Blue Bottle's New $16 Coffee Is So SF

San Francisco has had its fair share of price controversies (and dissections thereof) — most recently with the $15 cup of coffee all the way back to 2014's $4 toastgate. Lest there be too much time between shockingly pricey offerings, Blue Bottle has just announced its new offering: Port of Mokha coffee, sourced from Yemen, which apparently is the birthplace of coffee in the Western world. Blue Bottle is known for its sourcing of rare coffee varietals, but this one may take the cake. That's because the brand is offering one cup of the brew for a whopping $16 — yes, that's one dollar more than the first offensive-to-some $15 cup.

Blue Bottle justifies this price as exporter Mokhtar Alkhanshali "traveled in a dinghy across the Red Sea with only two suitcases of coffee, after having been kidnapped and mistaken for a Houthi rebel, to bring the coffee of his Yemeni farmers and brethren to the SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America)." Blue Bottle CEO James Freeman actually called the coffee "celestial, like angels singing." So if you're looking for a heavenly experience, Blue Bottle is serving the coffee in all stores now (and online in six-ounce bags for $65).