Blue Bottle Coffee? What The Hell Is That?

Coffee is a popular beverage morning, noon, and night. From the number of Starbucks stores and the lines surrounding them you would think everyone drinks coffee. I have never been a fan of Starbucks. I think their coffee taste bitter and burnt. I found a coffee I really like in a San Francisco alley. It's called Blue Bottle.

During my wine selling years, I traveled to Italy. Italians take their coffee very seriously. This is a country where coffee is interwoven into the social fabric. It is an integral part of their culture. Mr. Vittorio Marianecci and Mr. Alberto Prealoni, who worked with me at Winebow, took me under their wing and instructed me in the art of Italian "caffè". There are a lot of "do's" and "don'ts in the Italian coffee ritual. They were both born and raised in Italy. Alberto in the north and Vittorio in the south, but their "do's" and "don'ts" were the same. 

In Italy, "caffè" is not just a morning beverage. It is proper at any time of the day or night. "Prendiamo un caffè" (Let's get a coffee) is uttered several times a day, especially in our group of wine people. The "caffè" is typically enjoyed at a "Bar". Some say "Bar" is an acronym for "Banco A Ristoro" (refreshment counter). Some say it is from the English word bar, as in the counter or barrier between the bartender and the customers like in a pub. With all the "linguistics experts" out there, who knows where the term really originated? It doesn't matter because everyone in Italy knows it's the place to get "un caffè".  

In a "Bar" in Italy the focus is on "caffè" not alcohol, although alcohol is usually available. In the United States, when you hear the word "Bar" the focus is on cocktails, liquor, wine, or beer. 

A "barista" is a person skilled at operating the "macchina de caffè" at the "Bar". Although the "Bar" is mainly a coffee focused social hub, it sometimes offers unrelated things like cigarettes, phone cards, newspapers, bus tickets, lotto tickets or stamps. 

Light food options are usually available as well, pastry, panni, cheese, olives, or tramezzini. Even though food is available this is a brief encounter. You pay, stand at the counter, order your caffè, drink it in 20-30 seconds, and go. There are no syrups nor large sizes nor 10 different kinds of milk. It is never taken to go. You don't see Italians walking down the street with a cup of coffee. Tourists yes. Italians no.

Ordering a "Caffè Doppio" (double espresso) signifies you are a tourist. An Italian would never do this. If they wanted more espresso they would order "Un altro caffè" after finishing the first one. Some Italians order "Un caffè ristretto" which is a caffè made with the same amount of coffee grounds but less water. This makes an intense concentrated short shot of coffee. Some order a "lungo' which is a caffè made with the same amount of coffee grounds but more water. This makes a larger less intense cup. 

Sitting at a table with a laptop while drinking a “Venti iced caramel macchiato, upside-down, extra caramel drizzle, light ice, oat milk, half-sweet, blonde espresso, ristretto shots, in a trenta cup” while you answer all your emails is not a part of the Italian coffee culture. There is no social interaction in that scenario, other than the long conversation with the barista placing the order.

Italians have other rules as well. The morning is the only proper time to order a "cappuccino" or any other coffee and milk combination (latte). Italians feel like milk laden coffee drinks are heavy and compliment a light breakfast, but that's all. 

Italians typically have a pastry or fruit or yogurt for breakfast, not the heavy calorie loaded savory breakfast most Americans eat aka  Denny's Grand Slam. The only exception to this milk morning rule is a macchiato, which is a caffè "stained" or "marked" with a dollop of foamed milk. This is a pure Italian drink. You get immediate respect from an Italian barista when you order one. You're not suppose to know about it. 

Italians do not use the word espresso. They order, "un caffè". Espresso is implied. You don't see a lemon peel on the side of the cup. That is mostly an American thing. Yes, you might see it in some regions of southern Italy, but it's rare. The only widely accepted addition is sugar. In some cases a lot of sugar.

Of course, the addition of a splash of grappa or spirit in a "caffè corretto" is acceptable. I witnessed this custom even at breakfast, on several occasions. I am not judgemental, sometimes it is necessary, the old "hair of the dog" thing. "Caffè corretto" does not mean a correct or proper coffee. It means a corrected coffee. It entails a splash, about half an ounce, not a full shot (1.5 ounces) of usually grappa, but sometimes other spirits. Yes, I sometimes participated in this practice. I didn't want to be rude.

