523964 Fri May 30 01:32:50 -0700 2008 21 57 Western Canada 0 3733328 I don't drink a lot of coffee so when I do I want the good stuff. I'm very partial to 49th Parallel, and won't turn up my nose at Artiggiano either. When I was in San Francisco recently, I had the best caffeinated beverage I've ever enjoyed. It was at Blue Bottle and it was called a Gibraltar. The BBCC barista said it was a cross between an espresso and a macchiato IIRC. It is apparently always served in a short glass, and should not be done decaf or with skim (at least according to another coffee co there called Rituals whose version I have not had the pleasure to sample). I've Googled a bit and am still not entirely sure what I'm looking for. One commenter said it was just a short latte but even my limited coffee cred tells me that this would not encompass the Gibraltar experience :-). Any coffee aficionados out there care to help out this plebe? Fri May 30 01:32:51 -0700 2008 169233 grayelf 1 3733517 As far as I know, the gibraltar is pretty specific to a few shops in SF (there may be one in New York making them too). Its name simply stems from the name of the glass that they poured it in at Blue Bottle (and later ritual). I think you're going to have to find a place in town that will serve you a 6 oz latte. Most of the shops around town should be happy to make that for you so long as they have the proper size of cup. I don't think anyone has the proper gibraltar glasses though and I've never been served one or seen them offered. The piccolo latte at 49th might be your best starting point. Elysian and Wicked just down the road will both be more than capable of putting one together too. Fri May 30 05:19:15 -0700 2008 3733328 87054 peter.v 2 3735945 Aha.... in a thread on a coffee forum on the origins of the gibraltar, Chris Baca (of Ritual), lays down the RitRo rules: "Rituals rules for the Gibraltar are as follows: 4.5ounce Gibraltar glass, always a double, and whole milk or soy (for the hippies) only. No single Gibraltar, no decaf Gibraltar, no non fat/low fat Gibralter, and obviously no Gibraltar to go. The shots for the Gibraltar used to be pulled only via bottomless portafilter only but that rule is no longer in effect." Liz Clayton, NYC blogger at twitchy.org says: "The geographical journey of the drink being called Gibraltar is interesting to me, and Ford's reluctance to discuss it — largely because he doesn't want it to turn into the next Starbucks Caramel Triple Gibraltarchiato, I think — is kind of interesting to me, too." Ford is Steve Ford, formerly of Blue Bottle, currently of Barefoot (I believe). He is credited with creating the gibraltar. Kind of odd origins on the drink, and apparently no set "recipe" exists. I still stand by my initial piccolo latte rec at 49th, although make sure it's a double as they tend to go single on some of their smaller drinks. Fri May 30 17:18:18 -0700 2008 3733517 87054 peter.v 3 3736174 Interesting peter.v. So it's named after a type of glass tumbler (if I'm interpreting all this info correctly). Google certainly seems to confirm this. Fri May 30 19:13:54 -0700 2008 3735945 145820 fmed 4 3736246 Yup. That's what I'm getting out of it too. It's a brilliant play on words by Libbey, the manufacturer of the line of glass tumblers used for the gibraltar drink. Rocks glass - rock of Gibraltar. I love it. Fri May 30 19:47:31 -0700 2008 3736174 87054 peter.v 3 3736438 And that, folks, is why I love Chowhound :-). Thanks, peter.v for your sleuthing skills. Fri May 30 21:43:35 -0700 2008 3735945 169233 grayelf 1 3734219 cross b/t macchiato (3 oz) and a cappo (5.5 oz, sometimes 5, sometimes 6) would be a "piccolo" which is 4 oz, at least that's how I'm seeing it done. Fri May 30 08:50:24 -0700 2008 3733328 12135 John Manzo 2 3734288 Clearly I need to brush up on my coffee! Thanks for your input. I will investigate further as all the shops JM mentions are in my hood. Maybe at the end of the day it's not such a bad thing for the Gibraltar to be a specialty I can look forward to enjoying on my next trip to SF... Fri May 30 09:07:00 -0700 2008 3734219 169233 grayelf 3 3734646 I talked to Amy at Prado this morning about Gibraltars. She didn't actually know that that is what they are called...but that is how many people like their machhiato (more milky, etc.). She made one for me to try out....delish and obviously less fattening than a latte. I may switch from my daily latte to her Gibraltaresque milky macchiato. Fri May 30 10:35:12 -0700 2008 3734288 145820 fmed 4 3735699 That is cool, fmed but the burning question is: what kind of receptacle? I think part of what made this drink so enjoyable was the glass, heavy and beveled, like a little tumbler. Oh and standing in