Changing Perceptons

"Most of us spend our lives viewing our environment through a haze, but if we work hard enough, the haze lifts and the view becomes limitless." -- Ishmael Reed in Blues City: A Walk in Oakland

Veronica Foods

Cubes of Vinegar

Veronica Foods, near the waterfront of Jingletown, Oakland, receives train cars full of olive oil and vinegar on their own set of train tracks located right outside the back door of their factory. In a year, they import over a million gallons of olive oil from all over the world. Veronica and Michael Bradley run the business. Veronica is the granddaughter of the founder of the company. Their daughter makes countless varieties of flavored vinegars, including violet and espresso flavors.

Olive Oil vat

Veronica and Michael taught us how to taste olive oil from a cup. Step 1. Slurp, Step 2. coat your tongue, Step 3. Feel the burn on the back of your throat. They also taught us that the number one criteria for good olive oil is freshness. All olive oil should be eaten within one year of production.

Stacks of Olive Oil

Veronica Foods

6,000 pound olive oil sack

They took a hint from the wine industry on how to ship their oil. These 6,000 lb. vacuum sealed sacks never allow air to touch the oil. They travel the world forming relationships with their farmers. They also established a mill in Tunisia to produce their own oils.

Exotic Teas of Oakland

Numi Tea is located in part of the historic California Cotton Mills in Oakland. The tea that started it all for the brother and sister that run the company is a dry desert lime tea that their mother served them as children. They couldn't find the tea as adults and decided to solve that problem. They've since expanded to many exotic teas from all over the world. Numi Tea is organic and they form relationships with their tea farmers in order to ensure the highest quality.

Scenic Historic Cotton Mills Warehouse

Bulk Teas in the "tea garden"

Visitors to the tea garden can sample Numi Teas and nibble on snacks, such as cookies flavored with Numi Tea.

Blue Bottle Coffee (aka torture stop)

The third stop on Oakland's Food Industry Tour was at Blue Bottle Coffee in Jack London Square. To be fair, the owner, James Freeman, said he doesn't like that name and calls it the produce district. The rest of the world still calls the area Jack London. In fact, Blue Bottle's factory was a long-time produce warehouse and quite a few produce wholesalers continue to do business in the area. Why did I title this the 'torture stop'? Because we didn't have time to drink coffee! The smells were intoxicating in themselves. I learned that all their coffee is organic and that they cook their delightful pastries on sight. Mr. Freeman is married to the pastry chef. He showed us raw coffee beans, that kind of look like kids teeth after they fall out.

Blue Bottle's Oakland Factory

If you would like to taste the glory that is Blue Bottle Coffee, they host free and open to the public cuppings on Tuesdays and Sundays at 2pm each week.

California Cereal Products

California Cereal Products, West Oakland

You may have seen this building in West Oakland and wondered what it was. I didn't see a sign, and I must say, it looks more than a little scary from the outside. I was granted entry on the Tour of Oakland's Food Industry with the Samuel Knight Chapter of the Society for Industrial Archaeology. We weren't allowed to take photos so I can't share what it looked like inside. The building opened in 1917 as a Shredded Wheat factory. It was sold to the National Biscuit Company (later renamed Nabisco) in 1928. In 1994 California Cereal Products took over the plant. CCP produces organic breakfast cereals and rice flour, much of which is exported to Japan. It smells nice inside, like cooking rice and toasting rice. They have a giant sugar coating machine for the cereal. Walking through the factory in my hair net and earplugs I realized that this was the first working factory I'd been in. The factory has gorgeous huge windows that I'm more used to seeing in converted loft living spaces. It's striking that organic food can be produced in West Oakland in a building nearly a century old surrounded by barbed wire.

Hodo Soy Beanery

I joined a tour of Oakland's Food Industry on September 7th hosted by Anthony Meadow, President of the Samuel Knight Chapter of the Society for Industrial Archaeology. We visited 8 Oakland food businesses in one day! The tour was led by Margot Prado, Senior Business Development Specialist for the City of Oakland, and Betty Marvin, of the Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey for the City of Oakland.


Our first stop was Hodo Soy Beanery in West Oakland where founder and tofu master, Minh Tsai welcomed us and told us about accompanying his grandpa to the local tofu shack in Vietnam as a child. Minh couldn't find the excellent quality tofu he craved here in the U.S., so he started making it himself. Hodo sold at farmers markets only at first, and now they are expanding to selling in local stores. They are expanding to the southern California and Pacific Northwest markets right now as an experiment. Since tofu doesn't have a long shelf life, Minh doesn't foresee expanding much farther than the West Coast.

Tofu Skin (yuba) forming on soy milk.

Folding the yuba for packaging.

Yuba is so tasty! Minh treated us to samples of many tofu varieties, all of which were delicious!

Oakland Juxtapositions

Middle Harbor Shoreline Park in West Oakland is incredible. To reach it, you wind through a neighborhood made of shipping containers stacked 15 high and giant shipping cranes. Upon reaching the park, you are greeted with a huge expanse of manicured green lawn bisected with geometric walking paths. Beyond the expansive lawn, sit bbqs and picnic tables, beyond which lies a beach (!?). From this mini West Oakland beach, complete with sand, kelp, and water (and a heartbreaking amount of litter washed up from the bay) is a view of the Bay Bridge and San Francisco across the bay. The Bay Bridge looks and sounds peaceful from this angle.

To either side of the park are active boat shipping yards, with giant cranes and shipping containers. Its a surprisingly quiet place. We saw only a few other groups of people there, mostly families. The park is huge! We walked along the water for so long that my feet were sore by the end of our visit. While walking, be sure to look at where you step, since the massive flock of Canada Geese that thrive there leave droppings every few feet, or more. Along the waterfront paths, habitat has been restored to its long forgotten natural state, with native grasses and other plants. We saw many beautiful and distinctive birds.

Middle Harbor Shoreline Park is an oasis in Oakland. It feels a million miles away. The quiet, and the expanse of the park make it peaceful, while the proximity to the shipping yards makes it exciting, as if its a place you're not supposed to be. Yet, clearly, the city of Oakland wants you to be there. There are parking lots, well-maintained paths, bbqs and bathrooms. I highly recommend a visit to this park as a step away from your everyday existence in the bay area. The unique view of the bay bridge and the city make you feel special, while the shipping yards remind you of the economic heft and international importance of the port of Oakland.