Adventure Time! Finding the Best Coffee in San Diego

My husband and I wanted to spend our Saturday doing something different so we decided to find the best coffee shops in San Diego and visit as many as we could in one half day. We reviewed the top 10 lists of coffee shops in different areas of San Diego county as well as Yelp reviews and then chose the most unique and highest rated to visit.

We only got to about 4 when our heads started exploding with caffeine so we will have to continue to find the best another day.

So far we found that San Diego has some pretty cool coffee shops out there.

Here's our reviews on the best coffee shops in San Diego County 

1. Cafe Calabria - North Park

This place made it top several lists and their coffee is served in other top coffee shops around San Diego, so it must be good! 

Atmosphere: 

Very big and fancy as far as coffee shops go. It feels more like a restaurant than coffee shop atmosphere, but it definitely is a casual sit-where-you like cafe. 

The inside is decorated with scenes from Italy and has indoor brick, plants and windows to make it feel like you are outside on the streets of Italy.

There is a big cozy patio that is very inviting with lots of block-type seating for having good conversations while you eat and drink. The location is also conveniently right on the main street, but several trees separate the seating from the road so you can enjoy your privacy, while still being able to people watch.

Service:

There were a lot of people working there and they got our latte and espresso out quick. When we were done they also took it off our hands quickly too. The barista who took our order was helpful and had good suggestions. They also serve there espresso with a side of sparkling water, which is a nice touch.

The Coffee:

They have great espresso. It's very creamy and you can order sweet versions with Nutella. 

I asked what makes their espresso so great and the barista explained how they make it with a shorter pull so it's less bitter and they use traditional Italian style frothed milk which is more flavorful. 

We also had a latte and it was very creamy and delicious. I can definitely see what our barista meant when she said they use a special frothing technique because the froth is very unique and delightful. 

Other neat stuff:

They have food too. They serve pizza, sandwiches and soup. The pizza is part of a separate pizzeria though that is only open after 5pm.

You get a free cup of coffee with a $25 gift card.

And

They have good quality loose leaf tea as well. 

2. The Coffee and Tea Collective - North Park/ Normal Heights 

This minimalist coffee shop keeps it simple with plain good coffee. 

Atmosphere:

The Coffee and Tea Collective have a truly hip and authentic minimalist atmosphere. 

There are very few items on the walls, limited merchandise and a very cool clear view of the roasting machine. Though there are several tables where people were working on laptops, this is not the the cozy kind of cafe where you want to study for hours. It's strictly about good coffee. 

Service:

See the bright smiling faces in the picture? That's exactly how the service was. The baristas were experts on coffee, very friendly and polite.

Our barista knew it was our first time and he gave us a free sample of the sparkling chai tea as well as a tour of the coffee roaster. They definitely are passionate about what they do.

The Coffee: 

They serve a few selections of coffee from various regions which is really nice. The barista explained how they sample beans from various suppliers to find the best coffees before roasting it in their store. 

We tried the drip coffee:

Rio Paez - Inza , Colombia. 

The flavor was described as : Brown sugar , orange peel , and spices.

We had the coffee black. It had a silky bold and slightly sweet flavor. The brown sugar gave it an almost chocolately taste. It was definitely a quality cup of Joe. 

Later we tried it with some milk and sugar, which paired nicely with the brown sugar undertones. 

One great underappreciated aspect of their coffee is that it is served at the perfect temperature. It's not too hot as to burn the coffee or your tongue and you can drink it right when it comes. 

We also got a sample of their seasonal drink, the sparkling chai tea. It was very refreshing like a chai soda without any added sugar. 

3. Better Buzz- Pacific Beach

Atmosphere:

Out of the 4 places we visited Better Buzz had the least exciting atmosphere. This is more of a typical Starbucks style cafe as far as the same old same old decor, but that's not what better buzz is about. This location is like a step up from Starbucks. You get better quality coffee, more unique varieties of drinks, and with the same fast service. They even have a drive-through! Unlike Starbucks though, you can't really come here to study because it's so small inside and the only inside seats are awkwardly facing the bar head on. They are more like seats while you wait for your coffee. 

Service:

The service here was very good. The barista did make a mistake on my drink, but she noticed it before I did and then fixed it right away by making a new one. Then she let me keep both drinks. That's the kind of quality service I expect from cafes so I won't call it exceptional, but compared to some places unfortunately it is exceptional so it's still very good. 

The Coffee:

The menu has everything you want to order from a coffee shop and more. They have lots of options and a unique twist on the Americana. They flavor it with Vanilla giving it a delicious, yet not too sweet taste that doesn't drown out the quality flavor of the coffee. I won't say the coffee here is the same caliber of the coffee from the experts at The Coffee and Tea Collective, but it's still better than most places. 

"The Best Drink Ever": I didn't think it was, but it was still pretty good. 

We also tried the Lavender Black Tea Buzz blended which was very sweet and tasty. It tastes like a lavender milk tea and is made with black tea, milk and lavender flavor. 

4. Cafe Bassam - Bankers Hills 

This cool antique collection meets coffee shop is all about the atmosphere. It's a little cluttered, but very fun and vintage.

Atmosphere:

This shop's atmosphere is definitely it's highest quality. If it weren't for the cool atmosphere it probably wouldn't make the list of top coffee shops. You could spend hours in this cafe and not notice every detail. 

There are antiques on every wall, in the display cases and in other cases around the room. 

This cafe is a decent place for studying and a lot of people there were reading or working on laptops. However, we personally felt it was too cluttered for clear thinking or studying. 

My husband and I prefer cleaner atmospheres and though we were looking for unique cafes like this one, we still feel that Starbucks does a better job of creating a cozy atmosphere that is not too crowded for studying and extended conversations. The Living Room or Lestats are also good coffee shops if you want to get out of the Starbucks rut and find a good place to talk, read or study. 

Service:

Unfortunately I didn't have the best experience with service at this location. It was probably just an off day for the staff, but my barista seemed distracted when I was asking questions about the menu. By distracted I don't mean she was busy and had lots of customers to serve, it was pretty slow, I mean she was looking up at the ceiling every five seconds while I was talking to her and then asking me to repeat my question. It was kind of weird.  

The Coffee: 

As was recommended we tried the white mocha . It was good, but too sweet for us. I like how they added some raspberry sauce to the top, but we couldn't finish it because it was so rich. 

The menu seemed to have a lot of unique sweet drinks, but lacking in the quality coffee department. They also had beer and wine so I'd say this is probably a great place for coming with a friend or date to chat, but not your go to for quality joe. The espresso did look really good, though I didn't try them myself. 

So no, we didn't visit every coffee shop in San Diego, obviously not even close, but we did find a lot of unique gems we otherwise never would have found. We had such a blast traveling around our beautiful city to find the top coffee shops on Yelp. I think we can now say with confidence that San Diego takes its coffee shops seriously! I highly recommend you try all these great places for yourself and maybe if you're brave even go on your own coffee shop hunting adventure!