Workshop Cafe

"Food. Workspace. Community."

Three words, cornerstones of daily life, for most tech workers in a big city.  The office is not just a desk, not just the place to work (although, it is, at the core, that), but it often offers a sense of community with co-workers, and, for many perk-heavy places, food.

But if, gasp, you don't work for a big tech company, but want some of that experience?  Enter Workshop Cafe.

"Environment shapes experience. We’ve created this space to enrich our lives--and yours. Every day, the space connects us with so many great people who come through our doors to work with us, dine with us, and just hang out with us. We each add our own special energy and vibe to the collective experience."

Workshop Cafe is a unique concept, bridging standard co-working setups with a public cafe.  Anyone can come just get a cup of coffee or a salad.  But only members can enter the exclusive spaces, book meeting rooms, and the like.

Setting

In San Francisco, Workshop Cafe has/had several spaces.  I visited the one at 1 Market Street, on the ground floor.  This location has since closed, but others remain in the city (although currently closed due to COVID).

There are two entrances to Workshop Cafe, one from the street (the main entrance) and one from the interior atrium.  Both have small seating areas adjacent to them.

Atrium Quick Register.

The atrium entrance is mostly designed for office building tenants who want to grab and go quickly.  During the morning and lunch rushes, it is staffed and has a quick drip coffee and packaged items station, although you can order the full menu if you choose.

Atrium Seating.

There are a few small tables in this area, for casual use, but it also does attach to the main interior space.

Main Register & Quick Coffee.

The regular street entrance is larger.  Most ordering is done at the register in front, complete with a pastry display and full menu.

However, if you'd just like a cup of drip coffee, or a refill, there is a self-service station with an ipad to pay, super quick and convenient, no human interaction required.  The self-service quick coffee seems particular nice for regulars who work in the building.

Barista Area.

The other edge of the L shaped front bar area is the barista station, where all espresso drinks are prepared, and a self-serve sparkling and still water tap is located.  Again, so convenient - no need to ask for, or pay for, water, even sparkling, provided you have your own bottle.

The kitchen is behind the wall in this area.

Condiment Station.

The condiment area is well stocked, not just your standard sugar, creamer, salt and pepper, but also including hand sanitizer (which, pre-covid was novel), simple syrup for iced drinks, Stevia-in-the-raw, and organic ketchup and hot sauce for some of the savory foods.

Coffee

"We take coffee seriously at Workshop Cafe. That's why we've teamed up with Stumptown Coffee Roasters to bring you the freshest and highest-quality coffee every day."

Coffee is all provided by Stumptown, and they offer all standard espresso drinks, plus basic drip (regular only), plus pour overs (decaf or regular), plus cold brew, Kyoto cold brew, Nitro cold brew, and more.

Each style of coffee uses a different bean, chosen specifically for the application.  No repeats.  Workshop Cafe, and Stumptown,  *do* care about the coffee quality, and it shows.

Pour over Setup.

My first visit, I went for a pour over, and they had a pretty legit setup.

It took time though, the barista seemed to not necessarily want to make the pour over, or maybe he just wanted to do the other faster things first, but he ... really took his time getting started on it.  It took 15 minutes for my drink.

It was worth the wait.

Ethiopian Suke Quto: Peach, Apricot, Bergamot & Cantaloupe. Pour over $5.

"This classic Ethiopian cup is exceptionally clean and juicy. It has tasting notes of fruit, tea, and flowers."

I loved this.

I'm a fan of Ethiopians in general, and this was fantastic.  Smooth, deep, rich, dark in all the right ways.  Did I taste fruit, tea, and flowers?  No, but, I loved it and would gladly get it again, 15 minute wait and all.

A really fabulous cup of coffee.  ****+.

Peru Churupampa, Drip. $3.

My next visit, I opted for standard drip, this one from Peru.

The drip was far less successful for me.  I got it one day when I was in a rush, and appreciated the self-serve, just grab your cuppa and run, but, I didn't appreciate the actual coffee.  It had a sour note that I really did not care for.

I got my coffee at 9:30am, basically part of the morning rush, so I don't think it was due to it being too old.

**+.

Trapper Creek Decaf: Raisin, Buttery, & Caramel. Pour over $5.

"The sweetness of raisins pairs beautifully with caramel in this creamy, buttery cup."

Another day, I went back for a pour over, but this time, I opted for decaf, as it was later in the day.

This was a nice decaf. Smooth clean flavors.  Deep flavor.   No funk. I didn't really get the caramel nor buttery aspects, but, raisin really does describe it.  The pour over technique seems to have worked well.

This was really quite enjoyable, no sweetener nor milk needed, just a very nice cup of coffee, even more remarkable because it was decaf.

****.

Holler Mountain: Citrus Zest, Caramel & Hazelnut. Cold Brew. $4.

"A bright burst of citrus pairs beautifully with creamy notes of caramel and hazelnut."

Cold brew is offered in grab-n-go glass bottles, or, from the normal ordering line in plastic (to go) or glass (dine-in) varieties.  I grabbed one quickly for later, so selected a pre-packaged glass botle.

I actually forgot to take notes when I tried it, but I do remember really liking, and keeping, the glass bottle.  It is such a good size!