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PHOTO BY MATT NAGLE

PULLIN’ SHOTS. Annette Hall, owner of Mystic Mocha in the Dome District, mixes her own unique blend of beans and pulls espresso shots with great care to make sure every cup of coffee she sells leaves the customer coming back for more.

Mystic Mocha offers a coffee

By Matt Nagle

There's a new coffee shop in the Dome District with an intriguing name: Mystic Mocha. Located at 402 E. 26th St., the cafe is owned and operated by Annette Hall, who says there's nothing mysterious about pouring a good cup of coffee.

Hall has been in the coffee business for about 16 years. She started out in 1991 learning how to "pull" espresso shots at Starbucks, where she worked for six years. "I started at Starbucks before they offered stock," she recalled. "They had 20 stores when I started and 250 when I left."

She has owned two other coffee stands in the past, one near the Frederickson Boeing plant and the other on Sixth Avenue. Her Sixth Avenue coffee trailer, complete with espresso machine, bar, refrigerator and other necessities, is still there, awaiting a buyer. "If you wanted to open up, you'd have everything right there to start your business," Hall pointed out. "Plus, we'd be willing to train."

Hall's newest venture features coffee drinks, hot or iced, served in six different sizes (the big 32 ounce has four shots of espresso). There are also blended drinks and six flavors of smoothies made with bananas, peaches, strawberries, mangos and other fruits.

Food service begins at 10 a.m. each day. On the menu are hot dogs and sandwiches on a daily selection of breads, including croissants, with your choice of egg, tuna or chicken salad, meats, cheeses, vegetables and condiments.

Mystic Mocha features a soup of the day by the cup or bowl, and salads, either meal-sized or on the side. Mystic Mocha also carries the standard coffeehouse edibles like muffins and scones, and even sliced apples and diced peaches for the health-conscious customer.

Mystic Mocha has a drive-through window located in the parking garage just a few doors down; just look for the signs.

Hall said that over the years, she has refined her taste in coffee, and mixes her own blend for her cafe from beans sold at Costco from the San Francisco Bay Coffee Company.

"I'd probably buy from a roaster if I couldn't get the quality I like at Costco," Hall remarked. "People think that just because they're buying D'Arte or Starbucks that they're going to get a guaranteed good coffee, but you still have to know how to pull shots." She said she experimented to find the right blend of beans. "There's nothing like a good cup of coffee to make people happy, so we always try to make sure it's a good cup of coffee."

Hall said the perfect shot of espresso should be "buttery and smooth and creamy." How the shot pours and what it looks like are important, she noted.

She keeps her prices low, she noted. "We try to be reasonable with our prices. Too many places are in it for the money, especially coffee. I'm in it because I love coffee. I'm not going to be living high on the hog while I'm overcharging my customers. I wouldn't feel right about that.

"I'm definitely below what Starbucks and Cutters Point would charge."

Art on the coffee shop's walls, paintings and collages by local artists, complement the decor and are for sale. "I worked at that. I didn't want to throw just any old thing up there. I tried to pick things that are soothing and calm, but interesting," Hall commented.

She said she is always dreaming up new things to offer at Mystic Mocha, and she's even thinking of having a karaoke night. "It would be nice to go someplace where somebody isn't up there screaming 'Taking Care of Business' or 'Devil Went Down to Georgia' at the top of his lungs and none of the notes are right," she said with a hearty laugh.

Mystic Mocha is open seven days a week, Monday-Friday 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Sunday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call (253) 272-2421.

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