We’re not sure what wave this is — the fourth? — but the Bay Area’s coffee and tea scene is absolutely buzzing.
There are fair-trade beans and alluring pastry programs, yes, and also culture and late-night hours. The last two years have given the caffeine-dependent community new spaces inspired by Korean, Brazilian, Filipino and Yemeni cultures. There’s one dedicated to your mental health and another with an all-vinyl soundtrack.
There is more to come, too, with the much-anticipated opening of Mr. Espresso’s first-ever stand-and-sip bar in Oakland. And you know we’ll be standing in line for coffee to go with our Oprah-loved English muffins when Model Bakery opens in Walnut Creek.
Corner of Brazil, Danville
One imagines downtown Danville’s Corner of Brazil is like visiting a typical neighborhood café in Sao Paolo. Owner Nickolas Guido, who opened the doors in October of 2021, offers the full spectrum of sips and eats from his native Brazil. There are full-powered organic açai bowls (not diluted, Guido says, like most açai found in the Bay Area), gooey pão de queijo, housemade cookies and imported dark roast coffees.
Paper parrots dangle from the ceiling. Chairs are swathed in pink. And shelves are stocked with popular snacks, like Bis chocolate wafers and bags of crunchy Yoki Batata Palha. In addition to a full espresso program, Guido offers tropical smoothies, Brazilian coffee, rolled ice cream and savory crepes, which can be made gluten-free and stuffed with the popular Brazilian pizza combo of chicken, corn and catupiry, a mild, soft cheese. Don’t miss the covered back patio lined with succulents.
The cup: Guido’s Italian espresso-based lattes ($5) are perfectly balanced, even when hit with ube or doce de leite, the fudgier Brazilian version of dulce de leche. Just need joe? The imported dark Brazilian roasts include Pilão and 3 Hearts ($3-$4).
The bite: Don’t miss the savory pastries, including beef-filled Esfirra de Carne, from San Francisco’s Cafe de Casa, and Guido’s casadinho, the buttery Brazilian guava cookies he bakes himself.
Details: Opens at 11 a.m. Monday-Tuesday and Thursday-Friday and 10 a.m. weekends at 370 Hartz Ave. in Danville; https://cantinhodobrazil.com.
Cafe Siete, Burlingame
Troll dolls, K-pop stars, an all-pink room? Gurl, this is the coffeehouse of your dreams! Owner Marissa Ramirez came back from a Korean vacation so inspired by the cafe culture there that she launched a cafe of her own last year, after spending long hours curating the funky, eclectic collection. The adjectives used in virtually every Yelp review of this place? Cute. Super-cute. Adorable.
Adorable — and open long hours. While many coffee and tea places brew only from early morning to afternoon, Siete offers evening and even late-night hours. And it’s become a popular spot for K-pop fans to hold their “cupsleeve” and photo card trading events. There’s fun, colorful indoor seating, plus a few tables on the pink walled (of course) back patio.
The cup: The Matcha Latte ($5.50) is by far the bestseller here, Ramirez says, and the Coconut Siete Latte ($5.75) is a fave. Beans are sourced from San Jose’s Coffee and Water Lab micro-roastery, and the tea comes from Rishi. Don’t miss the Bubblies ($4.85), a refreshing, non-caffeinated mix of sparkling water and muddled fresh fruit.
The bite: Flaky, crispy “croffles” — croissants turned into waffles — are a must. Go with a simple sugared one ($6), or indulge in a croffle topped with s’mores or Nutella and bananas ($10 each). Savories include the Ava Toast ($10), avocado made yummier with bacon jam and pickled red onion.
Details: Open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday at 341 Primrose Road, Burlingame; www.instagram.com/cafesiete.
LazyBird Coffee, Alameda
It’s hard to keep restaurateur Louis Kao down. His Noodle Theory chain shuttered, but now he’s running Lou’s Chicken Shack in Moraga and as of last fall, this bustling neighborhood hangout. As with Kao’s other projects, LazyBird has an Asian twist. Beans from Oakland’s Bicycle Coffee are transmogrified into drinks flavored with pandan, ube and a sweet-lover’s “samoa” (caramel, coconut, chocolate, espresso).
The shop is bright and peppy, with a smiling portrait of AstroBoy on the wall, and Courtney Love playing on the speakers. Locals of all ages order concoctions that often veer toward the floral – think rose-lychee and honey-lavender lattes. The pastry case holds Berkeley’s Dream Fluff doughnuts and malasadas so popular, you can preorder them. (Flavors change weekly and recently included flan cream and Pink Starburst Chantilly.)
The cup: The subtly sweet shamrock-green pandan latte ($5) is a must try, and the zippy, decaf yuzu limeade ($5) will make your mouth pucker in a pleasant way on a hot day.
The bite: The plump malasadas ($5) beg for coffee dunking. And a recent congee special elevates the culinary art form with a solid base of meat and ginger and creative toppings including kimchi, yau choy and kalua pork versions ($9.50) drizzled with chili oil.
