George Orwell had such a passion for tea — calling it one of the mainstays of civilization — that he once penned an essay outlining 11 golden rules of brewing it properly. He noted that on perhaps two of them he would find general agreement, but at least four others would lead to “violent disputes.”
Making tea seems easy enough: Steep tea leaves in hot water. And coffee seems similarly simple. But apparently each process is fraught with several potential missteps.
Many joints claim to brew the finest cup. Yet the result is nearly always a letdown. (Remember Buddy from the movie “Elf” congratulating employees at a dingy New York diner for making “the world’s best cup of coffee,” finding in the end only a crappy cup o’ joe?).
Science always trumps marketing when it comes to these beverages. Well-brewed tea and coffee boil down to quality leaves and beans, filtered water heated to the proper temperature and a deft hand from a barista who understands technique.
Water & Leaves on Fisherman’s Wharf opened earlier this year with science solidly behind its efforts — science buoyed by $120,000 worth of state-of-the-art brewing devices that take the guesswork out of the process.
Walk the length of the pier and Water & Leaves jumps out of the wind-worn landscape of seafood shanties, fishing charters and touristy gift shops. The newbie (at the end, on the left) is a sleek, hip, high-tech, artisanal coffee/tea house with plenty of extra perks. It may be the proverbial sore thumb, but it has wharf visitors buzzing — and not just from the caffeine boost. They stand and gawk before Snap Chatting, or Vining, or trying to Tweet an indescribable experience in 40 characters or less.
The Herald allows me more verbiage than Twitter, so I’ll do my best to elaborate. This place is a treat, and tickles every sense. The aesthetic belongs on Ocean Avenue in Carmel, not on the wharf, but here it stands, the future blueprint of other Water & Leaves locations. Just wait.
I order a chamomile tea and the barista fires up her … tablet. Yes, this sleep-inducing brew starts with silicon chips and a faraway computer server. It tells her how many grams of tea leaves to dispense into a space-age, cylindrical tube (each device costs well more than $20,000). It heats the water under a vacuum, to precisely 177 degrees, the optimum temperature for chamomile, apparently. I wait exactly 183 seconds to see her release the brew into a cup before adding the used leaves to a compost heap. She asks if I want to add honey, pointing to six clear, vertical vats containing every bee nectar from Carmel Wildflower to Aromas Poison Oak (the best seller). I decline, a nod to Mr. Orwell, who despised sweet tea.
The next day I return for a cup of espresso, made from a La Marzocco machine the color (bright yellow) and sportiness of an Italian Ferrari (although priced much less at $20,000).
Denis Boaro delights in all of this. The Italian-born man-about-town is the general manager here, hired by the Delecce family to keep things running smoothly. The caffeine-addled workaholic owns Gusto in Seaside, Basil in Carmel and runs his own coffee-import business. One day he envisions Water & Leaves stores along dozens of metro boulevards, giving customers proper coffee and tea, local honey, crafted Italian sodas, kombucha (a probiotic-rich beverage made by fermenting sweet tea with a culture of yeast and bacteria), juices and smoothies, house-baked scones, made-to-order Belgian waffles, fruit parfaits and other seasonal, organic treats.
“We’ve created a team and an environment different from every other coffee and tea shop,” Boaro said. “It stands out on the wharf, but I think it would stand out anywhere.”
I take my espresso and retreat to the back deck, lined by a water-facing bar, and I drift away. I take a sip. Amazing. All I can think of is Buddy.
“You did it. Congratulations. The world’s best cup of coffee!”
Head to the garden party
If you think you’ve been to a garden party, then you don’t know Jack … or Rich … as in Jack Galante and Rich Pepe, two Carmel boys who know how to throw a party. From 5 to 8 p.m. Friday the two team up again for their always-popular Carmel-by-the-Glass series, this one a Summer Garden Fiesta in the courtyard at La Playa Hotel in Carmel. Guests can mingle and stroll in the poolside garden, sip wines from Carmel tasting rooms and grab food off passed trays. It’s a benefit for the Carmel Mission Foundation. Cost is $65. Tickets: www.carmelbytheglass.com.
Local ‘Hall of Fame’ dishes
One of my favorite photos shows my wife and me in Cabo San Lucas, sitting at “The World’s Smallest Bar” (three stools, 6-feet long) at Slim’s Elbow Room. The smallest bar on the Monterey Peninsula has to be the cozy space inside Christopher’s in Carmel.
Four stools and one bartender given just enough room to spin and shake. That person is often owner Chris Caul, who holds court better than anyone in the history of bartending (and his drinks pack a punch).
Caul grew up in New York and he tells his tales with appropriate swagger. Get him rolling and your entertainment is done for the evening. “And then there was the time” begins each story, each one taking wildly abrupt tangents.
This time of year we love to sit front-row-center and enjoy a plate of Caul’s famous soft shell crab appetizer, the whole blue crab panko-crusted and deep-fried, served on a tostada with a luscious jicama slaw and topped with a fresh avocado salsa.
After devouring it last week, a thought hit me: That dish belongs in the local restaurant Hall of Fame … if we had one. My criteria for such an induction? The dish must be on a local menu now (even seasonally), with a loyal devotion of at least a decade, has to have been created or innovated in some way by the local chef, and has to have risen above the ordinary (no clam chowder or cioppino).
I have other nominations, which I will keep secret until my Hall of Fame column next month. In the meantime, email me your suggestions. Which local dish belongs in the Hall of Fame? Let the debate begin.
Mike Hale can be reached at thegrubhunter@att.net. Listen to his weekly radio show “Food Fodder” at noon Wednesdays on KRML, 102.1 FM.
