Tenderloin Coffee Crawl Celebrates Neighborhood Geekery

Jason Permenter

​Two weeks ago, Shannon Amitin, one of the owners of Farm:Table, was at a La Marzocco demonstration in Berkeley talking to other people about how great the Tenderloin and Lower Nob Hill had become for coffee geeks.

"Since we opened a year and a half ago, four other small coffee shops offering different roasters' beans have opened," he says. "This neighborhood should become more of a destination for what I call 'coffee tourists' ― people seeking out different varieties of coffee." Amitin decided to organize a neighborhood coffee crawl, and with the speed of a caffeine peddler, signed up three nearby cafes and the roasters whose beans they showcase.

This Saturday afternoon, the four cafes will be hosting demonstrations. For example, Farm:Table (which serves Verve) will be holding coffee cuppings on the hour, as well as pulling single-origin espresso shots and demonstrating how to use the Chemex. At Hooker's Sweet Treats, Sightglass will be demonstrating the process of creating coffee blends, while Contraband Coffee Bar will be hosting "coffee labs." If Amitin can get another roaster involved, nearby Bamboo Bike Studio will host a pop-up demonstration as well.

Thankfully, it's early enough in the afternoon that you won't ruin a whole day's sleep cycle, and you can counteract the effects by joining up with the other crawlers and cafe owners at Koko Cocktails afterwards. For more information, and an event map, visit the crawl's Facebook page or Tenderblog, which has been promoting the event.

Tenderloin Coffee Crawl
Sat., Feb. 5, 2-5 p.m. (followed by cocktails)

Participating cafes and shops:
Contraband Coffee Bar: 1415 Larkin (at California)
Farm:Table: 754 Post (at Jones), 292-7089.
Hooker's Sweet Treats: 442 Hyde (at O'Farrell)
Little Bird Coffeeshop: 835 Geary (at Larkin), 440-2165
Bamboo Bike Studio: 982 Post (at Larkin)
Koko Cocktails: 1060 Geary (at Polk), 885-4788