Taste

Photo by Charlotte Peale

Ruby’s Roast

Have you noticed Ruby’s Roast coffee on sale around town in bags or fresh-brewed at a growing number of East Bay restaurants? Pert, wide-eyed Ruby (drawn by Karen Adelman, co-owner of Saul’s Deli)looks out from the drawing on the label, but in fact, Debbie Segal and Sherry Bloom are the effervescent gals behind Ruby’s “gem of a blend,” which is fast becoming a local fave. Growing up in Los Angeles, the pair lived on the same street and attended the same elementary school. They stayed close, moved to Berkeley, and discovered really good coffee and food. They liked coffee so much, they decided to start a small-batch, woman-owned artisan coffee company, working bean alchemy out of Berkeley Kitchens, creating Dark Roast, Medium Roast, and Water Processed Decaf custom blends.

Segal and Bloom select high-quality beans and hand-roast each variety separately in their German-engineered Probat roaster. Dark Roast, their most popular blend, uses Ethiopian beans with an earthy aroma and thick body, combined with other seasonal beans. The mostly organic combination creates a smooth, robust, and chocolaty brew—delicious for espresso! Medium Roast builds on aromatic Colombian beans with a sweet aftertaste, combined with Ethiopian and Indonesian beans. Rich-bodied Water Processed Decaf mixes Latin American beans.

Purchase online at shop.rubysroast.com or through GoodEggs, or pick up a bag at Temescal Produce, Andronico’s, Monterey Market, Berkeley Bowl, or Alameda Natural Grocery. Enjoy a cup of the stuff at many places around Berkeley like Saul’s Deli, Standard Fare, and Stella Nonna.

—Kristina Sepetys