Black Oak Coffee Roasters, Ukiah

This space, once inhabited by the Coffee Critic until the summer of 2012, has been a great place to stop on my way from San Francisco to California's northwest coastline for some time, on a long weekend trip to visit some friends or taste some wine in Mendocino or Sonoma. Recently, my wife and I swung by en route, and on our return from Arcata.

The most important shift from the Critic is that the coffee is served to spec, where a macchiato is no longer a cappuccino, but instead served with the equivalent of two table spoons of foamed milk. The macchiato passed the slow sipping test, where the last sip, fifteen minutes later was as flavorful as the first. My wife's soy latte was exceptional, and the coffee that we took to go was an exceptional dark roast that lasted in the car after dinner on the continued drive to Humboldt.

Gone is the black and white checkered tile that always reminded me of an old ice cream parlor. Gone is the emphasis on lunch service. Gone are the heavy cast iron chairs and tables that filled the entire dining area.

A coffee roaster now sits prominently displayed behind glass at the entrance, that runs along the western wall. The interior has been transformed to a dark oak or walnut finished floor and ceiling. Smaller two and four seated tables now line part of the dining area, complemented by three couches and coffee tables. I do not recall, but I think the front windows now had a small window bar with bar seats facing the parking lot.

When we entered on Friday around 4 pm, a string trio with a small vocal PA was pleasantly serenading the five or six other patrons with folk and country ballads. This was not possible at the Coffee Critic, but to be fair, a single pass once every year or so is no measure of the local performance calendar that I chanced upon this past Friday.

On my way to friendly abodes on California's western corner, I will surely pass this way again. We bought a pound of dark roast as well, and will soon grind it this week before work to savor some of the flavor of this exceptional roastery.