170 west st john, San Jose CA

The short of it:

You will get amazing coffee from baristas who know their stuff and really have fun with getting the very best out of their coffees – and their excitement will rub off on you.


The long of it:

The coffee itself was superb as I’ve come to expect at Bellano proper and now their new site B2. I walked in intending to order a pour over, which I will get to in a bit. Before I was able to order I was greeted with an espresso they were playing with – to my surprise from Heart! Since Heart is not one of Bellano’s roasters (Bellano is a Verve and Sightglass account), I won’t say much about this espresso other than it was freeking delicious and you could tell Andrew had been working hard to dial it in get to the full potential of these beans.  Where I’ve really experienced the strength of Bellano is in their pour overs – they are precise in their pouring and weigh every single cup during extraction for accuracy.  I think they have a great method that really helps maximize the potential of all the coffees they carry (it’s no wonder one of their baristas placed 3rd in this year’s Southwest Brewers Cup).  I was lucky enough to have this barista – Andrew Villa – at the helm today when I ordered. The cup I got was delicate and well rounded. Where as most coffees I’ve had from Sightglass tend to punch you in the face with sweetness (something I rather enjoy), this cup of Dos Productores was not extreme in any one flavor but in its balance was quite enjoyable. I got honey notes, berry sweetness, and call me crazy - even a bit of nuttiness.


Above all else, what I love most about B2 is that the baristas are passionate about their coffee and have fun with it (as opposed to those who are so passionate they turn into snobs). This makes B2 a fun place to visit whether you are a coffee novice or aficionado. I often write about the importance of customer service – particularly baristas knowing how to relate in appropriate/relevant ways to the wide variety of customers they get (some people couldn’t care less about the varietal or elevation at which the coffee was grown, they simply want a cup they can enjoy – others want to coffee geek out completely). The baristas at B2 certainly know how to identify and talk with people at all ends of the coffee spectrum, but what makes them really special is their ability to draw in even the most apathetic coffee drinker into wanting to experience something new in their coffee. In the hour I was there, I watched the passion of these baristas spark questions and conversations with a number of customers and I think it all goes back to the fact that you can tell these people are having fun with their coffee.

EDIT: I do work for Bellano now, but this review was written well before I got this job or even knew of the possibility and should be read with this unbiased context in mind.