Achilles Coffee Roasters

It's another episode of TC's Driving Adventures...well at least that 's what I call it.

The outer edges of downtown was our destination that morning...

in the shadow of the historic El Cortez Hotel...

which, according to my dad, was THE tallest building in San Diego in the 60's. How things have changed, eh!

TC hadn't driven downtown before so this was a good way for her to learn about how the streets are named running north/south and east/west as well as all of the one way streets. Plus, uphill or downhill parking. Fun stuff.

There was construction near the coffee place so we parked a block away at a meter (I was prepared with coins!). She did a parallel park on the front end of three spaces. It was at the flat part of the hill, so it was easier to park too. No worrying about rolling down or lurching forward.

You can see the bay and Point Loma in the distance.

Achilles Coffee Roasters are the beans featured by Roast Coach, a coffee cart located downtown. The shop is named after Achilles, a Greek hero of the Trojan War. He was the central character in Homer's "The Iliad" (Did I ever read this, and the answer is no.). Legend has it that he could not be harmed in any part of his body except for his heel. He was later killed by an arrow shot through his heel, hence the term, "Achilles' heel" which references a person's weakest point.



The El Cortez Hotel is just across the street. The only time I've been there was at the Don Room, for my cousin's wedding reception more than a decade ago (pre-blogging days). It was pretty swanky in there and the views were pretty cool at the top.

It's very small inside and there isn't a lot of seating. The seats that are available have only narrow ledges for you to place your coffee or your laptop (if that's your thing). There's also a few tables outside. One thing we noticed later before we were about to leave was their lack of a trashcan (wtf, unless I missed it). They also did not have a station where you could add milk, cream, sugar or what have you. I had to ask for sugar and cream and the girl only gave me a packet of sugar in the raw from behind her work station. She must not have heard me ask or the cream. :(

Their menu is simple, and like I always say, "as it should be". Their menu is the same as Roast Coach, which is why it was vaguely familiar; I didn't make the connection until later.

It was useful that the roasts are identified on the menu. The lady in front of us ordered the San Ysidro (the flavor profile sounds so good....sweet caramel and nougat? Yes).


They do offer pastries but we just wanted drinks.

We sat near the record player...


Our drinks - TC's chai latte (hot rather than iced), Bert's mocha and my macchiato.

I was disappointed that it was in a paper cup. In their instagram, there are overhead shots of drinks with latte art in real cups. Maybe that's for another drink or maybe it's for show?  Since the place is so small and most people take their coffee to go, I get why they would do paper cups. They don't have the space to wash and dry actual cups and I could see why that would be a pain. I didn't realize this but now know not to get that drink if they only have paper cups. Seeing my coffee this way is just so depressing. That'll learn me.

Cool stamp of Achilles on the cup but sadly, burnt tasting coffee within. I added some of that sugar in the raw  but guess what, no stirring sticks, so I used a plastic knife. Still no improvement. No cream either. I didn't want to ask the lone barista again because she was busy making drinks for other customers. Bert ended up finishing my macchiato, one of the worst I've had. His mocha was also not the best, describing it as "burnt tasting" as well.

As a consolation drink for myself, I got the Southern Hospitality iced cold brew (with brown sugar, milk and mint). Much much better. It was pretty strong, but the addition of its flavorings gave it a much better taste than my macchiato.


The drink was familiar to me because I' ve actually had it before (but didn't make the connection until afterwards) at the Roast Coach coffee cart.

Below, some friendly dogs who were excited to see doggie treats on the counter.

Their roasting facility is in house. These photos were taken outside.


Mint leaves in the coffee.

Article:
"Photo Tour of Achilles Coffee Roasters" SD Coffee Network, Sept. 2016

Led Zeppelin's "Achilles Last Stand", the opening track from from "Presence" (1976):

The sound is pretty heavy and the galloping bass seems almost a precursor from Iron Maiden bassist Steven Harris's distinct style (this was prior to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal). Here's the link from Led Zeppelin's website featuring a collage of the band performing it live in Los Angeles in 1977.

On a side note, a pre-Brangelina Brad Pitt played Achilles in the 2004 film, "Troy".

Here's the Achilles "heel" scene. If you like your pretty boy served with a side of gore and violence, then click the video; otherwise, you may not like what you see in the first few seconds.

That was Legolas Orlando Bloom who shot him. I've never watched this movie, but Bert has and he liked all of the fight scenes because violence.

 All I can say is, Brad Pitt was RIPPED in this movie (there are other movie clips where he's shirtless and OMG.)!

Achilles Coffee Roasters
703 Ash St.
San Diego, CA 92101
(415) 215-5605

achillescoffeeroasters.com + reviews from yelp

Would I go here again? Maybe, just to try the San Ysidro pourover or the Aztec.  It was neat getting to see this part of town, especially with the teen driving us.  This was just our first stop of the morning. Next up, Clairemont.