Of course, there is the related ritual of "il rasentìn" or the "little rinse". This is a Venetian custom. It occurs just before one is finished with the caffè, with a small amount still remaining in the cup. A bit of grappa or spirit is added to the still warm cup, to rinse the last drops of coffee from the sides and it is then drunk. In some places I have witnessed, after finishing a caffè corretto, a small amount of the same spirit is poured into the mostly empty cup in the same manner to insure it is "good to the last drop". Yes, I sometimes participated in this pagan ritual too. 

According to my two friends, the proper way to consume "un caffè" is standing at the counter, even if you're going to have a panni or pastry. If you sit at a table it cost more. You aren't going to be there long so you always stand. This was a firm rule with them. "Andiamo! We've got wine to taste and sights to see!"

Another key component of the Italian coffee culture is affordability. Even the poor can indulge in the ritual. The price of "un caffè" is normally 1 to 2 Euros. Do they have Starbucks in Italy? (where most coffees are double or triple that) Yes, there are about 40 Starbucks stores in Italy. They are mostly in tourist areas and frequented by tourists. Truth be told, they do get some of the younger generation of Italians, wanting to rebel against the traditions of the "old fogeys". Kids will be kids no matter where you are in the world.  

The history of coffee begins in Ethiopia in the 9th century in the region of Kaffa. This is probably where the name coffee comes from. Coffee first came to Italy in the 16th and 17th centuries with traders from the Ottoman Empire. Over 70 countries grow coffee today with Brazil being the largest. 

It was first served like Turkish coffee. The beans were roasted, ground into a fine powder, then the powder was mixed with water in a small pot, and heated until it foamed. It was removed from the heat so the grounds could settle. Then reheated, sometimes 2-3 times. It never comes to a rolling boil and it is not filtered. 

It is served in a small cup, grounds and all. The drinker waits 10-20 seconds to allow the grounds to settle to the bottom of the cup. The foam helps in this process. Then the drinker sips off the top, being careful not to disturb the sludge on the bottom. Unlike Maxwell House this coffee isn't "good to the last drop".

The early Italian coffeehouses became central to intellectual and social life. They attracted artists, writers and thinkers. Some of the ones dating back to the 1700's are still around today - Caffè Greco in Rome (1760) and Caffè Florian in Venice (1720). These places are not "enter, pay, stand at the counter, order, drink, and go" places. They are more like French cafes where the customers sit and enjoy themselves. 

The French coffee culture is different than the Italian. The French concept of coffee extends to their hedonistic approach to life and food in particular. They are all about pleasure for the senses. A sidewalk café has small tables with all the chairs facing one way, toward the street. The French sit, enjoy "un café crème", a slice of baguette with butter, and watch the world go by. I could go on but that is another story for another day. 

I first started drinking coffee when I was in college. We drank coffee made in a percolator, in huge urns, or drip machines. It was everywhere but was usually a quantity not quality thing.  

In my skiing days, my buddy Rat and I often resorted to "Cowboy Coffee". This only required 3 things, coffee, water, and a pot, any pot. The coffee and water went into the pot. The pot was put on a flame, brought to a boil, let boil for 4 or 5 minutes, take off the flame, let it sit for a few minutes so the grounds can settle, carefully pour into a cup, and be careful not to go for that "Last Drop" because this was definitely unfiltered. This made for a bold, "kick your ass" kind of coffee. Just what was needed for the icy cold Vermont mornings or after late night adventures at the beach. We spent winters in Vermont and summers in Virginia Beach.

A few of the restaurants we worked in back then had "Moka Pots", which were supposed to make espresso. They don't actually. They do make an extremely strong espresso "like" coffee with a tiny bit of foam. They work on steam pressure pushing water through the coffee grounds. The problem is they only achieve 1-2 bars of pressure. A true espresso machine achieves a minimum of 9 bars.

It is estimated that 90% of Italian homes have a "Moka Pot", some several, in different sizes. They are affordable, easy to maintain, and there is no waste, coffee grounds are compostable. The pots last forever, some being passed from generation to generation. The "Moka Pot" is an early morning cultural ritual. The true espresso experience is tied to the local "Bar". Using an expensive home espresso machine is viewed as a poor imitation of the "Bar" experience. 

