It’s a good time for coffee folk to live in North County San Diego.  First there was Pannikin.  A few years later, La Costa Coffee Roasting showed up.  Then the upstarts showed up.  Lofty Coffee Co and Cafe Ipe started serving up really great stuff, and showing that Pannikin was a bit long in the tooth.  Then, Revolution Roasters showed up in Cafe Ipe doing small batches of heaven weekly and really showing how badly Starbucks had conditioned America to over-roasted (burnt) beans.

Now Lofty Coffee has opened their own roasting facility too.  It’s right across the street from their other location on he Pacific Coast Highway in Encinitas, CA.  Yep, that’s two small batch artisan roasting facilities within 5 miles of each other on the coast.  Unlike Revolution Roasters, which has an old school, used Probat roaster, Lofty has a glistening, super shiny custom computer controlled setup.  Not only that, but there’s a new custom coffee bar in the front of the facility.

The bar has a food porn worthy custom Synesco machine where only the group heads and steam wands are above the counter.  The rest of the machine is totally hidden under the counter.  Th group heads above the bar look a bit like they belong in a Star Trek movie.  The shot I had was heavenly, and I think a little better than the machine across the street.  The location is a bit breezy though, and the barrista had to take great pains to keep the shot from getting ruined by the cross breeze.  BUT, the barristas are fully aware of the conditions and know that a breeze will mess up the shot.  So, when I saw him shield the group head with his hands, I was impressed…and he even apologized for blocking my view of the pour.

Then there’s the cold brew side.  You would be forgiven if you thought there was beer on that side of the bar because the cold brew, two versions, comes out of beer taps.  One version is cut with water and pumped with CO2.  The other is not cut with water, and pumped with Nitrogen.  It looks just like a Guinness tap.

So far, there is no regular roasting schedule.  “We roast on demand” was what the barrista said.  It looks like they are really just ramping up the operation.   Their espresso blend is something they are calling “Stay Classy” and I only saw 12oz bags and are about $12.  Revolution sells 8oz and 16oz bags, and the 16oz bags are $15.  So, Revolution is a just a fraction cheaper.  But, either way, if you brew at home, you will still come out significantly cheaper (and better) than a daily Starbucks run.