Details: Open 7:30 a.m.-2 p.m. daily at 930 Central Ave., Alameda; lazybirdcoffee.com
A.M. Craft, San Jose
Chef-entrepreneur Michael Shieh, a connoisseur of coffee and coffeehouse culture, selected a smart location for his java joint philosophy of “cultivating kinship with our surrounding communities.” A.M. Craft sits at one of the city’s sweet spots for coffee and tea — right between the San Jose State campus and the Naglee Park neighborhood. The university crowd and locals have been quick to make the place their own, says A.M.’s marketing director, the appropriately named Ashlee Chai.
A.M. likes to expand the horizons of coffee lovers. So instead of buying beans from one roaster, Hsieh and team celebrate and brew three roasters every month — one California, one national and one international. A recent trio included Dune Coffee Roasters of Santa Barbara, Black & White Roasters of Raleigh, North Carolina, and The Barn in Berlin. For April, it’s Sacramento’s Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters, Sey Coffee from New York and La Cabra out of Aarhus, Denmark.
The sip: Want to try the global array? A “drip flight” ($5) offers 4-ounce cups of one single-origin coffee from each of the three roasters. A “red-eye flight” ($6) is one single-origin bean served as an espresso shot, as a cortado and as a black drip coffee. If you’re into the sweeter stuff, the Toasted Marshmallow Latte ($5) is popular.
The bite: Freshly baked croissants, sticky buns and other pastries ($4-$6) arrive daily from the Mountain View’s Midwife & the Baker in Mountain View; we can vouch for the Pineapple Danish with Coconut Streusel. Orange chocolate chip ($3.50) and dark chocolate peanut butter chip ($4) cookies are made in-house.
Details: Open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. six days a week (closed Tuesday), at 481 E. San Carlos St., San Jose (no signage yet, but it’s coming); https://am-craft.mailchimpsites.com.
Delah Coffee, Oakland
Delah might be the most exciting thing happening in East Bay coffee at the moment. The new Oakland coffee shop — the second from partners Omar Alkhameri, Omar Jahami and Magid Jahami after the 2022 debut of their San Francisco location — is a deep dive into Yemeni coffee culture, from the signature mountain-grown beans and ornate pots of cardamom-infused drinks to the alluring pastry program.
Yemen was the first country to commercially export coffee through its Port of Mokha, and Delah does that legacy justice. The beans are light-roasted locally in the traditional Yemeni style and pop up in lattes, mochas and specialties, like the Jubani, which is infused with ginger and cinnamon. Inside, the walls are covered in gold-flecked and hand-painted images of traditional coffee farmers and the ancient Yemeni script of Musnad. The pastry cases are like art, too, filled with a dizzying array of Turkish delights and aromatic milk cakes.
The cup: We loved the Delah Rose Latte ($7.23), which features housemade rose syrup and is sprinkled with crushed rose petals. On hot days, go for the Dubai Refresher ($7.23), a refreshing mix of lemon, lime, mint and sparkling water.
The bite: The pistachio baklava ($7.23) and milk cakes ($6.45/slice) deserve your attention. Slathered in frosting and soaked in milk spiked with saffron, pistachio or rose, the brick-sized slices practically melt in your mouth. For a savory option, the Bee Bites ($5.46) are seeded bread stuffed with cream cheese and served warm with honey.
Details: Open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Thursday and Sunday, until 10 p.m. Friday and 11 p.m. Saturday at 420 W. Grand Ave. in Oakland. Coming soon to 1807 Euclid Ave., Berkeley. https://delahcoffee.com
Canteen Coffee Shop, Menlo Park
Rub elbows with the entrepreneurs and residents of Springline when you stop for a cup at Canteen, one of chef-restaurateur Greg Kuzia-Carmel ventures. This ambitious multi-use project has risen up on El Camino Real adjacent to the Caltrain station. Canteen Coffee was the first food/beverage spot to move in, followed by a Canteen wine bar. Locals and folks at the Canopy co-working space here will enjoy this architecturally pleasing shop, with its warm woods, high ceilings, counter-seat window views and a surprise … a vinyl soundtrack.
Organic beans are sourced from Sightglass of San Francisco — Owls Howl Espresso, Hunky Dory Decaf, Toketee Drip, Blueboon Cold Brew — and pour-overs are made with single-origin beans from Honduras and Guatemala
The sip: With a business crowd that uses caffeine as fuel, cappuccinos, espressos and drip coffees are popular here, but Matcha Lattes and Chai Lattes are favorites too — and there’s a secret to the chai. The high-quality spices come from Kalustyan’s, a landmark spice emporium in New York
The bite: Check out the “provisions” made by Kuzia-Carmel’s kitchen teams at his nearby Camper restaurant and Canteen. The frequently changing lineup may feature a Pesto and Portobello Mushroom “hot pocket” ($13) one day and a Truffled Grilled Cheese ($11) the next. There’s also a nice selection of croissants, muffins and scones ($2.75-$6) from The Midwife & the Baker.
Details: Open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday inside the Canopy workspace at 1300 El Camino Real, Suite 100, Menlo Park. Find parking on nearby Garwood Way or on El Camino. www.canteen.studio/cafe
Bober Tea & Coffee, Walnut Creek, Sunnyvale and more locations
Before your eyes roll like a cup of stir-fried boba pearls, know this: Bober is not your average boba chain. Originating in Singapore, the bubble tea brand incorporates the flavors of Taiwan, China and Japan into a focused selection (read: not every fruit tea known to man) of iced artisanal drinks made with loose-leaf teas, real fruit and housemade chizu. Bober’s cream cheese topper is sweeter than the more prevalent salted versions.
What we enjoyed most on our visit to the Walnut Creek shop, which opened in 2022 and jump-started Bober’s rapid Bay Area expansion, wasn’t the happiness-inducing pink-rose interiors or a sized called “Champagne bottle.” It was the customer service. Our young hostess walked us through the approachable menu, which includes eight real-fruit green teas, including some seasonal options; a milk tea series for those riding the brown sugar trend, and espresso-based lattes for those craving a hot cookie butter latte. She also told us what the staff is obsessing over.
The sip: Among those drinks is the Chizu Strawberry Green Tea ($6.60), which comes with real bits of ripe, tangy strawberries that provide the perfect contrast to the rich, sweet-ish chizu and still-warm, chewy boba. Get your hands on the seasonal mango version while you can. Vegans: Don’t miss the non-dairy milk series, which includes winter melon and hazelnut flavors.
Details: Open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily at 1153 Locust St., Walnut Creek. Also in Martinez, Pleasanton, Sunnyvale and San Ramon. Coming soon to San Carlos, Campbell, Palo Alto and Alameda; www.boberteausa.com
Mind Coffee, Berkeley
The first thing that hits you entering the sterile corridor of Mind Coffee is the hush. It’s full of people, but they’re so locked into computers and headphones and so silent, you can hear their cells dividing. You instinctively lower your voice to match the vibe – although you’re definitely not in a public library.
It turns out this UC Berkeley-adjacent business is also a wellness concept. Its owner had a tragic life event that inspired her to open a shop this February structured around mental health. A bookshelf offers titles such as the Dalai Lama’s “Healing Anger” and greeting cards that assert “Your feelings are always valid.” Ergonomic furniture invites you to perch on your knees or sit on the floor on what resemble gray egg sacs. The architecture studio that designed the low-lit, white-clad space, with its cloudlike veils of hanging paper, declares it a “backdrop for memories, a quiet-yet-powerful presence that invites you to pause and ponder.”
The cup: What’s better for mental well-being than green tea? There’s plenty of it on the menu — they have coffee too — including an earthy hojicha latte sourced from Japan ($5.55) and made from leaves roasted in ceramic vessels over charcoal. An iced dirty matcha latte with homemade crema ($6.50) has an addictive milkshake quality, plus two shots of espresso to power you through exams, a boon for its university student clientele.
The bite: A small pastry case offers calorific sweets like salted bittersweet-chocolate cookies ($3.95) and buttery kouign amann with rich chocolate or hazelnuts ($5.49).
Details: Open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. weekends at 1816 Euclid Ave. in Berkeley; themindcoffee.com.
Charlie May Coffee & Tea House, Oakland
Charlie May has a feel of the tropics, with its breeze-kissed interior, wood rafters and location high in the sunny hills. That’s fitting, given the sisters who own the place – Analyssa and Arianna Cruz – are dabbling in coffee flavors inspired by their Filipino and Chamoru (Guam and the Marianas) heritage, like chocolatey champorado and latiya, a popular cinnamon-custard cake.
The shop sources its beans from Nicaragua and Peru through Bellwether Coffee and roasts them in an electric, zero-emissions machine. (After all, it’s the islands that are going to be first underwater.) For health reasons, the sisters are taking a stand against cane sugar in the coffee industry; here you’re offered agave syrup, sticky coconut sugar and no-calorie monk-fruit sweetener. The place isn’t devoid of sugar, though: Occasional cookie-decorating classes and other foodie events support its mission to promote community gathering.
The cup: The Cruzes have transformed their family’s recipes for breakfast and desserts into different “sauces” to flavor coffee. Champorado, a Filipino chocolate-rice porridge, has become a chocolate sauce that mixes well into a pleasantly bitter, high-octane cold brew ($7). Better yet is the latiya latte ($5.75) with cinnamon-and-vanilla sauce, full of caramel notes and velvety coconut undertones.
The bite: Charlie May’s has the standard arsenal of baked goods, plus frequent weekend food pop-ups (check the coffeehouse’s Facebook page for details). Recent offerings include silog breakfast dishes and Hawaiian plates and snacks, such as musubi, baked California rolls and deep-fried mochiko chicken.
Details: Open from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday and until 3 p.m. Friday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends at 11200G Golf Links Road in Oakland; charliemaycoffee.com.
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