2 days ago
Tune In and Get Buzzed at This San Francisco Coffee Shop
On a warm afternoon on 16th Street, a little wooden tray lands on your table complete with three pink-red cups, a beaker-like glass of sparkling water, and a golden spoon. The three cups contain immaculate coffee and milk rehydrated from Japan. A laminated explainer with details on the arrangement arrives, too, like a flash card riddled with notes for a chemistry test. It reads, 'no substitutions, limited quantity.'
It also instructs the drinker to queue the song 'Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence' by Ryuichi Sakamoto on your phone, to soundtrack the experience.
This is the newest offering from Liza Otanes and Rich Lee's SPRO Coffee. It's one of the only guided San Francisco coffee services available, a small and mighty scene that emerged properly in summer 2024. Lee, who judges international coffee competitions, says the idea was to bring a taste of that competitive world to caffeine heads in San Francisco.
This particular tasting comes from 2025 U.S. Barista Champion Kay Cheon. The order comes with espresso, a cappuccino, milk, and sparkling water, the standard set-up at barista competitions. The milk served here points to that level of expertise: It's frozen for 72 hours, refined for an extra 30 hours to create better protein and fat, then combined with coconut milk and cryodesiccated milk from Hokkaido, a process (apparently). Cheon served drinks very much like these in the national finals; Lee took inspiration from the presentation. There are a few modifications allowed, but the guided coffee service starts at $21. The final pricing depends on which espresso you might want to try; in spring 2025, both options were Colombian, but one cost $1.50 extra and the other $10.
It's a lot of flavor and a lot of caffeine for a casual coffee drinker. It's specifically a lot of dairy for someone who might consider black coffee the be-all and end-all. The guide instructs guests to move from espresso to milk, to 'the union' (the cappuccino), then to 'sip again,' before reflecting on each drink. That's not to mention the music prompt; following along with a specific song is a singular San Francisco treat.
For the tasting, the crescendo hits with a rare Ombligon varietal — roasted by Los Angeles's Be Bright Coffee — and served as espresso. The notes are wild. Big blasts of watermelon, hella malty dark chocolate, and dots of cherry and raspberry result in a crazy symphonic slurp. It's bitter, but in that controlled way of stoneground dark chocolate. The milk tastes like the kind warmed on the stove by your grandma, nostalgic in its sweetness and fuzziness. For the Colombian roast that goes for $8.50 less, the impact of the espresso is less intense, resulting in a more balanced experience throughout the other drinks — your palate is a bit more prepared.
Feeling a little self-conscious, one might have an out-of-body experience and see themselves as Keanu Reeves in Always Be My Maybe , weeping through his headphones, listening to the final moos of the cow slain to make his meal. But if you can get past that, it's an edifying phenomenon to drink coffee in this slow, powerful way. 'Let the final flavors fade,' the instructions read in part. 'Let the memory of feeling and flavor linger.'
This coffee-music pairing comes from Lee's time working with baristas competing on the national stage. He worked with Saint Frank Coffee's Jason Yeo on his barista championship routine; Yeo took third place with just a few points separating him from second. Otanes and Lee's business has been on a winning spree in the city. The duo expanded past their Spark Social truck and Castro cafe with two new outposts in 2023, both in Civic Center. It's one of his former staffers who now runs the TikTok-approved coffee and tea program at Cafe Shoji. This summer, Lee will head to Milan to prepare for the international barista competition. 'I want to share some of that with San Francisco,' he says.
SPRO Coffee is open with four outposts across San Francisco. The guided coffee pairing is available at the 500 Church Street and 525 Golden Gate Avenue locations. See More:
