On Saturday, May 3, the line at Witness Coffee Roasters (734 Fifth St., Eureka) went back to the door emblazoned with the words, “You’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.” It was also mostly comprised of people with homemade signs in hand. “No Kings,” one reads. Located across from the Humboldt County Courthouse, the staff […]
coffee
Posted inEat + Drink
Old Town Coffee and Chocolates Up for Sale
Outside it’s chilly and misting, but inside the brick-walled Old Town Coffee and Chocolates, it’s cozy. The steamer and the knock of a portafilter drown the low music for a moment and the barista behind the Plexiglas coos at the dog of a regular, scolding it lightly for putting its paws on the counter. In […]
Posted inEat + Drink
What’s Good Roundup
All in the Familia When Bandit Savory & Sweet left the oak counters of the ground floor of the Vance building in Old Town Eureka, along with the sadness that has followed so many closures in the last year, I felt a twinge of guilt. While I happily shared in this paper and elsewhere how […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Muddy and Metal Mashup
Local coffee purveyor Muddy Waters Coffee Co. has a fan. Last year Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett’s people reached out to say he’s been ordering the coffee online and wanted to collaborate. Muddy Waters owner Chris Nicholas, who’s been running the business on his own since the pandemic started, was up for it. Enter brand-man. Hammett’s […]
Posted inEat + Drink
A Coffee and Chocolate Pairing on the Waterfront
If all goes to plan, by this time next year, the sea air along Eureka’s waterfront could carry notes of coffee and chocolate. The former home of the North Coast Co-op, empty since 1992 and rehabilitated by the late Pierre LeFuel and Karen Banning, is to be home to an expanded Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate […]
Posted inSpecial Sections
By Hand
Sun streams in the window. The café cat, Luna, sprawls across a polygon of light, licking her paws. An espresso machine purrs as customers of Mind’s Eye Coffee Lounge line up for a mid-morning hot beverage fix. A door in the back of the coffee machine and counter opens into a shop with works in […]
Posted inSpecial Sections
Treat Yourself
If you stroll by between 7 am and noon, go around the side to the walk-up coffee window at Sweetness and Light, and you might get a peek at Matt and Tami Toste tempering chocolate or hand dipping the old-fashioned candies that fill the cases at this Ferndale institution. Inside, treat yourself to browsing the […]
Posted inFood & Drink
The Siren Call of Beer
Soft gold and deep blue lights illuminate the impressive line-up of stemware behind the bar at Siren’s Song Tavern in Old Town Eureka — something for every beer, ale, stout and sour on the menu. After quietly opening four years ago, the place has steadily built a solid reputation for craft beer and cider, eclectic […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Sweets by the Sea
When you step into Humboldt Chocolate, tucked behind the gazebo in Old Town Eureka, breathe deeply. The air is heavy and sweet in the little shop. That’s because chocolatiers are hand-making each molded, cream-filled, foil-wrapped piece right on the premises. Peek through the window into the kitchen — you may glimpse Ken Buntin at the […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Slow Mocha
Is that rain? Quick, run into Café Mokka (495 J St., Arcata), slide into a window seat and watch the back garden get all misty. We can’t afford to waste wet days anymore, so make your mocha a double ($3.10). There is no pit crew of headset-wearing baristas, and you are not going to slug […]
Posted inNews
Coffee or T and A?
Prepare for sudden stops, turns and slow-downs on Fourth Street in Eureka. Humboldt locals Michael Williams and Tao Chan are resurrecting that little drive-thru kiosk shop (Mary Hana’s florist/juice bar/Indian take-out, Nikki’s Crab Stand) as Bikini Brews, a java pitstop with scantily clad baristas and Muddy Waters coffee. Sure, roll your eyes, but the Tip […]