It's no surprise, that Italians invented the espresso machine. It started in 1884 with Angelo Moriondo and his steam powered coffee machine. In 1901 Luigi Bezzera added the portafilter and multiple heads. Desiderio Pavoni and Achille Gaggia made improvements, as did Carlo Ernesto Valente, leading up to the modern day espresso machines. 

In Italian, the word espresso does not translate literally to "fast or quick," though speed is a nuance of its meaning. Espresso means "pressed out" in Italian. The name describes the method of forcing hot water under high pressure through finely-ground coffee beans. This is done rather quickly. By doing it at 9 - 15 bars of pressure "crema" is extruded, the sign of a well made espresso.

Over the years the machines have evolved to more and more of an automatic nature, almost to the point where barista skills are not needed. All that is needed is a finger to press a couple buttons and a hand to place a cup under the spout. The machine grinds the beans, tamps them down, super heats the water, then injects the water into the grounds at 9-15 bars of pressure and deposits the espresso in the cup. It also has the capability to heat and froth the milk and add that as well to make a cappuccino or latte. Then it dumps the grounds puck and is ready to go again. Some of these machines can make 70 to 80 coffee drinks per hour. Of course, this comes at a price, the best machines can cost 40 to 50 thousand dollars.

There is one of these machines at the dealership where I take my car for service. Place a cup under the spout and press the screen 2 times and wait about 2 minutes for a rather decent espresso, cappuccino, latte, american coffee, or even hot chocolate. This Krea Necta machine is made in Italy and cost about $10,000. Maintenance and upkeep on all the automatic machines is a constant. Is this progress? Baristas don't think so. Neither do the owners of establishments that serve serious espresso. 

How did we, in the United States, get to the "Starbucks  Phenomenon"? That is a very interesting story. It started in Berkeley California, as a lot of culinary innovation has.    

Coffee arrived in North America through European trade routes in the late 1600s, but early colonists largely preferred beer, cider, and rum. Water quality issues made alcoholic drinks safer and more common. The early settlers were predominantly European. They drank tea and coffee as non-alcoholic beverages because, both contained boiled water, which made them safe to drink. No Evian or Perrier back then. Because tea was cheaper, easier, and quicker (tea + hot water) than coffee (roast beans + grind beans + hot water), it was typically the non-alcoholic beverage of choice.  

That changed dramatically after the British Tea Act of 1773 and the resulting Boston Tea Party. Tea became a symbol of British oppression (taxation without representation), coffee took on a patriotic identity. Drinking coffee was framed as a civic duty, and it quickly became the preferred hot beverage of the new republic.

In the 1800's coffee transformed into a household staple. With the westward expansion coffee became a durable frontier beverage. During the Civil War, it was a issued as an army ration. There was also the growth of commercial roasting companies which produced pre-roasted, packaged coffee eliminating the need for home roasting. Most notable was Arbuckle Brothers Coffee, whose "Ariosa" brand was called "The Coffee That Won The West". It included a stick of peppermint candy as a reward for whoever ground the beans. 

The 1900's brought innovations like vacuum sealed cans, instant coffee (including freeze-dried coffee), and decaffeinated coffee (Why? I know, don't say it). Coffee was paired with diners, offices and factory work. It became a fuel for productivity not a craft beverage. 

In the post WWII era (1950's-1960's) there was a sort of coffee slump. Coffee quality declined with commodity grade beans that were over-roasted to hide their defects. This resulted in flat, bitter flavors. Coffee was everywhere but rarely good. This set the stage for a cultural shift to quality.

This shift was led by Alfred Peet in 1966 with Peet's Coffee, Tea & Spices on the corner of Vine and Walnut in Berkeley, California. By coincidence this is right around the corner from one of the biggest culinary innovators of the time, Alice Waters' Chez Panisse. 

Peet was born (1920) and raised in the Netherlands in a family that was deeply involved in the coffee and tea business. As a young man he worked at Twinings Tea in England, learning the tea business. He also traveled to New Zealand and Indonesia, gaining first-hand exposure to coffee growing regions and supply chains. These experiences grounded Peet in a European, origin-focused view of coffee as a craft product, emphasizing freshness, careful roasting, and respect for the raw bean.

Post World War II found Peet in New Zealand and Indonesia but he felt the United States offered more opportunity and independence so, Peet emigrated in 1955 seeking a fresh start. He didn't come to the United States because of American coffee. He came in spite of it, hoping to change it. 

