Year two of Caffeine Crawl San Diego was a glowing combination of excellent coffee and wonderful people. Friday started with iced pourovers, local cookies and a great slideshow on coffee brewing at Ironsmith Coffee Roasters, and the the team at Pannikin made us feel right at home with French Pressed Ethiopian coffee and pastries. Revolution Roastersdemoed the roasting process while Victor from Brazil explained processing methods atCoffee Coffee (formerly Cafe Ipe), and Lofty Coffee blew us away with Guatemala Genesis Reserva via Chemex and Kyoto, a house made apple cookie and postcards to sign and send to the farmers. We walked away from Caffeine Crawl Encinitas happily caffeinated and with a deeper appreciation of the coffee journey.
Saturday kicked off with good vibes and jitters - InterAmerican Coffee provided snacks and great info on sourcing, sustainability and more, and we learned about Direct Trade over Esmerelda Estate samples and cardamom truffles from David Bacco Chocolatier atBird Rock Coffee in Little Italy. WestBean welcomed us to their new space with a keg of smooth cold brew, chocolate cookies, and eagerness to answer questions.
Extraction style comparisons and discussions of Roya ensured a great experience at Cafe Moto, and Rigo and Mary served up Ethiopian Shilcho via pourover and cortado on a custom Stella di Caffe from Unic at Cafe Virtuoso. We sampled cold brew “cocktails” with cayenne, sea salt, and housemade caramel sauce on ice at Broke Girls Coffee Bar, and soaked in the transient moments of a cafe about to be born over vanilla infused cold brew from Michael at the new North Park Dark Horse Coffee Roasters space.
Crawlers enjoyed Caffe Calabria's authentic Italian approach to coffee and Sandra’s explanation of the carefully curated, brand new Bean Bar’s roots in Germany and Portland, OR. Aromatic teas awaited us at Bay Park Coffee, and Ladies and Gentlemen Coffee Roaster's founder Joshua served a Japanese style iced coffee and visions for the future. We all headed back to James Coffee Co to unwind at the after party over tacos and good conversation, and rifle through our swag bags sporting “Drink Local, Drink Often” from San Diego Coffee Network - goodies included coffee samples from Angels' Cup and James Coffee Co, snack bars from Earnest Eats, and a haul of coupons from participating shops for free drinks and discounts. It was a magical, caffeinated weekend in sunny San Diego, and we can’t wait for next year!