This morning, my friend Preethi and I met up for coffee in downtown Saratoga at Big Basin Cafe. The reason why I’d been wanting to come here is because I had heard about their Dutch-brewed coffee. It seems to be an intricate process which involves cold-drip extraction, and the result (I’m pleased to report) is an ultra-smooth, aromatic, non-acidic coffee.

I ordered my usual Saturday morning indulgence: a nonfat, vanilla latte with Dutch coffee, instead of an espresso shot, and learned from the cafe owner that brewing the coffee in the Dutch brewer can take as long as 16 hours! The brewer (top and middle photos) is really impressive in person — it’s as tall as the pastry case and has spiraled glass parts. Don’t you love how it looks like it belongs in a mad scientist’s laboratory?