For all too long, you couldn't get great coffee in the Outer Sunset region of San Francisco. Two entrepreneurial companies have set out to change that. Combining forces into one location, Orivor Coffee Roasters and Andytown Coffee Roasters have set up shop in a brightly lit completely new built out location in the Outer Sunset District of San Francisco. I've been eager to see them arrive, since they are a short 15 minute drive for me and they are in an area with lot's of free parking, which is a huge plus for the folks like myself who still drive in San Francisco.



We stopped in to check them out on their second day of opening and got the basic scoop and were able to try out their incredible coffees. Lauren Crabbe and Michael McCrory are the couple behind Andytown. They met while both being baristas at the same cafe in San Diego, fell in love, moved to San Francisco for college while Lauren became a star barista at Blue Bottle Coffee, all the while, laying the ground work, dreaming and planing to open their own cafe.

(this is where my amateur photography skills shine at their worst. I was trying to get a quick shot of the couple without disrupting the line of customers that constantly built, I ended up only getting Lauren in focus)




After a great deal of work, nearly all of it done with their own hands, these three entrepreneurs created a bright, cheery and friendly new cafe/roastery and opened doors this week. The cafe features an impressive Kees van der Westen Mirage Idrocompresso Triplette espresso machine and Michael's Irish roots shine thru their homemade pastries that include many of his grandmother's favorite recipes, including several forms of Irish soda bread and Cacao nib cookies using a shortbread recipe.

The espresso I had was sweet, tight, concentrated powerful chocolate, mandarin orange and a very sweet hazelnut and toasted almond roca finish. Their americano cooled into something heavenly. The sip I stole from my girlfriends cappuccino was better than many I have made at home recently.


Their decor is simple, bright and clean. Exotic salvaged woods grace different areas.





Patrick Chaffey shared their passion for fine coffee and he built his own highly modified (and beautified) Probat L5 right on site. He's been passionate about fine coffee for a long time and searched for over 6 months specifically for his dream roaster, the L5.





Patrick has tweaked and improved every aspect of the Probat L5 and he probably has dreams of it at night. I sampled one of his Kenyan offerings and was immediately struck by a crystal clear "Sue Bee Honey" which I suppose is clover honey, that took me completely by surprise given its cultivar. The acidity was well interlaced and not overwhelming. It was unlike any Kenyan I've ever had or roasted myself, and in quite a pleasant way. Patrick's touch with this roaster and his skill is quite evident.




Patrick is solely focused on e-commerce, and his coffees are only available online. He explained the genesis of the name Orivor is a combination of "Origin" and "Flavor", his two main focuses.



But he's going to be a busy man, since he's doing it nearly entirely by himself, besides one other partner. He's roasting, packaging and delivering coffee locally. He designed and makes his own beautiful packaging for his coffee, to protect it, for those who order it online. Imagine seeing this in your mailbox.



The tactile feel of the box is impressive; the coffee within is even more so.



Both companies have their own coffees, their own roasts, they just share a common location. There seems to be a solid unity between the three and based on the early excitement, I'd be willing to guess they have significant staying power. Andytown's hours currently run till noon, but they stayed open the last two days I visited till after 2PM, since they couldn't turn away the crowd of locals pouring in constantly.

Andrew, their assistant barista kept half the cafe laughing and having a great time during their stay there.



Give them a visit the next time you're in San Francisco at 3655 Lawton Street. They'll no doubt be glad to welcome you.

Thanks for the excellent write up more over on Sprudge about them too.

http://sprudge.com/first-look-andytown- ... cisco.html

http://sprudge.com/andytown-sf-build-out.html

I totally make a hand model appearance in one of those pictures.

The couple that own the cafe, and the roaster are people who love coffee. If you strike up a conversation with any of them they're likely to keep you there for a long time with friendly words.