Ritual Coffee Roasters
Category: Coffee & Tea [Edit]
Neighborhood: Mission1026 Valencia St
(between 21st St & Hill St)
San Francisco, CA 94110 (415) 641-1024
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 6:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m.
Sat 7:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m.
Sun 7:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m. - Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Wi-Fi: Free
34 reviews
Neighborhood: Mission
"I stumbled upon this place looking for a late late lunch and found it at Progressive Grounds Cafe. The sign or banner outside indicated…" read more »
683 Reviews for Ritual Coffee Roasters
With reluctance, I have to knock a star off my review of this place. I've been noticing that over time, they've been removing customer seating in favor of bags of beans and reserved coffee tasting. The coffee is still great, but my desire to sit down and read for a while wavers when I realize there isn't as much place to kick back.
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1 Previous Review: Show all »
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10/14/2006
This place opened up the same weekend I moved into SF (2 blocks away from Ritual). At first, before… Read more »
Yes, the coffee is good. That much is true.
I only go about once every two weeks, though. Why?
The wait ends up being about twenty minutes total for a frickin' Americano. Everyone there is ridiculously there to see-and-be-seen. The vibe is pretentiousness and stuffy. The decor is sterile and uninspired.
But, the coffee is good. Verrrry good. It's like a caffeine-induced orgasm for the mouth.
And they have vegan treats, which always makes me happy.
Only go if you have a half-hour of your life to waste and never gain back, then take your coffee to-go, buy a vegan tasty, and venture down Valencia to gawk at all of the hipster-infused window displays.
But, seriously: the coffee is good.
Good espresso, but way too much milk and not enough foam on my cappuccino. The cupcake I had was amazingly decadent, though.
I'm not sure what the logic behind dozens of coffee bags spread out all over the place and no power outlets is, though. More seating = more customers = more money. So maybe if they made room for more business, despite the rising cost of ... well, just about everything, they'd be able to turn the power back on for customers? Either way, it was a bummer to get here to do some business and have my laptop run out of juice.
My own fault, I suppose. At least there were pretty people (and some downright silly looking ones) to look at.
I love Ritual! This is the only coffee place I've found in San Francisco that reminds me of my coffee places in Seattle, so it's very comforting for me. They have great coffee and pastry options (vegan things too!) and service is pretty fast considering there's always a pretty long line.
Lots and lots of places to sit, I've never had trouble finding a table. And there's free wi-fi too. But beware if you've come here for a long day of work because there's no outlets to plug your computer into. I appreciate it because it keeps the tables turning over and I'm never here for more than a couple hours anyway.
Good things about RR:
- Nice coffee served in nice cups (but you have to ask for the cup otherwise you get cardboard)
- Nice nibbly things (the cookies are good)
- Nice, big, spacious interior
Not-so-good things about RR:
- Busy (like, a big line outside busy)
- A wait for your coffee (get in another line inside)
- Hard to find a seat
- A bit 'scene-y' - I always feel that my hair isn't asymmetrical enough to hang out here
If you just want a coffee, a sit-down and free wi-fi, I would head up the street to Muddy's, which is hardly ever busy and the most comfy spot I've found for a spot of solo coffee-drinking and laptopping.
Great coffee and love the leaf design layered into my latte! Free WiFi, but charge your laptop before you go because you will most likely not find a free outlet.
Yes! Real porcelain cups! I could really get some great studying and work done here if my laptop power lasted as long as my latte. It is crowded but pretty good food. Forget the hipsters - I get 3 things I want: good coffee, free WiFi and tasty baked goodness.
ha ha
So, at the time of this review 156 out of 660 reviews mention the term "hipster" in a derogatory manner.
How do all of you over paid under worked insecure people live with yourselves? How do you find the time to categorize and insult strangers living in one of the most expensive cities in the country?
How can you even walk out the door into your hipster infested neighborhood? aren't you worried that you are too ugly or lame to even live in san francisco? hahahahaha
name calling and pigeon-holing strangers seems really lonely and limiting. if you must name call think about what it is that you dislike so much about these "hipsters" and be more specific. as it is this is a very vague expression of judgment. i mean, chances are, someone is calling YOU a hipster right now! hahahahahahahahahahahaha
GO HOME KOOKS! LOCALS ONLY!! CALIFORNIA RULES DUDES! HAHAHAH
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The kids enjoyed the hot cocoa from Ritual. So earlier in the morning, we came here after my daughter's doctor's appointment.
As expected, every visit to Ritual, the kids wants the tasty and crafty Hot Cocoa and I got two 12 oz cups each for $3.00 for them to enjoy. Unfortunately with dad's busy schedule, we were forced to take the drinks to go. They usually like to drink the hot beverage indoors with their red mug and enjoy the heart shape foam-topping presented by the shop's artistic baristas. Oh yeah, going to Rituals has made their day!
