Grand Coffee Too

Mission District’s Grand Coffee Wants to Keep You Buzzing Through Ramadan | Eater SF

"In the Mission District I learned that Nabeel Silmi, founder and co-owner of Grand Coffee, has made coffee central to Ramadan: he put together an $80 Ramadan gift box with four bags—one for each week of the fast—including three single-origin coffees and the small roaster’s La Llave blend (a portion of that roast’s sales goes to the Middle East Children’s Alliance). He suggests working through the bags with friends and family or before sunrise to get through the fast, noting the first three days are hard because of caffeine withdrawal and that fasting gets progressively tougher as days lengthen and clocks spring forward. The box is sold at the Grand Coffee Too location (2544 Mission Street) and online with shipping across the U.S. and Canada. Silmi, who broke fasts in Palestine with a date, a glass of milk, and a cup of coffee, has talked about reopening the shop at 8:30 or 9 p.m. for a Ramadan pop-up and pairing the coffee with snacks; Grand Coffee opened July 1, 2010 and is credited with bringing third-wave coffee into the Mission." - Paolo Bicchieri