Sacramento tops list of world's best cities for coffee (ranked, place)

[caligirlz]

Originally Posted by Chimérique

I'll be for surely dating myself when I say I remember in all of California, the only real cafe/coffee-expresso type places could be found only in San Francisco, Berkeley and La Jolla(San Diego) I don't even think LA had such a place. And there were just a handful of places in SF.

They were so rare and unique; it was one of the reasons I would go to SF before living there. I'm talking years before the first Starbucks opened up outside of Seattle.

I too remember the days of the independent coffee houses (pre-Starbucks). Back in those days I lived in the central valley, and it was surprising the number of cool shops in Fresno & Visalia....long gone now. I think one positive thing that Starbucks did, was to increase the popularity (& addiction ) of coffee, and increased the level of expectation. Meaning, I could always expect to have consistency in flavor no matter which Starbucks I went to. Back in the old days, that was not the case at the local shop. I've had way too many bad cups of java...sort of a turn off with many local shops. I do believe things have changed for the better.

My favorite place in both Visalia & Fresno, were bookstore/espresso bars. In Fresno, it was combined with a large used book store, and I'd spend hours there while escaping from the stress of college. In Visalia, the shop was much smaller, the bookstore sold new books, and they also brought in local musicians and it was on our downtown main st. It was wonderful. It was always my inspiration on a business idea, when I dreamed of being an independent business owner.

Originally Posted by Chimérique

Europe was 100 years ahead of America in having cafes devoted to coffee/tea/expresso, where you sat and lingered, read books, studied and nursed a coffee drink for hours. This was one of the reasons why you went to Europe, especially France and Italy...was to experience the cafe culture.

Kind of funny. When I went to Italy back in 2000, I remember the awful sweetened espresso that was frequently served everywhere, even at the highway gas stations (which by the way is pretty cool that they have espresso bars at the gas stations). I don't use sugar in my coffee/espresso, and one of the ways I determine a good espresso is by drinking it straight.

Another funny thing, I remember asking a tour guide for a recommendation on a espresso shop. I believe we were in San Gimignano. The shop served Illy espresso, which I'd been drinking in Visalia for a few years. It thought it was cool at the time, but now in hindsight, I'm thinking he thought I wanted an Americanized espresso.

Originally Posted by Rob98LS1

coffee republic in folsom has a nice ambiance paired with good food selection and decent coffee.

I agree. Coffee Republic is a fun, quirky place with good food. I don't care for their coffee as they serve milder roasts. It's ok, but nothing I'd go out of my way for. I prefer dark, espresso roast. I don't drink the foo-foo coffee drinks.

Other places out in the burbs that come to mind:
Bloom Coffee in Roseville - very good
Zia's in El Dorado Hills (previously in Placerville) - delicious coffee & food!

Others:
Origin Coffee in Rocklin is interesting. It's a non-profit coffee shop resolved to end human sex-trafficking, and the baraistas are volunteers. I think they have a good mission. However, service was slow, and I wasn't impressed with the quality of the drinks.
El Dorado Coffee in Shingle Springs - very good
Caffee Santoro in Cameron Park - never been
Edwin's Coffee in Rocklin - never been
Boulevard Coffee in Fair Oaks - I think this place has been around for awhile. I don't remember anything extraordinary about it.

I remember looking for Chocolate Fish when it was located by the Crocker. I think that's when it was in the process of moving. I was sooo disappointed.

[xeney]

L.A. definitely had espresso shops in the early 80s. Lots of them. That was where I learned to drink coffee.

Chocolate Fish serves my favorite coffee (if you've had coffee in Australia, it is very familiar) but Coffee Works is my favorite coffee shop for service and ambiance: low key, unpretentious, decent food.

[Chimérique]

Originally Posted by xeney

L.A. definitely had espresso shops in the early 80s. Lots of them. That was where I learned to drink coffee.