It took him 11 years to open his Berkeley shop. He spent the time amassing capital, learning American tastes, perfecting his roasting approach for the American market, and waiting for the right cultural moment. In mid 1960's, Berkeley was the epicenter for the American Culinary Revolution. Peet determined this was the right time and place for a business that asked customers to rethink something as simple as coffee. This 11 years was a sort of gestation period in which Peet prepared himself, his product, and his audience. 

It did not open to immediate commercial success. It did open to immediate success in a niche of Berkeley professors, students, foodies, and European expatriates. When Peet opened Peet's Coffee, Tea & Spices, he sold whole freshly roasted coffee beans, loose-leaf teas and culinary spices. He did not sell espresso or cafe style drinks. The only brewed coffee or tea that he served was for tasting and educational purposes. It was free. He brewed the coffee in a drip machine, percolator or sometimes a French press and the tea in a teapot. He wanted people to learn the flavor of freshly roasted coffee beans and the proper method of brewing. He was not running a cafe. He sold beans, proper brewing tools and correct brewing technique. 

That being said, his greatest contribution to the American Coffee Revolution of the late 1900's was the mentoring of 3 young men. In 1970, Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gordon Bowker apprenticed at Peet's Coffee, Tea & Spices in Berkeley. In 1971, they opened a company called "Starbucks" in Seattle, Washington. The original Starbucks was a clone of Peet's Coffee, Tea & Spices. It was named after Starbuck, the first mate of the Pequod from the book Moby Dick. They added the s to make it sound better. They almost named their business Pequod, until someone mentioned that not too many people would want to drink a cup of "Pee-quod".   

They opened their store at the corner of Virginia and Western in the Rhode Island Building in Seattle, paying $137.50 per month in rent. They stayed at this location until 1976, when they moved to 1912 Pike Place, when the Rhode Island Building was slated for demolition, a victim of urban renewal. Most people consider the Pike Place location the original store because the other store no longer exists. 1912 Pike Place is 290 feet from the location of the original store.

Like Peet's the only brewed coffee they served was a free sample. They were there to sell beans, brewing tools and correct brewing technique. For the first year and a half they got their roasted beans from Peet's. In 1972, they bought a second hand roaster and Alfred Peet came to Seattle and trained their first dedicated roastmaster, Jim Reynolds.

In the mid 1970's, Alfred Peet started to move out of managing Peet's due to health issues and the fact he was getting older. He had opened a total of 4 stores in the San Francisco area but didn't want to manage a huge retail empire. He eventually sold to Sal Bonavita in 1979, but stayed on as a consultant and roaster. 

The Starbucks partners continued their successful venture until 1980, when Zev Siegl decided he wanted Starbucks to be involved in different things besides retail coffee bean sales. The other 2 partners wanted to focus on the most profitable thing, the bean business. Zev felt he was a "startup guy" and no longer wanted to be a part of a corporate Starbucks. The other 2 partners bought out his share. Zev went on to open several businesses and became a startup mentor.

A business transformation started in 1982, when the partners hired Howard Shultz as Director of Retail Operations and Marketing. In this position, traveling to Milan for a housewares show, Schultz discovered the "Italian Espresso Bar Culture". The first time he walked the streets of Milan, he encountered the sounds of baristas shouting, the aroma of espresso, and the romance of shared space. This was the moment that sparked everything. He supposedly toured 1500 different "Bars" on that trip, but I find that hard to believe. 

He was impressed with the sense of community, the skill of the baristas, and the way the Bar served as a gathering place. This trip fundamentally shaped his vision for what Starbucks could become, transforming it from a coffee bean retailer into the coffeehouse experience we know today. He wanted to create a "third place" - a welcoming community hub between home (1st place) and work (2nd place). 

The 2 Starbucks owners resisted this idea, preferring Starbucks to focus on retail beans. In 1985, Schultz left Starbucks to open his coffeehouse concept "Il Giornale" where he served espresso drinks and food. He opened a total of 3 stores. 

