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This tiny storefront has been the lone outlet for showcasing the roasting that goes on some 4 miles away. It shares space with a Market Hall Bakery and the Pasta Shop, and with them they share a few decorative sidewalk café tables in front as the only seating around. In the back are old-style coffee bins for retail bean sales, but in front is an espresso bar featuring a two-group Faema Ambassador. With it they pull short, potent shots with a smooth medium-brown crema marked with flecks, served in large brown Nuova Point cups. It has a pungent flavor of cloves, herbs, some spice, but the cup is well balanced and rounded. Oddly like many of its nearby Rockridge neighbors along College Ave., there's a touch of a sour element to the cup -- but the heft and balance in the cup lifts it above the others.
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