I bought a large 16 oz. Café Latte. Yes, that is one damn tasty espresso drink for $4.00. I also bought a bag of whole bean coffee from Yemen for wife and I to enjoy for the next few days. The blend is Moka San'ani blend. The $12.50 bagged coffee is weighed 3/4 of a pound and is one of the coffee shop's milder and comforting blends. The fresh batch was freshly grounded on July 1 (with the date imprinted on the red bag).
I used my Visa for this morning's visit. And to nobody's surprise, this morning was crowded at one of Yelp's and my favorite coffee shop.
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1 Previous Review: Show all »
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12/31/2006
Matt's final day off for 2006:
The four of us went to to Matt's colleague's crib to pickup tickets… Read more »
Dear Ritual,
You finally got your mention in the NYT. Please don't change, though.
Love,
Carla C.
PS - I love that you don't make your coffee too hot.
Ritual coffee roasters is one of the FEW places in San Francisco that gets coffee right.
*They source the best beans, all of which are remain single origin up to the point of sale.
*All of their beans are roasted by Ritual and sold fresh. They can tell you the roast date on any of their selection
*Their espresso drinks are made proper. The baristas pull the shots into heated porcelain cups and steam the milk per drink
My favorite roast of theirs right now is the Brazilian Sao Joao. I made some of this for my parents, who are "International Delights" kind of coffee drinkers. They were hesitant, but surprised that they were able to drink it black and still enjoy it. When you have good coffee, you don't need to add to it.
Ritual Roasters is simply great.
Where did the worm store that used to be here go? It's been a while.
I want my red wigglers!
I thought that they did a good job of latte art and the coffee is all right too.
The feeling that you are crashing a burning man planning committee meeting, or a Mac OSX beta group testing session, or a speed Yelp marathon writing contest amongst aspiring hipsters and the fashionably dressed unemployed just visiting for the summer from the mid-west crowd (difference?) is entertaining and even strangely comforting.
I want my red wigglers!
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The lines are long here for a reason. This place is up there with Blue Bottle as one of the only places in San Francisco that knows how to make a decent coffee. When I say coffee I don't mean drip. Drip is gross. No one anywhere else in the world drinks drip except in gas stations, or McDonalds.
Oh and hipster bashers get a life. Who cares if they like to flaunt funny hairstyles, and clothes and sweat up hills on their fixed gears. They are people too. For a town that seems to pride itself on accepting differences there's an awful lot of discimination going on here.
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Ok, I didn't REALLY order something here, but my coffee-lover friend got the espresso of the day (Finca Los Naranjos - vacuum packaged green from Huila, Colombia and roasted especially to showcase juicy berry and milk chocolate flavors). I'm not a coffee connoisseur but when we got the little tiny cups with the syrupy shot of espresso on the bottom, everyone's reaction was, "Is this it?! REALLY?? This is the smallest cup of espresso ever!" After tasting a drop (which was like half the cup) and almost dying from bitterness and instant caffeine rush, we added steamed milk and sugar and all that good stuff to it. That stretched it out a little more and the others swore they could taste the berry and chocolate flavors. Like I said, I'm not a coffee connoisseur so I just pretended to taste them too...
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The coffee here is really good. These kids know how to make a great cup of coffee. The only problem with this place is that its filled with douche bags and everyone looks like my friend kate. Get a haircut hipsters!
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Love it. I am a coffee snob. They make excellent coffee.
They have snacks you actually want to eat. The boys/girls are cute. They are sometimes even nice. It's overrun with elitist A-HOLES on bikes, I know...but the coffee is worth wading in the shallowness. The seating is pretty good. I find that everyone is always looking at eachother there, so it is a good place for people watching as long as you know that the people will be watching you too.
FASHION SHOW!!!
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The coffee is downright awesome. Complex, interesting, yummy. All of the above.
And the hipster environment is totally there. I can't be any funnier than just about every other review.
Worth noting, is that as of 7/13/2008, the ***WIFI IS GONE*** and nearly all the ***POWER OUTLETS have been REMOVED***.
My guess is that this is due to costs and trying to keep the room turning over -- drink your coffee and go, mr. self-important. You'll have to read Salon.com on your MacBook somewhere else.
(Note: Mission Creek Cafe one block away wants your business with has free WiFi, lots of power outlets, good coffee and more food)
Hey!!! Look at me!!! I'm so cooooool! I'm hanging out in "the Mish". I'm drinking Ritual Coffee and hanging out in "the Mish"!!! Wow... I never thought I'd be able to do this. I feel so cool!
Ok. Sorry. Had to get that out of my system. So anyways...
