Update: May 2024 – Revolution Roaster is no longer inside Cafe Ipe – now called Coffee Coffee. They have their own store in Oceanside, CA. I will leave the below review in place because it is about the coffee, but you should note that Coffee Coffee has really gone down hill. I no longer recommend this cafe. The barristas don’t give two shits about the coffee they are brewing. The espresso machine is a mess, shots run like a leaky faucet, and taste worse.

—

After hearing about the “revolution” going on inside Cafe Ipe in North County San Diego, I finally stopped by to sample the results. The shot I had wasn’t perfect, but it was close. It was food enough to understand the quality of the beans being used. The barrista was happy to share that he was dosing 18 to 20 grams for the shot, and it was thick and yummy. The blend they use in their shots is what they call Smooth Operator and is roasted on site by Revolution Roasters. It is damn good, and the bag I bought was roasted the day before. When I got it home, in had to make a minor adjustment to my grinder, but the first shot I pulled from my Delonghi EC155 was so freaking good! The crema was thick, golden and sweet. I love the fact that this is roasted essentially right down the road from my house and it’s all the buzzwords you want… Fair trade, etc.

A few weeks later I stopped by while they were roasting and talked with Dan, the owner for at least and hour. He was happy to share tons of info on his roasts and reasoning for his roasts. Since then, I’ve tried 1 other roast, Surfing Madonna’s Elixir. It wasn’t as good as Smooth Operator for espresso, but it was still very good.

Coffee Coffee – 970 N Coast Highway 101, Encinitas, CA 92024 – (760) 436-2233

Revolution Roasters – 1836 S Coast Hwy, Oceanside, CA 92054

I just had the best espresso yet today courtesy of Lofty Coffee Co. in Encinitas.  The shot was delicious, thick, and had not one hint of bitterness.  It actually almost tasted  like liquid dark chocolate.

Lofty is a small, very busy place on the Pacific Coast Highway in Encinitas.  If you are there in the mornings, be prepared for a line out the door.  They also have a selection of food that looks pretty good, but I’ve never eaten there…I’m here for the coffee.

After deciding to get good at making espresso and espresso drinks myself, I now have a new standard to aim for when making the best espresso at home.

Of course, being the geek that I am, I immediately came home and changed the grind and tamp on my meager De’longhi EC155 to get closer to what I had just tasted.  And, it worked.  3 shots later, and I had something very very close to what Lofty had given me.

I’m sure there are other great places in San Diego, but Lofty is now on the top of my list for places to beat.