Fuelling my Coffee Addiction in San Diego

-Originally posted on August 19, 2019. Please follow all COVID-19 precautions and stay safe-

Note: These photos are all from the brand’s Instagram accounts (except for the photo of me)

If you know me, you know that one of my favourite things to do is go to a coffee shop. I’m all about grabbing a coffee while I do work, chat, and catch-up with friends or just take in the atmosphere of the coffee shop. Of course, I love Calgary’s coffee shop scene, but when I travel, my favourite thing to do is check out the coffee scene there. San Diego was no different. I loved coffee shop hopping in Toronto, but you can’t beat the aesthetic of California coffee shops. So, whether you’re headed out to the coast or just want to live vicariously through my coffee adventures, keep on reading!

COMMUNAL COFFEE

Communal Coffee was the first coffee shop that we stopped at. They have two locations, one on University Avenue and the other on Fern St. We went to the University Avenue location because not only was it closer, but it was a true shop. The other location is a trailer location, which sounds super cute but according to some online reviews, leaves often fell in the coffee which isn’t optimal. I am so happy we went to the University Avenue location. I fell in love with this place at first sight. If you saw my IG story, I wanted to leave everything in Calgary and move out to San Diego just to work there. It’s so aesthetically pleasing. Plants and flowers everywhere, cozy atmosphere with ample seating and the best part?? A hanging chair to sit in. They definitely live up to their Coffee + Flowers branding. And that was just the inside! Because it’s not winter in San Diego 10 months of the year, they have tons of outdoor seating, with beautiful walls and quote boards.

I guess I should probably talk about the coffee since that’s probably why you’re here. They have plenty of options for coffee and non-coffee lovers alike. You can get the usual drinks (Americanos, Lattes, etc.) or the usuals with a twist. I had a Vanilla Bean Latte and my Dad had the Blackberry Lavender Latte. We got these iced but you can also get them hot. The entire menu can be found here. Don’t like coffee? They have kombucha, chai, matcha, and tons of lemonade options.

THE GROUNDS BEAN BAR



On our way out to Carlsbad, we stopped at The Grounds Bean Bar for a quick coffee before breakfast. While this shop is smaller than Communal Coffee, I still loved the feel. It was super cozy and the aesthetic was so on point. Plants and trees everywhere, even on the walls. I didn’t get a coffee here because they had Kombucha on tap. I am a sucker for Kombucha. The brand that they had was called Babe Kombucha. If we hadn’t been going to breakfast, I definitely would have had the Kombucha float (Kombucha with a scoop of frozen Acai). They also have tons of food that we didn’t try because we were heading for breakfast. Also, I have to mention that the staff was super friendly! I really enjoyed chatting with them.

REVOLUTION ROASTERS

One of the days that we were there, we headed out to Oceanside to meet some family for dinner. We had time to kill and of course, a need to visit another coffeeshop so we headed to Revolution Roasters.

They, like most shops here, have a beautiful patio area that looks out onto the street. It’s a completely open location, there isn’t a door separating the patio at all. You simply walk out of the store onto the patio or the street. The shop itself is super cool and the merch that they sell is awesome. I almost bought some. They have a super cool rustic vibe, with animal heads on the exposed walls. The drink menu is also unique. I had an iced earl grey tea, and Mum had a Masala Chai. They have tons of food options as well. It’s pretty affordable as well, although the craft coffee industry tends to be more expensive than chain coffee. I really appreciated the laid-back, surfer atmosphere. It’s on a super cute street of stores as well, and super close to the beach! (Also, while you’re there, check out Reap & Sow just down the street. I loved their store so much!)

FIG TREE CAFE

Alright, I’m not sure that this truly counts as a coffee shop, since it’s a restaurant, but Adam and I had the most delicious coffee from there. Not to mention their breakfast might have been the best meal I had all vacation.

We stumbled upon Fig Tree Cafe when we were in Hillcrest attempting to go to another breakfast place. It was going to be a really long wait, and by that time, we were starving. So, I went to find Fig Cafe, which I had seen when we drove by earlier looking for parking (upon further research I have now determined that it is a chain so you can go to it many places in San Diego). They sat us right away and we were right next to the specials board so of course we saw the Iced Raspberry White Chocolate Mocha. Who can say no to that?

The breakfast food was delicious. Mum had breakfast sushi (it was wrapped in bacon!), Adam had Peach Pancakes (also on special) and I had the Strawberry French Toast. Seriously, it was amazing. They also had fun chalk drawings of RuPaul and some Drag Race quotes so naturally I enjoyed it.

Have you ever been to San Diego? What places did you love? I hope the next time I’m back, I’ll have more time to check out some other places!