So I'm taking a class at the Mission Campus of CCSF. I'm mad early and in need of coffee. Jump on mobile.yelp.com and what do I find? RCR. Only a block away from my campus. Head on down. Wow.. I like this place. HUGE coffee bean sacks on the floor. Big giant contraption which I later learn is a coffee roaster. Lots of tables. Couches. and best of all...
FREE WIFI!!!!!!!!!!!
So on a school day, you can probably find me here. Sitting in "the Mish", sipping my gooooood coffee, surfing on my mac book, taking advantage of the Free Wifi. I'm cool. Yeah I said it!
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The space is cool but really, it should be about the coffee.
My choice of joe has always been Americanos which is basically watered down espressos and should always be served hot (unless otherwise requested as an ICED Americano). So I've seen the line stretch out the door which is proof of their popularity but also of their slooooow service. So more than once I've had my Americano be served luke warm. I'm guessing they allow the hot water to sit until they get to making and unloading the shots for my coffee. Bad thing. I've also seen others complain about the temperature of their caffeinated beverage choice and asking the coffee maker to remake a HOT one for her customers.
A friend and I came here to hang out the other night, and fully 1/10th of the seating had disappeared in favour of a collection of large bags of coffee beans. This completely made up for all of the hipsters.
I've never before been to any other café that could/would (1) have such a large collection of bags of coffee beans and (2) take away seating for said bags of beans.
After a while, my favourite sugary coffee-derived drinks start to taste essentially the same, but Ritual now ranks among my top five coffee shops in the world thanks to the unique experience.
please. this ain't bedford. despite having pretty good coffee, this place must be broadcasting an invisible douche bag whistle.
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The coffee and espresso are consistently burnt and too strong (it's not normal to have grinds floating in my coffee). If I were a hipster, I could see why the scene would be appealing. I'm not, I just like coffee. Beware, in this instance Yelp seems to be really far off (I actually went three times because of the rave reviews Ritual got).
I agree with the reviews of pretty much every other coffee place in the vicinity of Ritual, the reviews here are just so off.
I have a "Heavy Drinker" card here for a reason.
Bring your Macbook, kids.
Or better yet, don't.
Look at the rotating artwork, talk to the people around you, and break down the false barriers of conversation and interaction that seem to be self-created and self-perpetuated.
Order a vegan donut!
Go with their lattes; the fleur design on top gives me butterflies every time. :)
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The do have good coffee. I admit, I've always hated it here but the gf loves to get their coffee by the pound.
Make that 3/4 pound- that's right 1/4 less with NO LABELING.
What was already was outrageous is now making it impossible for us to support a local business.
I know. I am a horrible person. How can you live in the mission and not like ritual? Well I do.
Their coffee tastes hella burnt, its kind of flat, and once I have wedged myself past neon hipsters in paint on pants and bikes, I am so pissed off I need more than coffee to right these wrongs.
The cupcakes are good though.
I have to say, I really love Ritual's coffee. A lot. Their latte's are the perfect balance between freshly-roasted beans and perfectly frothed milk with a little Italian-style heart or leaf 'etched' on top. So pretty you almost hate to have to stir in your Sugar-in-the-Raw, 'cause you can see that this is true artisan-ship, made by a true artisan, and it's just so darned pretty! An invigorating work of art served hot in a recyclable paper cup. Truly a 5-star cup of Italian-influenced love.
But riddle me this: what gives with the lovely latte being poured 2-fingers from the top? Did someone accidentally write the secret code for "room for cream" on the side of the cup? Did you run out of milk leaving my latte a little short on the pour? Are you helping me watch my waistline by eliminating calories? (trust me, those 2-fingers of milk really aren't going to make a dent)
No. That's not the case, is it? In fact, you *always* give me a latte filled 2-fingers from the top, *don't* you, Ritual? You get some kind of sicko pleasure from making me ask for more milk! And you know it's not the cold milk I want, but more frothy hot milk your artisan hands must hold and transform into creamy goodness!! You know that I know that you hold the power -- the key to the makings of the perfect latte!
All I know is that for almost $4.00 for a large latte, y'all need to stop bein' so stingy with the milk, because no one needs room for cream in a latte, my waistline is my responsibility, and the power exchange business is, well, it's for the Power Exchange. Honestly, Ritual, it gets a little old asking for my cup to be filled every single time I come in. I hate asking, for when I do, you look annoyed and I feel lame.
And paying customers never like to feel lame. Especially if that customer was kind enough to stuff a dollar into your tip cup, expecting a full cup of latte love.
p.s. 3.5 stars, 'cause the dude at the cash register was genuinely nice to me this time. Friendly and nice. Something this customer *always* likes :)
p.p.s. uncover the outlet's already, will ya, or the stars get it!
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Automatic 3 stars for free wifi.
1 star for AMAZING coffee.
But this place is OVERFLOWING with digerati. Who ISN'T blogging, or vlogging, or twittering, or yelping or playing Scrabulous on Facebook.
