A Latte Coffee

west coast travels - summer adventure - in search of great coffee

[juliascoffeetrail]

#47 - Kahveology - Portland, OR

This place is awesome. Located in the Sellwood Neighborhood in SE Portland. It also helped that this was the place we decided to meet with family from out of town--made it THAT much better! <3 Also, their coffee was on point!

Same coffees, two angles. Just cause.

[juliascoffeetrail]

Many months later... #46 - Case Coffee Roasters - Ashland, OR

With the chaos that came about this last year, my coffee blog got put on hold. I hope to post some here and there--especially considering that my coffee adventure is far from over! Here’s some pictures and posts to catch up... On our drive back from CA, we stopped at Case in Ashland, OR!

[juliascoffeetrail]

#45 - The Mill - Sacramento, CA

two different angles- just because!

The Mill is located in midtown Sacramento. They only have one location. Check out these pictures!

As usual, Jessica really wanted her picture taken. We parted ways for the term starting yesterday... I miss her already! She’s going to knock out year 2 of her graphic design program in Portland!! Go Jess!

They serve Heart Coffee!! (From Portland!)

My grandma tried the Almond Macadamia Latte--surprisingly not as sweet as I would have thought! But good!

[juliascoffeetrail]

#44 - HOOT Coffee & Art - Rocklin, CA

Here is a unique place! It’s combined with a “party company.” People can rent out the back space for different types of parties! A neat idea!

This front area is just their cafe side!

[juliascoffeetrail]

#43 - Origin Coffee & Tea - Rocklin, CA

We LOVE this place! All employees are volunteers. All proceeds go toward fighting against human sex trafficking. It’s an amazing nonprofit. They also make really great coffee drinks. If you’re in the Sacramento area, I highly recommend it!!

They use MAST Coffee (of Sacramento)!

Truly great seating space!

[juliascoffeetrail]

#42 - Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters - San Francisco, CA

Okay, first off, I need to say that this is NOT at all associated with Miley Cyrus. Alright great, now we’ll continue... ;)

oops, I took a sip...

A little blurry... but you get the picture!

wallpaper on point.

One of me too, please!

[juliascoffeetrail]

#41 - Sightglass - San Francisco, CA

It’s been difficult to keep up with the blog this month... I will try to catch up in this next week.

Last month we made a day trip to SF. Check out this first coffee shop we went to--Sightglass!

Jess took this cool picture!!

An affogato bar?! Pretty awesome. It was also funny to see that during downtime at the bar, the employee working it would read a book. A hipster employee with an old, withered book, in San Francisco. Awesome. I think it’s cool that management is okay with this!!!

First time I have ever seen coffee sold by box instead of bag!

Cool coffee roaster in the shop.

From the second story, my favorite photo!

Oh Jessica! She’s a funny one...

[juliascoffeetrail]

#40 - Coffee Shop - Walnut Creek, CA

40!!!! Crazy that I’ve made it this far! I’m so close to my goal (which I know I will blow out of the water!) This is such a cute place in the downtown area of Walnut Creek, CA. This is one of the busiest cafes I have been to this summer! Funny story, it ends up that my sister was the camp counselor of the owner’s kids. Pretty cool! I want to go back!

Yellow, gray and light blue together?? Yes!! It just works! So great!!!

[not too shabby for a phone pic...I was so bummed I forgot my camera]

[these coffees were so good!!!!]

Such a wonderful stop! Pause, let me take a one-hand handstand!

[juliascoffeetrail]

#39 - Journey Coffee Co. - Vacaville, CA

Over the course of a few weeks, we came back to this place several times. It was just SO GREAT. Honestly, one of my favorites. I loved how personable the baristas were. The coffee (and amazing variety of iced tea) was great. I liked their iced tuxedo, iced peach black tea, iced nectarine white tea (I think that’s what it was) and of course, their iced vanilla latte... Meet Ben (the barista) while you’re there! He’s super nice!

[yes, I have posted this picture before. I just like it ;) ]

My 12 year old cousin did this!! :) She loves to do art... She is following in her beloved older cousin’s footsteps. Jessica’s painting of Journey has a significant amount more detail and took several more hours. It is still left incomplete at this time. Nevertheless, this artwork is way better than what I could have done! Good job, Ab! Hopefully Jessica will finish her piece soon so you can see it!