In the meantime (1984), the 2 original Starbucks owners with a group of investors bought Peet's Coffee, Tea & Spices from Sal Bonavita. Bonavita's wife had been diagnosed with cancer and he needed to step away from the business to take care of her. The purchase price was $3.8 million. The Starbucks owners wanted to preserve the legacy of Alfred Peet. He had been their mentor. It was also a strategic move that allowed Starbucks to instantly gain a strong foothold in the San Francisco Bay market. You need to realize that Starbucks didn't buy Peet's. The 2 Starbucks partners and a group of investors did. This was a separate business. 

By 1987, the partners had become stretched thin running both businesses. They decided to sell Starbucks to Howard Schultz for $3.8 million, the exact amount they paid for Peet's. This would get them out of debt. They wanted to focus on Peet's and had no interest in Schultz's vision of a coffeehouse empire, but they weren't stupid. They invested $150,000 in Schultz's new venture. They gave Schultz 90 days to raise the rest of the capital.

During this time, Schultz was faced with a competing bid of $4 million for Starbucks from one of his own original investors in Il Giornale. With the help of Bill Gates Sr. (father of the Microsoft founder), who in a face to face showdown with this bidder, convinced the bidder to back off and "let the kid have his dream". Schultz put together the $3.8 million purchase price. Gates with his son became one of Schultz's investors. They weren't stupid either. Schultz's idea coincided with the budding interest in the craft coffee experience.

In the contract for sale was a 5-year non-compete in the San Francisco Bay market area. The Peet's owners wanted to shield their business from the rapid expansion they anticipated from Schultz. This included an existing Starbucks unit in San Francisco. It was converted to a Peet's. They wanted a protected window to solidify their brand without direct competition from Starbucks. This forced Schultz to focus on expansion in Chicago and Vancouver.

Of course the rest is history. Starbucks today has roughly 41,000 locations worldwide and a presence in 88 global markets. The annual revenues are $37.18 billion USD in 2025 and a net income of $1.856 billion USD (2025). It has a market cap of $109.95 billion USD (2025) and employes 381,000 people worldwide. Schultz has realized his dream. 

Starbucks success stems from its ability to sell an emotional experience rather than just a commodity, even though that commodity has an infinite number of possible combinations and consistency across locations. This makes people willing to wait in long lines for a chance at its "affordable luxury". Sometimes very long lines.

It is interesting to note that most of the current Starbucks stores don't use an Italian made espresso machine. Their current machines are custom made exclusively for them by a Swiss company, Thermoplan AG. They started out using Italian made La Marzocco machines but in the late 1990's, as they grew from 1,000 to 13,000 units, there were problems. 

The problems centered on consistency, speed and efficiency. An espresso shot in New York needed to taste the same as one in Seattle regardless of the skill of the barista. The manual machines required a skilled barista. The fully automated machines required a person who could push a button. The fully automated machines were also quicker. So starting in 1999, Starbucks switched over to fully automated machines produced by Thermoplan AG. By 2005 the transition was complete. All their stores now have fully automated machines. Baristas are now taught people skills, machine maintenance, recipe memorization, milk frothing, coffee bean origins, POS systems and Starbucks history. There is no need to train them on how to make the perfect espresso. The machine does that automatically.

I have always enjoyed espresso and have had a machine in all my restaurants. They started out as small home models and progressed to a single head commercial machine. I think it was an Astra, which is made in California. They all worked fine and I was the main customer. 

After we sold the last restaurant, I had to go back to the Moka Pot I had used from my wine selling days for espresso like coffee. We use a drip pot and a French Press too. Of course we also have a modern drip coffee machine. We started out using Cuisinart coffee machines and then switched to the Ninja machine because it had a built-in frother and had settings to make espresso style single cup portions. Close but not the real thing. 

The coffee we have used in the past was a mix. We used Cafe Bustelo for the Moka Pot and Gevalia or Joffrey or Lavazza for the drip pot. We had used Joffrey (a local company) at the Crazy Conch Cafe for all our coffee, drip and espresso. It is now used by Disney World. We were ahead of the curve on that one. It helped that one of the owners, Robert Hickey, was a friend and customer. 

In all these situations, we used a dark roast. We like that deep rich taste. Always whole beans that we grind ourselves, so we have had a burr grinder too. We don't use cream or sugar. We drink our coffee black. We do use frothed milk with the Ninja machine when we are making an individual "cappuccino" like single cup. We have no regulation on the time of day for this cup either. Getting old has it's advantages. You don't have to follow any rules.  