It's too crowded.
Dear Ritual,
Thank you for existing. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Me
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Great coffee, espresso drinks, and fresh roasted beans. If you can get past the macfixedbloggers you'll have a good experience. I just get mine to go, so I don't disturb their serious work.
Yes, Mission Hipsters, we get it. You're so cool. Traffic laws don't apply to you because you ride a bicycle. Your messenger bags are SO durable and SO unique. Your skinny jeans are SO tight. You too, Techies, with your Macbooks as you crowd around the milk and sugar, preventing everyone else from access. You are SO sticking it to the man by not supporting MS. We get it. The only thing I don't get is why you feel the need to smack it in everyone else's face when all we want to do is get some good coffee. I don't need to know how off-beat and cool you are; you already projected that to me when I was half a block away. I love the coffee here, and I will tough the crowds. Fragrant coffee, a wide selection of baked goods (hehehe, baked goods...), and free wifi?! The appeal is unquestionable. The lingering crowd, however, will make you think twice.
I have to give a disclaimer, I lived in Seattle for seven years. I have been drinking and drinking coffee trying to find similar here in the Bay Area. The first time I came there I had a latte, it was of Seattle quality...the second time I went for an espresso--it was not good. The third time I went for another espresso it was not good.
while you can clearly see the passion for coffee in this place, i couldnt get away from the acidic burnt flavor of the coffee here.
with high expectations... comes great disappointments.
I used to go to Ritual all the time, but stopped a couple years ago because the regular coffee which used to taste amazing started to become watery crap. Maybe it's gotten better since then, but I'm not that curious to try it out any more since:
- the atmosphere of a few dozen people glowing in front of their laptops sucks
- the staff take hipster elitism to a new level. A couple of staffers were sweet and cool while most would be obviously annoyed at my request for basic coffee and even gave me dirty looks for cashing in a fully punched card
The espresso drinks did rock my world, I can't deny that, but I'm just hooked on the basic stuff and now I get my fix elsewhere.
It's simply the best coffee and the best place to work on a computer in San Francisco. Brave the line, it does move. Ask to join a table with someone else. They rock coffee the way it should be done.
Ritual, despite its pretentious hipster fashion show aspect, has the best soy latte I've ever tasted. It's perfect as is--no need for sugar or anything else--and it's gorgeously presented with a perfect heart or leaf or whatever designed with the milk on top.
It's loud in there and extremely crowded, so not the most desirable spot for studying or reading, but any time I'm in the neighborhood and want a coffee I stop by and get a to-go latte, and they are ridiculously good.
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Hey! Did you know that there are these people called Hipsters? Apparently when one person is wearing oversized sunglasses and skinny jeans three sizes too small and really big neon sneakers and a semi-ironic 80's hair metal band T-shirt and one of those giant Palestinian hounds-tooth scarves, and they see another person who is also dressed in the same fashion, these persons will look at each other and scoff and mutter to their friends "Fucking Hipster."
Oh, and the coffee at Ritual is really, really good, as long as you can get your order in over the sound of all the people muttering "Fucking Hipster" under their breath.
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The coffee is ok I tried their guatemalen coffeeeeee.... man was i on a hype! lol 2 Tumbs to there cappuccinos their are delicious and very cute too.
Best coffee in San Francisco
Ritual Coffee Roasters may very well be the Mission's answer to the esteemed Blue Bottle Coffee. Or maybe I'm getting it wrong and RCR came first. In any event, as I was in the area, I decided to give it a try. The ambiance is hands down, fantastic. How can you beat comfy leather couches, coffee tables stacked with the Chronicle and the Guardian, big bags of coffee beans in the back, and a gigantic coffee grinder! And more than enough wooden picnic style tables filled with a smattering of the local hipsters, their fixies lined up outside to prove it. At 10:15 on a Saturday, there was definitely a line, and I almost left thinking that I am beyond lines and won't put up with over hyped places. However, this line moved rather quickly, and within 5 minutes I was already placing my order, which was of course, the standard soy latte. The interesting thing about RCR is that their small is really incredibly small. Maybe a 5 oz cup, and I am used to a small latte being around 8 oz. So I asked if I could get a single shot in an 8 oz cup- I think they charged me more, but in any event that is how they get you money wise (don't be fooled thinking you are getting a regular sized small for 2.65, it ain't gonna happen). I waited by the counter and watched intently as they prepared my drink. These people are trying hard to be like Blue Bottle with their milk swirling artistry. However, I don't think they have it down just yet. The coffee was good, probably not as good as Blue Bottle, but I would definitely come back, just for the comfortable and relaxed coffee drinking atmosphere.
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6/13/08: I picked up a couple pounds of the "sweet tooth espresso" and am looking forward to pulling some shots at home.
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