It’s time for your afternoon jolt! Fans of espresso won’t want to miss a visit to THE TEMPORARIUM, a new little sliver of a spot that opened in the former Sweet Mue space on 22nd Street. Owner Avery Burke is making espresso on a rare, handmade Kees van der Westen manual machine from Netherlands (you may have seen one like this at Andytown). The extra time with the pull makes for a more oily, fatty, buttery shot. He’s using espresso from Contraband, and you’ll find three kinds of coffee for pour-over too (tea is coming soon). He was previously with Contraband, as well as Barefoot Coffee Roasters back in the early days.
Another special thing Burke is doing is a creative and signature espresso drink each month. Right now, you can try his brûléed sage drink—he torches some sage leaves in a dish with cream, then adds it to milk with honey and anise extract. The cappuccino-sized drink features a rim with a compote of pomegranate molasses, chipotle, and curry. Dude!
There’s a small window bench all tricked out in seafoam green where you can sit, plus there’s another bench outside.There’s also a gluten-free mochi muffin from Sam’s Patisserie in Berkeley, which has a muffin-like exterior but a soft inside, with coconut and sesame seeds. Sounds groovy. Hours are shifting to Mon-Fri 7am-1pm and Sat-Sun 8am-6pm. 3414 22nd St. at Guerrero, 415-547-0616.
If you work anywhere near the War Memorial Opera House, there’s a new café that opened called C+M (Coffee and Milk), which is serving Intelligentsia espresso and coffee, plus pastries, sandwiches, salads, and more (menu here). Open Mon-Fri 7am-3pm. 401 Van Ness Ave. at McAllister, 415-578-3755.
There’s a new coffee subscription app that launched today in SF, CUPS, which allows users to get discounts at local and indie cafés. Here’s the best part: SF coffee drinkers who download the app at launch will get three days of unlimited free coffee at their 30-plus starting locations, including Sextant, Hearth, Artis, Contraband, and Flywheel. You’ll also be able to enjoy a big discount on their prepaid 15-cup plan, check it out (here’s my referral code for you: akcx3).
Your picnic options just expanded with the release of Blue Bottle Coffee’s new ready-to-drink cold brew that comes in an 8-oz. can. Starting in April, you’ll be able to purchase cans at select Whole Foods and all Blue Bottle cafés for $4 each.
The manual lever espresso machine at The Temporarium. Yelp photo by Scout T.
