My solution was simple, try to go to as many different coffee shops in the city as I could. That way, if my studying prevented me from having a big crazy adventure, I could at least have an adventure in coffee and explore that side of San Francisco (not limited to the city, but there are a ton of coffee shops here). So, I decided to start the Coffee Shop Study Challenge (or CSSC for short).
The basic idea of the CSSC, is to rate different coffee shops along a variety of categories (for consistency) on a 1-5 scale:
Taste
Buzz (caffeine level, basically)
Ambiance
Food (If applicable)
Selection
Study
Novelty
Presentation
Overall (not necessarily an average of the above categories)
So, to kick off my Coffee Challenge, I decided to go to the SF mecca of coffee. For months, it was hard to escape the murmurs and local articles about Blue Bottle Coffee, so I had to check it out. I decided to go to the Mint Plaza. It took me a while to find it (even though it's across the street from the 5th St. entrance to the Westfield mall, this place is freaking hidden), and the sign didn't help it stand out too much either.
Taste: 4. It was delicious. I'm one of those people that has some coffee with my cream and sugar and I didn't have to add a lot of sugar to my latte. I really want to try the siphon pot coffee next time I go there. I would tell you what siphon pot
coffee is but I'm not really sure so I'll let Wikipedia and Blue Bottle's website do it for you.Buzz: 5. I had a nice caffeine buzz going for hours afterward. In fact, I cleaned the whole apartment and stayed up until 2 am. That's only happened one other time and it was before I was a regular coffee drinker. This stuff has a kick.
Ambiance: 1. When I go into a coffee shop I think of dark stained wood and cozy chairs. Maybe I've been in too many Starbucks, but I don't expect a coffee shop to be in a high-ceiling, white washed location with big cold windows and tiny bar style tables with tall stools. The whole place just felt cold and unwelcoming.Food: 3. I got a little gingerbread loaf which was really tasty. It had a bit too much gingerbread for my personal tastes but then again, the most experience I have with gingerbread are the person shaped cookies at Christmas time so maybe that's how it's supposed to taste? There were also several brunch type dishes that looked really good and I didn't see any plates go back with uneaten food.
Selection: 4. There weren't 25 types of coffees but I felt like all the basics were covered. Plus, the rare addition of the siphon pot was nice. The menu had what it needed and nothing more.
Study: 2. I got about 20% of the chapter I was reading done during the hour I was there which is a better pace than usual. However, because of the small space and cold atmosphere I didn't feel like I was welcome to stay and study after my coffee was done. I don't know the protocol on that, but if I need to find a new study spot every hour or drink 4 lattes, then this isn't going to go so well.
Novelty: 4. The coffee was amazing, and the siphon pot seemed really cool. Although the atmosphere sucked, it was really fun to watch the siphon pot in action the 2-3 times someone ordered it while I was there.
Presentation: 4. This is kind of a silly category, but I was really excited by how pretty the swirls in my coffee cup were.Overall: 3. I think as a coffee shop, this place is great. There is good food, great coffee and it's in a central location. I think next time I go on a weekend shopping trip, I'll stop here for a pick-me-up. However, as a study spot, it was terrible. I could hardly fit my book and notebook on the little table and I didn't feel like I was welcome to study there. Since this is a study challenge, I have to knock the overall score for that. Now if this was a drink-coffee-apartment-cleaning-challenge, Blue Bottle might have gotten the elusive 5.
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