Blue Bottle has quickly become a San Francisco institution. Its Mint Plaza café was opened in 2008 in the rear of the elegant 1912 Provident Loan Building. In contrast to the limestone-clad Mint across the street, the café is sleek, modern and, of course, home to some of the best coffee in town.

Perhaps the most compelling, is the five-light siphon bar, manufactured by the Lucky i. Cremas company of Japan – the first of its kind in the United States. Here we feature a menu of three single origin coffees which changes weekly. Next is the Kyoto-style iced-coffee apparatus, which produces a delicate, refined, fragrant cold brewed coffee.

Last but not least is the one-group San Marco lever machine. Clad in glorious rounded copper, it was our first machine. We think was built in the late 1970s. The selection of single origin coffees changes weekly. At the other end of the shop (and spectrum) is a thoroughly modern four-group La Marzocco GB5, with which we make our 17 ft. Ceiling espresso blend. We grind and brew drip coffee individually on a drip bar of our own design.