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With another outlet in San Jose, this small espresso bar is unusually clean for Haight St. Though decades ago it was once a grand, large location filled with wood panelling; for the last few years, it's been a minimalist convenience store front with some remnants of the upstairs office space when this was something greater. Some window counter seating and a few chairs; minimal sidewalk seating on a bench. The owner imports the coffee himself and roasts in 100-lb batches at a roaster near the SF International Airport. But his artisan efforts don't pay off. Using two-group La Pavoni at the counter, they serve espresso with a thin, sometimes almost absent, medium brown crema that quickly dissipates into a ring around the cup. Average-to-drip-coffee-thin body. Its drip-like pepper flavor is also a disappointment. You can get this effect from pre-packaged Peerless beans with a fraction of the effort. But this misnamed drip coffee is priced for the street homeless in the neighborhood. Good luck getting a ceramic cup nowdays - it's almost all paper.
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