San Francisco · United States
Saint Frank Coffee
Saint Frank Coffee is one of 6 San Francisco roasters tracked on day9, in California.
Since 2013 · Kevin Bohlin
Overview
Kevin Bohlin — a former middle school teacher from northern Texas with a background in theology and cultural anthropology — moved to San Francisco in 2010, took a barista job at Ritual Coffee on Valencia Street, and traveled to origin with Ritual's green buyer Steve Ford before launching Saint Frank as an outdoor pop-up in summer 2013. The Russian Hill brick-and-mortar at 2340 Polk Street opened that fall; for several years Saint Frank used Ritual's roasting capacity for exclusive roasts before bringing roasting fully in-house at its own Mission Street roastery.
Known for
- Producer-focused, light-roasted style anchored to direct relationships in Nepal, Thailand, Bolivia, East Africa and Central America
- Russian Hill flagship cafe widely cited as among San Francisco's best espresso bars
- Sister cafe St. Clare and a cafe inside Facebook's Menlo Park headquarters (2016)
- Name is shorthand for San Francisco — a tribute to Saint Francis of Assisi's appreciation for the small and overlooked
- Connection to nonprofits in producer countries (including a Nepal anti-trafficking partnership)
Why it matters
Saint Frank is one of the highest-profile examples of a Ritual Coffee alum spinning off a successful independent brand, and its focus on emerging coffee-growing regions like Nepal and Thailand — rather than the standard third-wave Latin America/East Africa rotation — sits unusually far up the curiosity curve for a US specialty roaster of its size.
Production
- roastery location
- Mission Street, San Francisco
Café
2340 Polk Street, San Francisco (Russian Hill flagship); St. Clare cafe (San Francisco); Facebook Menlo Park (private cafe, 2016); Alma Street Menlo Park (2019)