[juliascoffeetrail]

#38 - Temple Coffee Roasters - Davis, CA

I posted about the midtown Sacramento Temple earlier this summer (if you remember, the penny floor!) Once Jessica finished camp, we went to the Davis location together. A new set of pictures + different location = a second post for Temple Coffee Roasters! Much of the photo credit for these goes to her!

[Cool picture, Jess!]

[giving credit to myself for this one ;) ]

Thank you Davis, CA for great coffee and a fun summer farmer’s market!

[juliascoffeetrail]

#37 - Insight Coffee Roasters - Sacramento, CA

Insight Coffee Roasters surprised me in several ways. Their decor, coffee, atmosphere were very unique and wonderful. Insight was established at the end of 2011. (The year I moved away from the Sacramento area!) They now have five cafes across Sacramento. They offer coffee and tea education by hosting classes, monthly seminars, demos and tastings. They also post various “how to” Youtube videos relating to coffee. If I lived down here, I would definitely check out all of their resources!

[Jessica’s hands and photo idea!]

[juliascoffeetrail]

A story behind the coffee…

At this point, you might see me as an obsessed fanatic of craft coffee. I don’t blame you, considering I have blogged about over 35 different, independent coffee shops. NONE of which are large chains like Starbucks or Peet’s or drive thru- like Dutch Bros. Not one. There is a reason for that. The shops I write about always have a story. You can go inside and experience their culture. They always have their unique mark to their town/location, convey personality, taste, atmosphere, design. As a true amateur in the understanding of coffee, roast, quality, terminology, I am merely an observer, admirer of the truly hip, coffee snob. I try to take photos—sometimes they turn out cool, sometimes they don’t. And that’s okay. I don’t have a quota; I don’t calculate the number of views I get in a day or the number of “likes” I get on my latte art photo. This is for fun, a hobby, an experience. As I sit in a coffee shop today, I consider all the shops I have visited, why I haven’t gotten tired of the experience and why I am still doing this. (However, I admit, blogging all of it can be a bit of a drag. ;))

[picture by Jessica]

This is what I experience, from my perspective. Today, I sit at a high table on a stool beside my sister, who is diligently focused on her painting. The amount of detail she puts in her work is crazy. I’ve listened to people order their drink for the last few hours. The baristas announce the different drinks that come up on the bar. The baristas here have personally known likely fifty percent of the people that have walked through and have talked to them about things other than coffee. Each drink is personalized—iced, hot, blended, double shot, decaf, vanilla, lavender, mocha, tuxedo...endless personalizing options. Some people stay here with their drink and others, wearing business attire, grab their drink and rush out. Some people have been here for a couple hours visiting with a friend. Others are likely studying or reading something. The music list in this shop reminds me of “hang out and chill” playlist on Spotify. This is a welcoming, comforting place to be. Even among the constant noise and hustle of people coming in and out.

The slow development of my love for coffee. I have many memories going to get coffee with my family, sometimes all, sometimes few, sometimes one. When Jessica and I were young, my grandma would take us out for the afternoon and coffee would be a necessary part of the occasion. I can remember times in my early high school years meeting with mentors over a cup of good coffee. Some of the most meaningful, inspiring, encouraging conversations I have had, take place in a coffee shop. I can remember times, while living in California, meeting with a friend, really talking about life—past, present and forward-looking. Quality time has always meant a lot to me. So I guess you could say that meeting with me in a coffee shop is one of my very favorite things.

