Bay Area Coffee: A Stimulating History

by Arcadia Publishing

Overview

San Francisco was booming in the mid-nineteenth century, and along with adventurers seeking their fortunes came sacks of green coffee beans. The old Yerba Buena Cove swiftly filled with ships, and the city emerged as the third-largest coffee port in the United States. What followed was the rise—and local demise—of the "big three" coffee roasters: Folger's, Hills Brothers and MJB. Specialized Bay Area roasters like Peerless, Peet's and Blue Bottle sprang up in their wake, while places such as Tosca's, Caffé Trieste and the Blue Unicorn blazed the way for modern coffeehouses. Join author Monika Trobits as she traces the historic voyage of the humble coffee bean to the shores of San Francisco Bay.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467140614
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	02/18/2019
Series:	American Palate
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Monika Trobits has lived in San Francisco for more than thirty-five years. She is a New Yorker by birth and a San Franciscan by choice. Monika earned a BA in political science/history from San Francisco State University. In addition to her work in the corporate world, she was a docent for historically based organizations and local tour operators for more than twenty-five years. In 2011, Monika established her own tour company, San Francisco Journeys ,and is the author of Antebellum and Civil War San Francisco.

Table of Contents

Foreword George Vukasin Jr. 7

Acknowledgements 11

Introduction 13

Part I The Magic Bean 21

Coffee's Genesis in North Africa 23

Coffee's Travels through Europe 29

Coffee's Journey to the Americas 39

A Revolution Begins to Brew 42

Coffee makes Its Way to the Mississippi 46

Coffee Arrives on the Pacific Coast 50

From the Big Island to Berkeley 53

Part II Waves of Beans-The First Wave: Green Beans 57

The First Hill of Beans: Folger's Coffee 61

Don't Judge a Bean by Its Cover 73

A New Century and New Opportunities 75

George Washington's Coffee 84

The Second Hill of Beans: Hills Brothers 88

The innovation of Vacuum Packing 92

The Third Hill of Beans: MJB 101

From Brandenstein to Bransten 106

Smaller Hills of Beans 114

A New Age for Old Coffee Roasters 119

Part III Waves of Beans-The Second Wave: Better Beans 127

Coffee Pours into North Beach 129

The Cappuccino Circuit 132

Roasting with a Beat 139

The Birth of the Caffé Latte 143

Coffeehouses and Cafés in North Beach 145

Coffee on Beach Street 149

An Enduring Legacy 151

Counterculture Coffee 155

The Latitudes of Capricorn 158

The Grounds for Change 161

Starbucks and American Bucks 166

Part IV Waves of Beans-The Third Wave: Contemporary Beans 171

A Coffee Renaissance 173

Stirring Up the Status Quo 179

The Bean Goes On 182

Notes 185

Bibliography 193

Index 199

About the Author 203