Bubble Tea That Doesn’t Make You Feel Like You’re Drinking Dessert Through a Straw
My friend Dana has a very specific memory attached to bubble tea and she brings it up every time someone mentions the drink in her presence which is more often than you might expect because Dana runs in circles where food opinions come up constantly. She was seventeen, it was her first time in the…
Read MoreMatcha Latte That Tastes Like Actual Matcha and Not Like a Green Crayon Dissolved in Milk
My friend Suki has a complicated history with matcha lattes in San Francisco that she will tell you about in full if you bring up the subject and she’s had more than one coffee. She grew up spending summers with her grandparents in Kyoto. Her grandmother made matcha the traditional way, with a bamboo whisk…
Read MoreHot Chocolate San Francisco That Tastes Like Someone Actually Cared About the Chocolate
My friend Theo is eight years old and he is the most honest food critic I have ever encountered in my life. He doesn’t have opinions shaped by what he’s supposed to like or what sounds impressive or what everyone else is ordering. He just knows immediately whether something is good or not and he…
Read MoreChai Latte Tastes Like Chai and Not Like Warm Brown Sugar Water
My friend Pita grew up in a household where chai was made from scratch every single morning. Her grandmother had a specific method involving whole spices, loose black tea, full fat milk, and a simmering process that filled the entire apartment with a smell that she still associates with feeling safe and taken care of.…
Read MoreTea San Francisco That Doesn’t Make Coffee People Feel Like They Made a Mistake Ordering It
My friend Ren drinks tea. Not as a lifestyle statement or a caffeine alternative or a health decision, just because tea is what she likes and has always liked and she’s never felt the need to explain it further than that. She lives in San Francisco and spends a significant portion of her social life…
Read MoreSeasonal Drinks San Francisco That Make You Actually Pay Attention to What Time of Year It Is
My friend Abby has a calendar reminder on her phone that she set herself and has never deleted. It goes off every year in late September and it just says pumpkin spice check Barista. She’s not embarrassed about this. She told me about it directly and without any of the apologetic energy that sometimes comes…
Read MoreCustom Coffee Drinks San Francisco Where Your Weird Specific Order Is Actually Welcome
My friend Jordan has a coffee order that he’s slightly embarrassed about in social situations and will defend aggressively if you question it. It’s a double shot oat milk latte at one hundred thirty degrees with a half pump of vanilla and no foam. Not a hundred and thirty five. Not a hundred and twenty…
Read MoreAffogato San Francisco Where Espresso Meets Ice Cream and Nobody Loses
I need to tell you about my friend Petra because Petra is the reason I know anything about affogato in San Francisco and also the reason I’ve spent more money on dessert coffee drinks in the last year than I care to calculate. Petra is Italian. Actually Italian, grew up in Verona, moved to San…
Read MoreSingle Origin Coffee San Francisco That Makes You Actually Think About Where Your Coffee Came From
My friend Valentina is not someone who gets excited about many things quietly. When she discovers something she thinks is worth talking about she talks about it at volume and at length until everyone in her immediate social circle has either tried it or successfully changed the subject. About seven months ago she discovered single…
Read MoreCoffee To Go San Francisco That’s Actually Worth Grabbing and Going With
There’s a specific kind of morning that a lot of people in San Francisco know well. You woke up slightly later than you meant to. The thing you needed to do before leaving took longer than expected. You have somewhere to be in twenty minutes and it’s twelve minutes away if the bus cooperates which…
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