A new buzz

San Franciscans have been serious about coffee before. But these are heady times for the cast and castaways of a growing subculture—the artists and eccentrics, addicts and obsessives—that populates the specialty-coffee business. And they are curious times for the rest of us, who wonder not only who these oddballs are, but also whether their coffee is worth the fuss.

“It’s subjective, clearly,” says James Freeman, owner of Blue Bottle Coffee Company. “Does coffee brewed from single-origin beans in a siphon or a Clover taste more yummy than, say, Folgers from a percolator? I believe it does. But it would be hubris to suggest that we’re making better coffee than anyone ever has. My feeling is, there are already enough places where you can get a cinnamon latte and a muffin wrapped in plastic. Why would I want to build another one of those?”

San Francisco Online