On a trip to San Francisco to visit Jared, Ashley and the grandbabies, Ashley introduced us to a "new" brand of coffee that originally started in the San Francisco / Oakland area. It was called Blue Bottle Coffee. They sell whole freshly roasted coffee beans online and they have several cafes where they serve their different blends and different methods for brewing them. 

Our first exposure was in 2015, when we were in downtown San Francisco and stopped at the Hayes Valley Kiosk, which happens to be in an alley close to City Hall. It looked like a former garage, which it might have been. It was a little unusual but the coffee was outstanding. It reminded me of some of those Bars in Italy. We found a location in Palo Alto, which was closer to where they lived  in Mountain View. It got to be a regular thing.

Blue Bottle was founded by James Freeman, a former clarinetist who became deeply interested in coffee roasting. Around 2002, he started roasting beans in a small potting shed in Oakland inspired by a simple idea: coffee should be consumed within 48 hours of roasting. He roasted 6 pounds of beans at a time. He sold his beans at farmers markets. 

In addition to the freshly roasted beans, he started serving freshly brewed coffee. He was sort of like Alfred Peet in this respect, except he charged for it. He was in that group of coffee pioneers  that made up the "Third Wave" of coffee. The "First Wave" was when coffee became widely available and part of daily life, with the focus on convenience, low cost, and consistency. The "Second Wave" was when coffee shifted from a basic commodity to a café experience, emphasizing espresso drinks, darker roasts, and a more social coffee culture. The "Third Wave" was when coffee became a craft beverage, focusing on single-origin beans, transparent sourcing, lighter roasts, and precise brewing methods (like pour-over with tools like the Hario V60). 

Freeman came up with the name Blue Bottle as an homage to one of the first Vienna coffeehouses called "Hof zur Blauen Flasche" (House Under The Blue Bottle). It opened around 1683. Back then most people couldn't read or write, so they hung a sign with an actual blue bottle. Freeman followed suit but used Japanese designer, Oksana Divina to come up with a logo of a simple blue bottle. He really liked it. He believed that less is more. He was broke at the time because he was just starting his business, so he paid her with one pound of fresh roasted coffee beans per week for a year. Barter is good, especially when you start from nothing.

At the farmers markets, he started with a folding table and bags of beans. People liked his coffee and word spread. Word of mouth is the best kind of advertising. He quickly advanced to a cart and selling brewed coffee as well. In the beginning it was drip brew and pour overs. Both of these methods were slow but produced a great cup of coffee. As his business grew he moved into espresso drinks as well. They were faster and most people expected a cafe/cart set up to have an espresso machine. Sometimes you have to give people what they want in order to educate them into doing what you want. 

By the time we became aware of Blue Bottle, the brand had been around for about 10 years and had about 19 cafes. We liked the Hayes Valley Espresso. We started a subscription for a couple bags per month. We bought a couple of their drippers and a Hario Buono Kettle. We started making pour over coffee. We even purchased a couple of their blue Moheim Stone Mugs and a Miir Commuter Cup. We were into Blue Bottle Coffee. Anytime we were near a cafe we would drop in and get a cup as well as a couple bags of beans. Today there are about 78 cafes in the United States and a few globally, mostly in Asia. There are 5 in Northern Virginia. One close to Falls Church where Sally's brother Bob lives. We have been there several times. 

This love affair with Blue Bottle continued until 2022 when we took a trip to Seattle. We stayed in a AirBnB in an area called Belltown. We frequented Macrina Bakery & Cafe in the mornings for pastry and cappuccino. It was right around the corner from where we were staying. I noticed they used a local brand of coffee, Caffe Umbria. I also noticed this brand was used in every restaurant we went to. It was quite good. A lot of the locals thought so too. They have a subscription program as well. 

Even though Seattle is the birthplace of Starbucks, where there are about 130 locations, most locals prefer other roaster / cafes. There are about 700 other coffee roaster / cafes to choose from. Seattle takes its coffee seriously. 

Blue Bottle organizes its offerings into three main categories: signature blends, single-origin coffees, and unique prepared beverages. The Blue Bottle offering we like the best is the Hayes Valley Espresso. Even though it is roasted for espresso we use it for pour overs and now as drip coffee. It works especially well in the Ninja machine. It is chocolate-forward, low-acid house espresso designed for balance and consistency. Although it is roasted for use in an espresso machine, it works well in drip machines. At least, Sally and I think so. 

