a good coffee house in San Francisco to do some writing in. I noticed Philz because it had almost 800 reviews and all of them were 5 stars, I ended up at Ritual Roasters instead, based on the recommendations of a friend and ended up at Philz on Sunday.
Philz is coffee heaven, if there was an opposite to Starbucks this is it. Instead of the assembly line coffee house that is overrun by women ordering drinks with high fructose corn syrup and low fat whip cream, Philz doesn’t even have a table for sugar or cream. Each time you order a cup of coffee, they grind the beans specifically for your cup, so besides for the freshness, you are constantly greeted by the almost orgasmic smell of freshly ground coffee. They don’t have a cream and sugar table, because they make each cup custom, it takes a bit longer than traditional coffee shops, but it’s well worth the wait – it works here because no one is ever in a rush anywhere and people have patience.
I really didn’t appreciate good coffee before I came here, as any other writer does, I frequented quint little coffee shops all over the place. I really liked Ozzies in Park Slope, the Muddy Cup in Albany and Spot Coffee in Rochester, but I have always been an espresso guy, preferring lattes to cappuccinos and rarely drinking coffee because most places have it constantly brewing, while espresso is usually fresher. Once in a while I would order a chai latte only to cancel the order if they poured the “chai” from a carton – 95% of coffee shops do not serve real fresh chai. Here at Philz it’s black tea with cardomom and a bunch of other Indian spices, I like how one reviewer on Yelp didn’t like the fact her chai had sediment, perhaps she is used to corporate assembly line chai which is merely an ice tea mix with milk.
I’m a coffee snob, and my friends tease me about it but then who’s house do they go to for coffee? I use my press or espresso machine and haven’t had instant coffee since I was around 15. That stuff is just a poorly flavoured, harsh diuretic. Philz sounds good, and once you find an amazing barista who can fill an order perfectly to your taste there’s no turning back. That being said, the Donut King store at my uni actually does do alright coffee.
Beer, coffee, wine, spirits, soft drinks. It’s easy to be a beverage snob on the West Coast. We simply do it better out here.
We do almost everything better and dude – I don;t have an email for you, but my brothers wedding is in Portland on the 29th and I shall be around for a few days – 2 other fans have told me they are down for a get together at this other fans house. So get in touch.
Coffee snobs don’t make fun of Dunkin Donuts coffee!
DD coffee is great! It is widely respected.
7-11, however is undrinkable.
I’ll drink instant on Shabbos, but I wouldn’t touch 7-11 coffee if it was free!
I often drink DD coffee when I’m in a hurry and there’s nothing else nearby. But I don’t think that it’s good. It’s just not undrinkable.
Same with donut king in Aus – just not undrinkable
The reason people are coffee (and other kinds of) snobs on the West Coast — at least as this applies to people of European descent — is because their ancestors didn’t get off the boat there. When you’re running from the Potato Famine or what have you, your food criteria tend to be something along the lines of “Does it have calories in it? If yes, I’d like two helpings.” It takes several generations of people with way more food than they could (or should) ever possibly consume to start worrying about whether or not the “chai” (whatever that is) comes from a carton.
Personally, I don’t drink coffee. Or tea for that matter. But I’ll put up our East Coast diet Pepsi against anything from the West Coast anytime. Needs to be chilled to 42.5 degrees however. Anything warmer is simply swill.
Coffee is overrated.
But, a mild coffee with lots of Splenda and low fat milk makes for a nice lukewarm drink to enjoy with a bagel.
Yummy Yummy:
http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com
(I’ve been a coffee snob forever. Also, Ritual==excellent. Find a way to try stumptown if you ever get to oregon or washington too!)
Stumptown is good. When we splurge on coffee we usually go to Peet’s.
If you like coffee rituals try an Ethiopian place that does the Coffee Ceremony.
Can one be a kugel snob?
Yes – chassidim make the best kugel because they haven’t been affected by the “afraid of salt, oil, starch and gluten” fad that has hit everyone else.
Kugel without oil, salt or gluten. Is that like fat-free cream or vegan cajeta?
Since my company has purchased a commercial grade espresso cappuccino machine-http://www.jura.com I have become a bit of a coffee snob too.
In Ann Arbor try Comet in Nickels Arcade. Grinds and brews each cup individually with a choice of drip, french press or vacum. some of the best coffee I have had anywhere.
I haven’t been there myself, but I will try it the next time I’m there.
Many New England cities such as Portland Maine and Boston, MA I have found to be similar to the expiriences you are talking about. its slower paced, more beautiful, less pollution, older achitecture, much better food, etc.. coffee is better to…
Damn, I am the opposite of a coffee snob, but Philz sounds like it may turn me into one if I ever make it there! I NEED a daily dose of caffeine to function and will not forego DD or 7-11 or anything else that is available and within reach. I hate Starbucks with a passion, but cannot imagine anyone in their right mind who wouldn’t appreciate freshly ground custom-made coffee…
JUNKIE!!!
😉
I cannot drink the coffee from these places. I grind my own beans and I will attempt to roast them myself too.. in the next few days.. thanks for a great article. enlightenment is a beautiful thing
I am a Coffee Snob and I don’t care who knows it… that shall be my facebook status! LOL… anyways… The thing is, once you’ve had a freshly roasted (within 24-48 hours of roasting to allow for gasses to escape and leave the beans proper and ready for extraction), freshly ground coffee in a french press… there’s never a need for charbucks, or DD, or Tim Horton’s (I’m from Brampton, ON, Canada), or most places.
I roast my own coffee. I love a proper ristretto espresso!
I’m not a hipster, or a novel writer….
I don’t live in a tiny condo, or with my parents, or own an electric bicycle …
and I don’t personally know every barista I’ve ever met,
although I’m certain they’re really really nice.
I have a Gaggia, not a Breville.
I buy freshly roasted coffee, not pre-ground.
And it’s pronounced ‘eSpresso’, not ‘eXpresso’.
I proudly support local roasters.
I believe in fair trade, not screw the coffee farmer,
diversity, not assimilation,
and that tamper is an important tool in any coffee lovers tool box.
There’s both robusta and arabica,
and it is Chai latte, not Chai tea latte !!!!
Coffee is the second most consumed beverage in the world,
is the first part of the day
and it helps over 1.6 Billion times a day!
My name is Phil!!
And I am a Coffee Snob!!!
why not try some coffee delicious at kawfeesnob.com. I’m in love with the “Darkentein” This stuff is amazing!
I have to characterize myself as a Peetnick, and I worship at the First Church of Peets, Coffee the very first place Mr. Peet brought the Word of Joe to the USA, just a few blocks up the street here in Berkeley. For years I drank drip, but I saw the light after thinking through several trips to Europe where every tiny mom&pop store has its own espresso machine and it’s always delicious while wherever you get drip coffee sometimes it’s good and sometimes it tastes like turpentine. Espress a good medium-dark roast and the flavor deepens; foam some milk to pop out the sweetness and there. I’m set. Thank you Mr. Peet.