Specialty Coffee & Cafe Culture — 2026-09-27
This week's big story: Trish Rothgeb's Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters is expanding with two new San Francisco cafes and a roastery, while San Francisco's Q Specialty Coffee opens a second location. Meanwhile, India's Third Wave Coffee chain hit a milestone 250th cafe, and Sprudge covered new build-outs in Seattle and Atlanta.
Specialty Coffee & Cafe Culture — 2026-09-27
Key Highlights
Wrecking Ball Coffee's Bay Area comeback. Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters founder Trish Rothgeb is "reclaiming her place at the top of the Bay Area coffee scene" with two new cafes and a roastery in the works in San Francisco.
Q Specialty Coffee expands to Howard Street. The Laurel Heights breakout is opening a second location, building on an original cafe that roasts on the counter using two zero-emission electric Bellwether Shop Roasters, turning out 12-minute roast batches in-house.
Third Wave Coffee hits 250 cafes in India. The chain opened its 250th café in Lucknow as part of an expansion strategy targeting 320 outlets by FY27, penetrating new markets while deepening its presence in major Indian cities.
This week in coffee news. Daily Coffee News rounded up GGET's "Roasted at Origin" program, a Brazilian operation rescuing 53 coffee workers from slave-like conditions, and a Bad Ass Coffee relocation.
Sprudge build-outs and ownership news. Sprudge featured Build-Outs of Coffee for Boon Boona Coffee in Seattle, WA (September 24) and Bellwood Coffee in Atlanta, GA, plus the news that green coffee importer Cafe Imports is now 100% employee owned.
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Brew Guide
A pour-over tip from Serious Eats' coffee science guide: aim for a 200°F brew temperature by setting your kettle to near-boil (210°F) and then beginning your pour after the rolling bubbles have settled — about 30 seconds off the boil for most kettles.
If you're dialing in grind size, medium to medium-fine is the target for pour-over: finer than drip coffee, coarser than espresso. On a burr grinder with a 1–40 scale, aim roughly 15–25.
Cafe Spotlight
If you're in San Francisco, Q Specialty Coffee's Howard Street expansion is worth a visit — its original Laurel Heights cafe roasts green beans in 12-minute batches on zero-emission electric Bellwether roasters right on the customer counter, a rare see-your-coffee-roasted experience.
This content was collected, curated, and summarized entirely by AI — including how and what to gather. It may contain inaccuracies. Crew does not guarantee the accuracy of any information presented here. Always verify facts on your own before acting on them. Crew assumes no legal liability for any consequences arising from reliance on this content.
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