After that trip to Seattle, Sally and I started tasting other brands. Some of them were really good. Some not so much but that's the price for being adventuresome. Just like Anthony Bourdain said "... you are never going to find the perfect meal without a constant willingness to experience a bad one." It's sad he is no longer with us.

James Freeman sold a 68% majority stake in Blue Bottle Coffee to Nestlé in September of 2017. A year later, he sold the remaining 32% when Nestlé exercised its option to buy them. He did it mainly for the financial security for him and his family. He took the money but didn't run. He is still involved in different aspects of Blue Bottle but not the day to day operations. He and his investors made several hundreds of millions of dollars on the sale. 

As you can imagine, the cost of coffee went up after the sale. It is currently about $22 per 12 ounce bag. It's no longer a 1 pound bag. That changed in 2008 for several reasons. 

One, freshness and the 2 week window. The 12 ounce bag lasts most consumers 14 days before it starts going stale. The pound bag often lasts longer than this peak flavor window of 14 days. 

Two and probably the most important reason, hiding price hikes or what most people call activation of the "Grocery Store Shrink Ray". At your local grocery store that "Half Gallon" of ice cream is no longer 64 ounces, more likely 48 ounces unless you are buying Blue Belle. Yes, it's about the money. The "Shrink Ray" is the practice where manufacturers reduce the size or quantity of a product while keeping the price the same. Deceptive? I think so.

Third, shipping and logistics. The 12 ounce bag plus packaging keeps everything under the 1 pound limit for certain USPS discount shipping rates. Blue Bottle ships everything USPS.

Just like most things, once a few companies started packaging in 12 ounce bags, now everyone does. It's become the new standard. Just like Blue Belle, there are a few coffee companies that still sell in 16 ounce bags, like "Try-Me Coffee" in New Orleans. 

Sally and I have tried several brands. We have settled on La Colombe Corsica most recently. It's a brand from Philadelphia that started in 1994. The partners, Todd Carmichael and J.P. Iberti got the idea for the company when they met in a "Grunge Bar" in Seattle in 1987. It took a while for them to get everything together. Carmichael had worked as a laborer / roaster and barista at Starbucks in 1982, the early years. Small world? La Colombe is French for "the dove". Iberti is French and was working as a coffee roaster at another company in Seattle. La Colombe is definitely a part of the "Third Wave" of coffee  roasters. A lot of top tier chefs use the brand in their restaurants, aka Michael White, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Steven Starr, and Dominique Ansel. They even use it at the Ritz-Carlton in Sarasota, close to my house.

We get it overnight from Amazon. It costs $11.36 and yes that's for a 12 ounce bag. It is similar to Blue Bottle Hayes Valley Espresso in taste. The Hayes Valley is currently $22.00 for a 12 ounce bag. As you can see, La Colombe Corscia is about half the price. We are retired now and on a fixed income so that's quite a savings. 

Our family and friends will occasionally buy us a bag of the Hayes Valley Espresso as a present for Christmas or a birthday. They know how much we love it. Even though the company has been bought and sold a couple times, the taste is the same. It's a present that is always appreciated. It is great coffee.       

 I often wonder why I don't have nostalgic moments with a cup of bad coffee when I get served one. I certainly had enough cups of bad coffee in my youth. Smell and taste are uniquely wired to our memory. We all have sensory memories of certain food items and particular dishes we had when we were young, things our mothers, grandmothers, or other family member made. Most of the time these things were not expensive, high quality or particularly well made. They are things that connect us to the past. Memory is not a perfect recording. It tends to smooth out the flaws. We aren't remembering just the food. We are also remembering who we were when we ate or drank it.  

For some reason, a cup of bad coffee doesn't do this for me. Have I become a coffee snob? Has my sensory system been transformed? Have my expectations permanently shifted? Does refinement outweigh nostalgia? Has my brain recalibrated its baseline? I don't know. I do know that if given a choice of a cup of "Good To The Last Drop" Maxwell House or a cup of Blue Bottle Hayes Valley Espresso, I always go for the Blue Bottle. Of course if there is no choice and Maxwell House is the only one on offer, I will drink the Maxwell House. I like coffee. I like my coffee black. No sugar. No cream. As Simon and Garfunkel wrote, "Hello darkness my old friend. I've come to talk with you again."