front of the skinny outdoor counter while knocking it back didn't hurt either :-). Fri May 30 15:38:40 -0700 2008 3734646 169233 grayelf 5 3735711 Amy called it "Australian Latte" when you serve it in a tumbler...She served it to me in a small latte (standard) cup. Will post picks when I get home. Fri May 30 15:42:10 -0700 2008 3735699 145820 fmed 4 4109903 this makes a lot of sense as a macchiato is a double shot pulled ristretto marked (macchiato means marked) with foam. it should just be a dab of smooth microfoam. not so much that you cant see the espresso around the edges. for many reasons i carry my own glass (duralex picardie) with me. i usually point to the barista how high it should be so that they do not get carried away. should i call my macchiato a picardie? it seems that a consensus has been reached--> a gibraltar is an extra short latte in a specific glass. if you wanted that anywhere else, just call it an extra short latte and bring your own glass. Thu Oct 16 19:29:33 -0700 2008 3734646 77456 sophie. 1 4057553 Here's a little podcast I made where Jenni Bryant of Gimme! Coffee explains what a gibralter is. http://astarbarista.blogspot.com/2008/09/jenni-bryant-from-gimme-coffee.html Wed Sep 24 07:38:26 -0700 2008 3733328 228187 starbarista 2 4078087 Australian Latte = flat white - a latte in a glass. Although not in a rocks glass, Artigiano has had a larger macchiato or smaller latte on the menu for years. Thu Oct 02 16:52:28 -0700 2008 4057553 210775 barrett Jones 3 4078548 Thanks, Barrett. I'll check that out if I can ever manage to tear myself away from 49th Parallel :-). And I'll be sipping the actual Gibraltar again soonish... we just booked our biannual trip to San Francisco for the Remembrance Day long weekend. 4.5 days of delectable NorCal nosh, drinks and food porn. Oh yeah. Thu Oct 02 22:14:12 -0700 2008 4078087 169233 grayelf 1 4567983 grayelf, I found this in my twitter feed this afternoon: elysiancoffee - Elysian Broadway now rockin the Gibraltar. Good stuff! Sat Apr 04 16:54:41 -0700 2009 3733328 87054 peter.v 2 4568364 I'm so there, peter, thanks! Had the chance to try a different Gibraltar on our most recent trip to SF, this time courtesy of Dynamo Donuts on 24th who are serving Four Barrel. Very interesting citrus notes in a sttrroonggg coffee bevvy. Blue Bottle on Linden still winning with their Hayes Valley espresso but will report as soon as I've tried Elysian's... Sat Apr 04 20:15:58 -0700 2009 4567983 169233 grayelf 3 4654552 So the stars aligned and I dropped in to Elysian on 5th for a Gibraltar ($3) today. They appear to use Elysian espresso for it though I did not confirm this 100%. I liked the taste of this beverage initially though it is by nature very strong. My unrefined coffee palate was not as happy with the aftertaste which I found a tad ashy. Still preferred it to the Four Barrel Gibraltar I had in SF recently, and I'd rank it along with the Blue Bottle offerings at the Ferry Plaza there, though nothing as yet can touch the Hayes Valley blend version. In other Kits coffee news, it looks like Momentum Cafe near 4th and MacDonald is close to opening. A FOO (friend of owner) was there today as I peeped in and said it would be opening "soon" and serving Intelligentsia --yay! Mon May 04 19:41:55 -0700 2009 4568364 169233 grayelf 1 4772629 Another recent post about 49th Parallel just reminded me about this one... Bump n Grind on Commercial Dr are now serving "Joe-braltars" is a similarly sized glass. Sun Jun 14 17:44:03 -0700 2009 3733328 145820 fmed 2 4773216 Cool. Still haven't made it to B&G (thisclose last w'end) but now have even more reason to go... Mon Jun 15 00:02:31 -0700 2009 4772629 169233 grayelf 3 4877918 (Popped in this morning after running a few errands. ) Behold the Joe-braltar. (49th Parallel Epic Espresso beans and Synesso rig - the cup is about 4.5 ozs a la proper Gibraltars) Tue Jul 21 12:23:44 -0700 2009 4773216 145820 fmed 4 4878102 Dang that's a cute l'il beverage! Much rounder glass than the Gibraltars I've had though. I needed a cold beverage on Sunday at the car free day so sampled one of Bump and Grind's iced dirty chai lattes: a chai latte with a shot of espresso. Ridiculously tasty and very pretty (I'll try to remember to post a pic later). And what a great cafe with the nicest staff and patrons (they all chuckled when I said to the barista "Am I going to be sorry I asked what's in a dirty chai latte?"). Tue Jul 21 13:11:03 -0700 2009 4877918 169233 grayelf 5 4878152 Haha - dirty chai - love it. And yes..BnG's staff (Joe, Audrey and the new guy!) are super friendly. Here is another pic to show the size (with iPhone displaying Chowhound as reference): Tue Jul 21 13:23:42 -0700 2009 4878102 145820 fmed