Location: 1683 Branham Ln., San Jose
Reviewed: December 6, 2006
I previously reviewed this place a year ago under the moniker "St. James Coffee". Since, they have undergone an ownership change.
Espresso: The place is now a wholesale customer of Barefoot and were serving Element 114 this morning. My request for a single turned up a shot of a little over 1oz. with an even, medium-brown crema. It was somewhat sour. Almost more important than the taste, though, is that the two employees there were seriously attempting to do things right. My shot was ground individually, the cup was preheated, and the barista spent some time on a very solid tamp. When I mentioned the sourness, the barista apologized and offered me a replacement (I declined because of the ratio of caffeine to food that I'd consumed).
Atmosphere: Not much has changed in the past year: the roaster is gone, and there is now a small collection of hot sauce sitting near the register (this is evidently for the empanadas).
Verdict: Despite the flaws, I'm optimistic about their improving.
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7 comments:
hey Tim,
thanks for the comment!
I was there in November 2006 and they pulled me a 2oz Element 114 which tasted like a typical boring California Peet's like espresso. So no reason to ever go back. Never been to a coffee house that uses Barefoot beans that can pull as good as baristas at Barefoot.
I am a regular and I prefer the Papagallo blend that they use... the boys who work the always try to sneek
in the Barefoot blend.. which I feel is sub par. I you have to insist tp get the Papagallo, I don't know why they try to push the barefoot on me. I have complained before, but when I send my husband they
make with the bad barefoot insted of the superior Papagallo. "coffee chick"
Yah it's like you have to know the secret handshake.
You have to ask for Papagallo for your latte, otherwise The kid that works there will try an slip you a barefoot "Dirtyfoot" blend. They still get coffee from The Pacifico Primo Dude..(The old owner with the ponytail and VanDyke beard) That dude knows his stuff. I hate when they slip me the Barefoot. So I tell them give me the good stuff (Papagallo) and they do with out any problem. It's just a drag that I have to wait for them to make me a new one with the Pacifico Primo Coffee. But it's worth the wait, too bad they just don't make Papagallo the defalt blend. But If they slip you a "Stinkyfoot" tell them you want the good stuff "Pacifico Primo Coffee" (Papagallo) and they will give you a "real coffee"
Also You may bump into The Pacifico Primo Coffee Dude (Van Dyke, Ponytail, Baseball hat & shorts) while you are there. He hangs out the every now and then. Try and chat him up, the dude is an exellent source of coffee knowlege. (He is also an Oakland A's fan and I've here him talk hours about that as well)
Cafesurfer
This is a friendly reminder that although people are certainly welcome to comment on what they do and do not like, personal attacks and namecalling (even when they apply to a business entity) are discouraged.
I am a customer of Pacifico Primo Coffee, and I LOVE the coffee that the Xowner brings in. The Pacifico Primo Coffee blend is great, but I LOVE the Pappagallo blend. Barney the Xowner is great to talk to as well. I see him there when he brings coffee over or when hanging out with friends. I must say I don't care much for the barefoot coffee. It's weak and sour (and yes they do try every once in a while to "slip me ... the barefoot" which as I mentioned before I just don't like.
I have read the above comments, and I can see espressophile's point, that being said, it seems to me that espressophile is a little too "barefootcentric". He mentions that Pacifico Primo Coffee is a wholesale customer of barefoot yet he fails to mention the fact that there is another coffee there (a far supierior coffee for that matter) let alone its the namesake of that particular coffee shop. Pacifico Primo Coffee Trading Co.
I must ask why didn't he try the Papagallo or Pacifico Primo Coffee blend while he was there?
So like I said above I see your point about name calling. But I feel that thou doth protest too much.
Is Espressophile perhaps connected to barefoot in some way? I would not ask that question if he didn't outright ignore Pacifico Primo Coffee's blends in his review. That's not cricket.
Cheers all!!
Cafehound
I am not, and never have been, officially connected with Barefoot in any way; and although it is no secret that I do like their coffees, I like plenty of others as well.
As for the other blend that is served at PP, I was completely unaware of its existence until coffeechick's comment was posted. The baristas didn't tell me about it, and I didn't think to ask if they served blends from multiple different roasters. My original purpose upon beginning this blog was simply to survey the current state of espresso. If I do not know a particular inside secret among a small group of people, then that lack of knowledge is a part of the current state of espresso, at least as it applies to a given shop.
That being said, I do plan on trying the Papagallo at some point, but since running this blog is not any sort of professional obligation on my part, my plans for future reviews do tend to drag a bit.
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