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Good coffee is not only a rare treat in the Outer Sunset, but it is often a rather uplifting social experience. This adage remains true at this tiny coffee shop, which looks more like an old barber shop from the outside - save for the wooden owl in the tree out front next to the Muni L-line stop. Inside it has a woodsy, camp-like feel with decorative logs and wood-cuttings, lacquered wood-cut tables, and mosaic arts decorating the walls. Opening in January 2011, this shop is the brainchild of Ariana Akbar, who has to be one of the most genuinely friendly and engaging people we've ever met in the coffee world. You may be in the Outer Sunset, but you'll feel like you're in a friendly Alaskan outpost. Ariana got into the business by roasting her own coffee (now as Hearth Coffee Roasters, where she time shares at a Peninsula roasting facility) and deciding to open a shop here, rather than North Beach. Her local friendships show in the mosaic art on the walls and the John Campbell baked goods. Engaging her patrons with stories and conversation, she's generously been known to offer a cookie or two, pour some Pelligrino with your espresso, etc. Her coffee emphasis is supported by Clever drippers and a four-group La Marzocco Linea. For her espresso, she's using Flores Island (Indonesia) Blue Dragon, which exhibits a surprisingly broad flavor profile for a single origin. She produces it in classic brown ACF cups with a healthy mottled dark and medium brown crema, plus a brief acidic sharpness followed by a more rounded herbal profile. Great espresso, and a great asset to the neighborhood. This is the very kind of place you'd like to see supported in SF, so do make a visit.
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