Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters
Trish Rothgeb coined the phrase "third-wave coffee" in 2002. She was living in Oslo then, roasting for the first World Barista Champion, after nearly fifteen years behind Bay Area bars. She co-owns this Union Street counter with her husband Nicholas Cho, and the roastery behind it sits in the Mission.
Why go
She took the wave language from feminist writers, who used it for movements inside the fight for women's rights. She told Michael Paul Light she coined it to bring drinkers into the roaster's world. The trade took it and used it on itself.1
Rothgeb takes the beans lighter than the Peet's generation did, which keeps the flavors that a long time under heat burns off. She was the first American woman to qualify as a Q-Grader. That certification lets a taster score a coffee to a fixed margin against every other grader in the world. Wrecking Ball now pays for other people to sit the course.
Paolo Bicchieri opens Eater's coffee map on the claim this shop hands San Francisco: San Francisco is and has been for many the world over the summit of coffee culture. It's the birthplace of Wrecking Ball Coffee, where Trish Rothgeb introduced the waves of coffee terminology and changed the industry forever.
2
Jonathan Kauffman reported in July 2018 that they turned down a Salesforce contract over the company's work with US Customs and Border Protection.3 The LA Times later put it at $40,000.
I have not found a review of the cup here newer than 2024.
Order this / avoid
- Order: espresso, straight, and drink it outside.
- Order: a bag of the Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Grade 1 Banko or the Pillow Fight espresso to take home.5
- Order: a croissant with it. Julia Chen reported in 2024 that the pastries come from Neighbor Bakehouse.4
- Avoid: planning to sit and work.
What locals & experts say
- Trish Rothgeb, to the Los Angeles Times, October 2019:
Taste is subjective. But quality should not be.
1 - Julia Chen, The Infatuation, February 2024, calls it a takeout-only operation you are in and out of within five minutes.4
Good to know
- Getting in: a takeout window, no bookings, nowhere to sit.
- Where: 2271 Union Street, in Cow Hollow.
- Doors: this page is the Union Street cafe. The roastery is in the Mission and there is a third room in North Berkeley, open since 2019.
Verdict
should-visit — Come for the story as much as the cup.