ColeCoffee

The sky is confused. Can I trust the calendar saying the solstice just passed, or do I admit the clouds make me think I’ve left my pillow only in theory? Picking up the Chronicle from a Safeway across the street and feeling sleepily ironic, I read that “Bay Area home prices take new hit.” With the next headline speculating that rising temperatures give us a “Grim look at state’s plant life,” I nod as the uncertainty rains beyond the sky. Just as conventional calendar wisdom weathers this morning uncertainty, so, too, the face of the Chronicle begins to look more like the traditional theatre mask. The other headlines scratch their heads as Edgerly, Oakland’s city manager, retires in her own cloud of corruption, and Scott McClellan, Bush’s former aide, hints that he may vote Democrat in 2008, depending on which candidate is the most straightforward. When even the politicians are looking for truth, which face should I make?

With all of these faces dancing behind my own, I cross the street to Cole Coffee. Nestled into the gentle corner of College and 63rd in Oakland’s Rockridge District, Cole lets the hipster, the family, the homeless, and the businessman all sip their morning together without contradiction or confusion. To my left, two suits discuss the “typical corporate game,” while to my right a family sings whimsical happy birthdays to their baby. Two sophisticated ladies reminisce about Eleanor Roosevelt’s voice. The rest of us read our papers or peck away at our laptops with our own versions of theatre faces. Inside, the baristas brew up a stunning array of specialty coffees from around the world. You can even watch your fuel drip from their subtly placed waiting couch. Each cup is freshly made for each customer, beans ground and hot water poured, using the Melitta filter drip method for a seductively graceful cup of strong and satisfying coffee. Perfect for slow sipping and conversation, which is easy with the welcome absence of background music. Most take their cups to benches and tables curved around the outside, while a few remain inside, sitting in cozy corner tables. Small display cases offer croissants and vegan donuts, and there are a few well-chosen menu items if you want a hot breakfast. I recommend the poached egg with toast. There are actually two counters pouring coffee, allowing us our choices, not unlike the front page. One door over is a second Cole, where a rotating roster of the specialty coffees is brewed in a large batch, ready for a quick fill. Today’s was the Nicaraguan Organic, and it was strong like Ortega and smooth like a Caribbean sunset. In the end, Cole is a breakfast experience worthy of the truest theatre smile.

Dear readers, enjoy your break slow. After all, if the front page keeps playing truth or dare, we will all have to choose sides while there are still sides to choose.

Breakfast in the Bay: Making sense of waking up since Tuesday, 2008.