A coffee book for your coffee table?
One of my favorite “experience” spots is Blue Bottle. You go and stand in line and chat with strangers and the waiting with occasional doses of coffee smell hit your nose until you can’t stand it anymore and suddenly, it’s time to order. You have so few choices on the menu so a latte it is. While sitting, you can watch a traditional Japanese Siphon brew system hard at work on someone’s pricier (but better) Siphon pot that, last time I checked costs $12 a pot. The fresh baked pastries and same-day roasted beans are pricey but a treat and so tempting you buy some to go. It is an experience going to Blue Bottle and this is why it is my favorite cafe, coffee shop and roasters in the world.
Now, you can pre-order a coffee table book written by James and Caitlin Freeman. The duo started Blue Bottle over 10 years ago in San Francisco. Their goal was to create an experience where friends could come together and spend time over a nice cup of coffee. James selects small batches of coffee beans from all over the world which are roasted by Blue Bottle in Oakland and sold in the company owned cafes (SF & NYC for now) and to wholesalers. Caitlin is the pastry chef which helps supply fresh baked pastries to every Blue Bottle cafe.
I use Blue Bottle beans at home when I can afford the shipping. I also have immense respect for the husband and wife team because I long to one day do the same thing. I would love to have a cafe and have a baking partner to help me out or own a dive bar and have a chef or some kind of husband and wife team working together. the Blue Bottle beans I use at home are remarkable! The pastries are terrific but they don’t ship very well.
So, I just pre-ordered the book by the couple. It’s a book heavily focused on photography and great layout. In addition to being a beautiful book, it contains guides to beans, home-roasting and making great coffee. It also features recipes from Caitlin Freeman to make great coffee paired pastries at home.
It’s a cookbook for coffee nerds and I’m STOKED! You should pre-order it now.
(Hat tip to Laughing Squid which is why I’m linking to the book using the LS Amazon referral code)