Good Taste offers a loving look at the Bay Area food world. Iced coffee is lovely no matter the weather, especially when attempting to weather and counter the draining news of any given day, and we’ve been seeking solace at the bottom of some really decadent takes lately. This week, we grind our teeth to recommend the best from recent research—all of which can be made hot, if that’s the way you swing.
Kopi pandan by Kopiku Indonesian Coffee
Opened in January 2024, Kopiku (1443 Lombard Street) is the cutest place to get Indonesian coffee (kopi) and a snack and people watch as some customers get endearingly nostalgic about the flavors from home. I tried a sweet, layered Kopi pandan on my first visit and want to return and work my way through the menu, but it’s an enticing repeat craving, so I may cave and get it again. The Kaya toast, with coconut jam and butter, is a fabulous pairing, and there are usually an array of available snacks and frequent food pop-ups from their friends to consider.
Popcorn latte by Outset Coffee
San Francisco’s Outset Coffee opened at 790 Valencia Street in May 2023 and added a second location at 90 New Montgomery Street in January 2024. The company motto is “bored of regular coffee,” and that’s reflected all throughout the menu. The current obsession is a seasonal special called a popcorn latte that’s made with popcorn syrup by 1833, a company specializing in intensely flavored syrups for cocktail applications. There’s a subtly salty and buttery finish that you might miss if you weren’t anticipating popcorn, which really isn’t so strange considering how touted butter in coffee has been for years.
The caramel banana latte and black sesame mudslide are also cans worth pounding, and all go great with their winsome pull-apart Korean garlic cream cheese and corn-stuffed bagel, one of few city renditions of the international trend.
Morning bun latte by Tartine
Tartine Bakery (600 Guerrero Street), Tartine Inner Sunset (1226 Ninth Avenue), and Tartine Manufactory (595 Alabama Street) all have the morning bun latte, which utilizes milk that’s been soaked in their famous orange-zesty, cinnamon sugar-coated morning buns. And let me say, for an aging/retired club kid, this one is conducive to pure dancefloor vibes. A lighter, but no less potent, alternative to buying buns. Though, obviously, you’ll be getting those as well.
John Lennon mocha by Cantata Coffee Company
A potent iced John Lennon mocha with English toffee syrup is fueling the writing of this column right now, thanks to a coffee-slash-burrito shop called Cantata Coffee Company (1708 Haight Street, SF). It’s a decaf, but there’s enough energy contained in this cup to perform a whole Beatles tribute concert. Imagine it as an uplifting liquid assistant to whatever you may need to accomplish right now.
Tamara publishes the California Eating website, newsletter, and zine.
