Friday, February 2, 2007

San Diego Coffee Shop Scene

I'm not an expert when it comes to coffee, but I am abnormally consumed with the warm beverage and everything that has to do with coffee--more specifically, socially responsible coffee i.e., organic, fair trade, and shade grown. As I've been doing more and more research with hopes of starting my own coffee business soon, I've noticed that most of the websites of local San Diego coffee shops as well as the coffee establishments themselves have virtually NO information about where they are getting their beans from. The sad part it a lot of these establishments are serving socially responsible coffee and could benefit from advertising this to consumers. I live in Southern California; I know there has to be a ton of people who are interested in where they can buy quality coffee that is people/bird/eco friendly (I know you're out there...I've met you at the farmers markets!) Due to my infatuation with everything coffee, and since my favorite thing to do is visit new coffee shops, I thought I'd find out more about these local hangouts and fill you in--from who roasts the coffee, to good study spots, singles scenes, live music venues etc. If you're gonna fulfill that caffeine habit, you might as well be spending your money at a place where more of your dollar is getting into the farmers hands and their communities (which are typically impoverished areas) vs. the corporate "green" giants'.

So the first little coffee shop I want to fill you in on is Bird Rock Coffee Roasters in Bird Rock La Jolla. Keep your eyes open because if you blink you might miss it--this is not a place to visit if you're looking for a "scene," however if you are a connessiour of coffee, this is the place for an incredible cup of joe. There are only a few tables inside that over look the cute street of La Jolla Blvd; inside the shop is the actual roasting facility and where you will almost always find the owner, Chuck Patton, who overlooks the entire roasting process. It's evident that Chuck has a heart for the farmers and communities in which the beans he roasts are from--most of his coffees are organic, fair trade and shade grown...my favorite so far is their Bird Rock Blend. The coolest part about this place is that if you live Pacific Beach or La Jolla in the zip codes 92109 and 92037 they will actually deliver fresh roasted coffee right to your door!

Let me know if you're looking for a cool coffee shop to visit in your neighborhood--I'll be happy to check it out!

3 comments:

Marc said...

I too want to sip coffee free of chems and stuff. But many organic joes are psuedo-organic. Coffee distribution outfits get the bean from other disttribution outfits who report that they get their stuff from organic farms, lets say, in Costa Rica. And those farms claim they harvest organic beans when in some cases they only do a small percentage in the organic method while the rest is bathing in chems. The point is, if the buyer knows for certain the beans are 100 percent organic, the buyer will be a customer forever. At least that's what I read in a fortune cookie.

Discovery Street said...

coffees that display the "certified organic" label have had to go through stringent inspections; however there are different certifications, the "USDA Certified Organic" only has to be 95% organic...be sure to look for 100% Organic Label and you can feel at peace knowing your java is chemical free!

Anonymous said...

Mmmm. Bird Rock Coffee Roasters, great coffee, very yummy, the "company" was delightful too...