Happy National Coffee Day!
Coffee is king and one of the best ways to check out a new neighborhood is to visit it's coffeehouses. Matt's a slave to iced coffee and I'm a sucker for a creamy latte, but this tour was all about the shop design. San Diego's North Park neighborhood is crawling with Insta-worthy boutiques, restaurants, & coffee shops. We picked locations that had favorable reviews and that looked aesthetically pleasing. Communal served my favorite latte of the day and Matt ranked Holsem as his #1 choice for iced coffee.
North Park Coffee Crawl
Communal Coffee is a flower shop, gift shop, and coffee shop all in one. Because of this combination and it's bright, white interiors, I was in love. Gifts, such as feminist stickers and women authored books, filled the gift shop shelves. Along with more traditional espresso offerings, Communal created delicate latte flavors like rose vanilla and lavender honey. If choosing just one latte flavor proved too difficult, patrons could order floral latte flights. Everything about Communal Coffee was perfect, and I could have easily spent all morning in this space.
Holy Matcha is an Instagram darling. The pink walls, neon sign, and matcha EVERYTHING were made for Instagram. To be honest, Matt skipped the beverages and opted for a matcha ice cream cone instead, but I really enjoyed my iced matcha latte! I tend to get anxious taking pictures in restaurants, for fear of looking like a poser, but every person in the shop was snapping photos without shame.
Matt's favorite stop on our coffee crawl was Holsem Coffee. He was really into the cold brew (all those taps!) and I think he appreciated the break from all things pink and floral. The clean lines and modern space were calming after the overload of Holy Matcha. We asked a considerable amount of questions and the baristas were very knowledgeable on flavors and techniques.
There were a handful more potential stops on our tour, but we really only had it in us to try one more cuppa joe. Dark Horse was the most intimate of the coffee shops we visited, but it was quirky and fun and the iced coffee had a bit more tang. After 4 espresso and/or iced coffee drinks, we were wired, but oh so happy to have sipped in so many beautiful coffeehouses.
North Park was one of my favorite US neighborhoods and I loved seeing a different side to San Diego, besides the conventional tourist areas like Pacific Beach or La Jolla. We loved the neighborhood so much, that we'll be sharing our other favorite spots in North Park in future posts. In the meantime, let us know your favorite neighborhoods for coffee. We're looking forward to incorporating coffee crawls into our upcoming trips.
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