Chocolate Fish serves my favorite coffee (if you've had coffee in Australia, it is very familiar) but Coffee Works is my favorite coffee shop for service and ambiance: low key, unpretentious, decent food.

Yeah that's true, Beverly Hills , Fairfax district, I remember a place on Ventura blvd in Studio city, and there was a place in Venice a block away from beach. None were in that walkable dense European-SF type of neighborhood. Very LA in a good way.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by Chimérique

⌃⌃ Bars, restaurants, clubs.......this is the kind of history I love hearing about. I remember all of those places although I didn't live in Sacramento I always was visiting family in Sac at the time.

New Helvetia was special because it was a restored 1890's firehouse. It had rocking chairs and it was steps from the Gay bars. Pre-internet, it was a great dating and "hook-up" place, And the name so historic, "New Helvetia" the original name for Sacramento, showing our limited Swiss roots. Like New York and New Orleans, Sacramento was a "New....Helvetia"

I remember it from about 1990. What's in the space of Java City now?

[wburg]

The folks who own Paesano's next door took it over and use it for special event space, which is kind of a shame as it's a prime corner and does not seem to get used very much. They tried running a sandwich shop but kept changing the hours and had difficulty building up business, or they didn't want to detract from dinner business at their original space maybe. The grand old camphor tree in front was cut down in 2012, the tree was diseased and couldn't survive. But there are so many places that used to be coffee shops in Midtown, and so many places that could be used as one--the dance continues for another decade.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by wburg

The folks who own Paesano's next door took it over and use it for special event space, which is kind of a shame as it's a prime corner and does not seem to get used very much. They tried running a sandwich shop but kept changing the hours and had difficulty building up business, or they didn't want to detract from dinner business at their original space maybe. The grand old camphor tree in front was cut down in 2012, the tree was diseased and couldn't survive. But there are so many places that used to be coffee shops in Midtown, and so many places that could be used as one--the dance continues for another decade.

Thank you. Remembering the days of Java City before Paesano's and Zocolo's and when one of their managers was married to one of my wife's former foster daughters (still is - married to her that is), we were sad when we heard it had closed. I think that back in the day the only restaurant in that vicinity was The Rubicon. Ah, the curse of old age. Fond memories and change. The former can be pleasant. The latter not always so much! Progress ain't always what it's cracked-up to be.

[pdizo916]

Too bad i don't like coffee.

[wburg]

Well, maybe it's just the great coffee, but here we are on another list!

No. 2 Happiest Place To Work: Sacramento, California - In Photos: The 10 Happiest And Unhappiest Cities To Work In Right Now - Forbes

Not a lot of detail, so it's kind of tough to figure out how they generated this list (other than the "pull names out of a hat" method) but hey, here's something to show anyone who claims we never make it onto any of those "list of nifty cities" lists.

[Rob98LS1]

Originally Posted by wburg

Well, maybe it's just the great coffee, but here we are on another list!

No. 2 Happiest Place To Work: Sacramento, California - In Photos: The 10 Happiest And Unhappiest Cities To Work In Right Now - Forbes

Not a lot of detail, so it's kind of tough to figure out how they generated this list (other than the "pull names out of a hat" method) but hey, here's something to show anyone who claims we never make it onto any of those "list of nifty cities" lists.

Obviously the great coffee options out there help to achieve that high rank.

[caligirlz]

I finally made it to Chocolate Fish today! Delicious!!

Interestingly, I got confused on the location of CF. I confused it with Coffee Works, so I stopped there first. I agree, it was friendly. The coffee was passable (until I got to CF). Their bakery bar looked fantastic but I had to pass it up. But once I bought my CF coffee, the CW coffee got put on the back burner. It's now in my fridge. Not sure if I will drink it or not since I brought home CF beans.

And the good news, Chocolate Fish has a branch in Folsom! Java Mama uses their beans & has been trained in all of their drinks. And, they are within walking distance for me.