When we moved to Oregon, we realized that there was so much to learn and see (relating to coffee). The PNW really does coffee brilliantly! Jessica started learning how to make coffees and took pride in the latte art she would produce (it was pretty awesome). Through the end of our homeschool days into my first two years of college, my mom or Jessica would make a latte for me (most days). (I always looked forward to when they would!) We would take trips to Portland and find new coffee shops to try. Such joy and laughter my sister and I find when taking photos together with our coffee. After about 2.5 years of college, I decided to move away to a four-year university. I was saddened by the separation from family and friends, to a new, foreign-to-me town. This is when I started to see going to coffee shops in a different way. I would go to coffee shops by myself. I used this time to reflect, study and watch the hustle of the coffee shop. Since I lived by myself, I used coffee shops as my opportunity to get out of the house and be among people, even if I was anonymous. Coffee shops and the taste of good coffee continued to be an excellent choice for my days. When I would visit home or send off Jess to college in Portland, we would spend time together over coffee, as usual. This summer has been different now. I moved back home for the summer, although most of the summer has consisted of traveling the west coast. In May, I had the idea to do the coffee blog. So many of these adventures this summer have not been spent alone. Kudos to my mom who has trekked through most shops (amazing and disappointing) with me. I don’t know what the next few years of life will look like, but this has been the quick, easy version of my journey so far. (Although it hasn’t been all that easy). It’s funny that I write about “my journey” as I am sitting in Journey Coffee Co. :)

There you have it, a brief story, reason, explanation of this project//blog//life style here’s some random recent pictures from along the way...

[juliascoffeetrail]

#36 - Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters - Sacramento, CA

After a little research, I see that Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters is a New Zealand-style coffee roaster. (who knew?) According to their website, “A Chocolate Fish is a fish shaped confection, it is indigenous to New Zealand and recognized as a 'Thank You' or 'Reward' for a good deed!” Interesting! Well, even though I did not know this prior to my visit, it was still a wonderful stop!

cappuccino, latte, iced latte, cookie

Let’s all agree that this shop is neat. Yes, okay.

[juliascoffeetrail]

#35 - Companion Bakeshop - Santa Cruz, CA

Back to phone pics for this post. I was so bummed I forgot my camera! Jessica took us to this bakery/coffee shop in Santa Cruz! They use beans of Four Barrel Coffee (of San Francisco) and bake their own pastries on site.

My sister took this cool photo! ^

Since I completely forgot to take a photo of the front of the shop, this photo is from Flickr. I am disclosing full credit to the source! The user is Naoto Sato. Here’s the link to the photo... https://www.flickr.com/photos/naotoj/7359060832/

[juliascoffeetrail]

#34 - The Abbey - Santa Cruz, CA

This coffee shop is a cafe within a church called Vintage Faith. When I worked in Santa Cruz in summer of 2013, I liked to attend this church. The coffee shop, however, is open every day to the public. Their coffee shop has a great, moody atmosphere, which makes it great for studying. Check it out!

It is not unusual for Jess to photobomb my coffee photos... so here’s one. But to make up for it... I’ll post a good picture...

Good picture of my sister, right? Also, this wall of books was pretty neat! If I remember correctly, it was just a hall to the right once you passed the coffee bar.

If you’re in the area, you should check it out!

[juliascoffeetrail]

#33 - Verve Coffee Roasters - Santa Cruz, CA

Yay! I’m particularly excited to write this post. Verve Coffee Roasters of Santa Cruz is truly wonderful. Pretty much everything about it. This is possibly one of the first craft coffee spots that I ever went to... dating back to 2010 or 2011 (I think?) I spent time in Santa Cruz in 2011 and 2013 working at a summer camp and my sister has been working at camp every summer since! This was one of our favorite places to go during our break times. After you see these photos, you’ll understand why!

LOCATION #1 - Capitola, CA on 41st

LOCATION #2 - PAC AVE (Santa Cruz) {I admit, I didn’t buy coffee at this location... just pics!}

LOCATION #3 - 1010 FAIR AVE. (Santa Cruz) {this one is probably the coolest)

{This picture does not include letters: i, d, e ...  Supposed to be... West side Verve}

//picture after picture of us because we love coffee//

Here we are. Only a glimpse of how we enjoy spending time together. We bond best over coffee. ;) Thanks to our mom for taking some photos of us!

Three locations is only the beginning... There is a roastery location that we missed in Santa Cruz, locations in Hollywood and Los Angeles....even a cafe as far as Japan!

[juliascoffeetrail]

#32 - Old Town Coffee & Chocolates - Eureka, CA

Located in downtown Eureka, this vintage feel gives it such great character. They’ve maintained it so well. Their specialty--well, coffee and chocolate. Two wonderful choices... ;)

tuxedo, please