You will see the bikes racks in front and the funky seating...
Don't bother looking for a sign that says "Coffee". Oh no...it's simply an ampersand sign now.
Well now....
In older photos of Coffee & Tea Collective, it used to have "Coffee" for the signage but now, this uber hipster place doesn't even need real words, I suppose.
When TC and I walked in, it was pretty crowded with a diverse mixture of folks...
The decor is minimalist with artwork hung on clothespins or framed...
The dude in the red skinnies was one of the baristas. He had come out from behind the counter to give a free cup of coffee to his friend, a cyclist (his bike seen). I wish I could post a photo of his friend but I won't violate his privacy. OMFG, he was every hipster stereotype come true. Number one, he had a MOUSTACHE and it was thick and curled up at the ends, like he waxed it that way on purpose and you know he did and number two he was a cyclist and was wearing a cap, a pink shirt and bike shorts. His facial hair looked like he should have been riding one of those bikes from late 1890's with the huge front wheel. He also had a hipster girlfriend with a Bettie Page haircut, a cute little dress, colored tights, and those huge ear-hole plugs. Yikes. What's going to happen to those ear lobes when she hits 50?
As you may already know, I'm not a coffee connoisseur. I'm pretty much going into all these coffee joints with a blind eye. I don't really give a shit about "single origin" coffee or how it's brewed. I just want mine iced (insert gasps of collective horror by coffee snobs).
No pour over coffee for me today! Or ever!
We were so very lucky to even grab a spot to sit. TC snagged the last two seats where we were sandwiched between two business suited dudes and a whole table of laptop toting Asians.
I got my usual, iced coffee, which they already added cream...
I didn't even have to sweeten it either! I wanted to "tough it out" and drink it as it was. The barista who helped me was pretty nice. I didn't feel like a dumbass when ordering. I didn't get any snobby vibes at all, but I can see how this place could be intimidating. To be honest, it's not really "my scene" since I'm a tad bit antisocial.
In addition to my coffee, TC and I shared a Liege waffle...the only sweet thing they serve here.
We loved the crisp and caramelized warm waffle which was dusted with powdered sugar.
I hadn't read too much about Coffee & Tea Collective prior to coming here other than reading that they were a totally "hipster" coffee place. I recognized the name because their coffee and tea is offered at Swoon Dessert Bar (the one with the ONE douchebag chef, the darker haired one; not sure if he's still there).
It was funny reading some of the reviews on yelp about this place. Some folks absolutely LOVED it and raved about it and blah blah blah. There were others who said, "I'm from (insert coffee loving city here) and I KNOW coffee and this place sucks" or something to that effect. Reading those reviews is always good for a larf or two.
Of course, one word that kept popping up on the reviews and even on Chowhound (a site I hardly look at because it's so pretentious or people who think they're the shit) was "hipster". Many of the folks here were on the younger side (mid to late 20's and maybe some in their 30's) and probably way more hipper than me. Like an anthropologist, I still wanted to see "their" environment, ha ha.
By the time we finished, the place was even more crowded and our seats were sharked by a tattooed rocker girl in line (she had the coolest hairstyle with shades of purple and blue)...
This poster spurred me to watch all of James Dean's movies with TC later that week...
By my decree,TC must be schooled in pop culture and James Dean, of course, is one of the big guns. NOW she understands where the "You're tearing me apart!!!" line comes from, as it was spoofed in an episode of "Spongebob Squarepants" and "The Simpsons".
The knife fight from "Rebel Without a Cause", where they used REAL switchblades and wore chain mail underneath their shirts. You can also spot a very young Dennis Hopper (as one of the hoodlums) in the beginning of the video:
"I Thought only punks fought with knives!"
Who else went to Coffee & Tea Collective?
Dennis from A Radiused Corner mentioned it twice, firstly in this older post from June 2012 (where he recounted our lunch with Cathy of mmm-yoso at Sakura, and secondly, later on that summer August 2012... His photo includes an older pic of the storefront...
Coffee & Tea Collective
2911 El Cajon Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92104
(619) 564-8086
www.coffeeandteacollective.com
I would go here again, but only for the waffle. I think I'm nearly coffee'd out after checking out all these coffee joints all over San Diego!
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