Daily Marauder

GOT WI-FI?: RITUAL COFFEE ROASTERS SAN FRANCISCO

Photo Credit: NY Times

This morning, I asked the friend I was staying with in San Francisco where I could get a good cup of coffee around his apt.  He replied, in his South African accent, with what sounded to me like “Ritchel.”  After a quick Google search and a text message in his direction, I realized he was saying “Ritual” and it happened to be located just down the block.  I didn’t realize it at the time, but he was sending me to the mecca of San Francisco coffee drinkers.

Photo Credit: Scott Beale / Laughing Squid

As I stepped into the coffee shop, I noticed that they had Clover coffee on the menu.  To those of you non coffee-obsessed, the Clover machine was designed by a former IDEO product designer, who made it his objective to make the best damn coffee in the world.  This machine is what you would imagine from an Inspector Gadget cartoon, doling out the perfect tempered water matched to the perfect amount of just-ground coffee.  The inner machinations of the Clover involve a host of complex computer settings and a smattering of precisely-firing water pumps.  Let’s just say, I had heard of the machine before.  I had tried coffee from a Clover machine before at Café Grumpy in NYC and it was good. . .just not quite THIS good.

The story

The shop opened in May 2005, commencing their coffee revolution with Stumptown coffee, a legend among coffee roasters and flown in from Portland, Oregon.  As a side note, my favorite coffee shop in NYC (9^th Street Espresso) also sells Stumptown.  After commencing operations with someone else’s award-winning coffee, Ritual acquired a coffee roaster and began the roasting process on their own.  Fly high little birdie.

Food/Beverage Selection

Photo Credit: Scott Beale / Laughing Squid

The selection of food stuffs includes mostly pastries but a myriad of great ones to choose from at that.  I went with the Lavender Lemon Cake.  For the vegan in you, they have a variety of options as well.  Ah, San Francisco.  The coffee, as aforementioned, is excellent but they also have a tea option if for some reason, you opt for it instead.

Wi-Fi Action

Pretty freakin’ speedy.  I can’t say that I actually ran a speed test at the time as I was pressed for quarters in my parking meter, but I can tell you that I sped through tasks with the efficiency of my home-brewed Wi-Fi.  Free of course.  Very nice.

Final Call

Loves it.  I now have one thing to do first every time I step off a plane in San Francisco and that’s head for Ritual Coffee Roasters.  To say their coffee changed my palate, would be putting it meekly.  I have never had a coffee that intensely amazing in my life.

Location

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