Beans, beans the magical fruit: Rounding up coffee roasters that are making beans brew-tiful
It wasn’t until high school that I realized most families own a coffee pot. Neither of my parents drank coffee and they both told me it tasted horrible, so I just assumed people who enjoyed it were few and far between. My perspective changed when I landed a summer internship at Bon Appetit Management Company and had the chance to be a barista at the Google campus in Mountain View. And let me tell you, Googlers love their coffee.
From there, I took barista jobs at coffee companies like Peet’s, Starbucks, Philz and more and learned just how different coffee could taste. Where the bean was grown, how the bean was roasted and how the bean was brewed all play a significant role in the flavor.
This week, writer Edwina Dueñas took a look at the Peninsula’s coffee roasting scene, rounding up 10 coffee roasters that are transforming green coffee beans into toasty perfection. From a husband-and-wife owned Peruvian coffee roaster in San Carlos to a Redwood City roaster carrying out a coffee legacy that expands generations, you might just find your next favorite coffee.
Stay tasty,
Adrienne
What’s brewing? 10 Peninsula coffee roasters for beans and beverages
Seeking a warm beverage as we approach the colder months? Consider visiting a roaster for your next cup of coffee. With no shortage of coffee shops on the Peninsula, you might wonder what differentiates a roaster from a coffee shop. The difference lies in roasters being one step closer to the journey from coffee seed to cup.
Bird Dog closes, crepe cakes come to San Mateo and Redwood City gets a wine bar and charcuterie spot
- After a decade in downtown Palo Alto, fine-dining restaurant Bird Dog permanently closed last week. But chef-owner Robbie Wilson said he already has new projects underway.
- It’s a crepe-y day to be on a diet. Anton SV Patisserie, a crepe cake-focused online and wholesale business since 2016, soft opened its first brick and mortar in San Mateo earlier today.
- Feast and Floral, formerly operating in downtown Palo Alto, opened its own wine bar, market and catering kitchen in Redwood City on Tuesday.
- A new report shows an increase in vegetarian meal options in California school lunches.
- Peruvian restaurant Limon will host a ribbon cutting for its new Redwood City location on Thursday, Oct. 3, according to Redwood City’s economic development manager.
- Kirk’s Steakburgers is moving from Palo Alto’s Town & Country Village to Midtown and expects to open its new location this month.
Corn cheese and jalapeno blooms at Bloom Bagels
Would you wait nearly 40 minutes for two bagels and spend $18 on them? I did.
Bloom Bagels isn’t serving traditional bagels out of its Campbell storefront. “Blooms” are stuffed with a variety of fillings and dunked in butter. They come in flavors that change monthly, like miso maple pecan and Nutella French toast. The texture is a tad less chewy and dense and a bit more fluffy and brioche-y, the exterior a bit more crisp.
I tried both the corn cheese and the jalapeno blooms, and both subverted my expectations that the product might be gimmicky and bland. The corn in the corn cheese bloom was sweet and juicy, and the bloom itself was well seasoned throughout. The jalapeno bloom had a strong pickled jalapeno flavor with a nice acidity and brightness, so the bloom didn’t feel overly heavy.
For a bagel shop, Bloom Bagels boasts an expansive drink menu. Find unique offerings like black sesame lattes, pistachio mochas and hojicha lattes. I opted for the ube sesame latte ($6.75), and it was absolutely incredible. The espresso was smooth, the black sesame was nutty without being overly grainy or chalky and the ube foam was luscious and packed with ube flavor. If I lived closer to Campbell, I could see myself being a regular at Bloom Bagels just for the coffee.
Overall, I’d say Bloom Bagels is a bit overpriced for what you’re getting, but they sure know how to nail flavors. Both the blooms and the coffee I tried tasted exactly as advertised, with bold flavors that made me want to go back for another sip and another bite.
To watch my review of Bloom Bagels, visit @peninsulafoodist on Instagram.
Bloom Bagels, 519 E Campbell Ave., Campbell; Instagram: @bloom_bagels. Open Wednesday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
‘My family doesn’t know I’m opening a restaurant’: Inside two sisters’ journey launching one of the Bay Area’s only Uyghur eateries
Sisters Almira and Kalbi are the faces behind Mrs. Khan in downtown Menlo Park
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