Recent revisits to Holsem Coffee

I loved the coffee and atmosphere at Holsem so much that we later went back the next day, which was Mother's Day.


I wanted Bert to give this place a try...

TC wasn't feeling it for any of their non coffee drinks so we got her boba later on that day at K Sandwiches.  Unlike the day before when it was grey, gloomy and wet, it was clear, beautiful and sunny like it should be in good ole San Diego (although we desperately need the rain).

I felt lame. The doors clearly said 'PUSH' but yet I PULLED.  Duh on me! Vice versa for the other side. WTF man.

Bert tried the specialty drink, The Woods while I had the Banana bread iced coffee.

Tempting pastries both sweet and savory from downtown's Bake Sale. We refrained during this visit.

The handsome barista...

Floating shelves...

Black and white art work and although it's hard to see, authentic Eames chairs (you'll see better photos of the chairs at the end of this post).

One of the other baristas made my drink in a cocktail shaker. Very cool indeed.

Banana nut cold brew made with housemade banana milk (what!) and Bert's The Woods. Because we thought we were going to take it to go, they served it to us in plastic and paper cups. I was a bit bummed because I thought my drink would have chocolate shavings on top (as seen on Instagram, ha ha).


While the striped paper straws look cute and all, if you are a straw biter like me, it's not so great.

Bert's drink was so interesting - it had maple syrup, nutmeg, sea salt, maple bitters and homemade hazelnut milk (double what!). The flavors were so different for a coffee drink. He really enjoyed it.


Not content to just two visits, we visited again last weekend. It turned out to be the same weekend as the North Park Arts Festival. I'd forgotten/didn't realize it until I saw the barricade on 30th off the University Ave exit.

We ended up parking several blocks away on Grim St.

This time we would try a few more items other than drinks. TC wanted to try the savory brown rice porridge.

This time I had the Nutella cold brew drink while Bert had the Baklava.

I seriously want to try almost everything on their drinks menu (except for that lavender one because lavender = horrid baby lotion or potpourri).

We got the three items you see here. The egg pastry by the way did NOT have a runny yolk; it was baked and solid! The puff pastry for that and the galette was so flaky! The savory scone was also excellent.

Outside we sat with my crushed hazelnut rimmed Nutella iced coffee drink, while waiting for Bert and the savories.


TC's cucumber mint cooler. Talk about green!

Bert's Baklava drink which had anise, nutmeg, date syrup and milk (in his case, subbed with almond milk). Pretty. I wasn't as enamored with this one because of the spices but nevertheless points for offering something that other coffee shops don't have.

Our breakfast items:




Digging in...


Ham surprise! Loved how this egg yolk was baked and NOT runny, thank goodness!

TC really liked that porridge. It was a bit too "soft" for my liking. The smell of the fresh parmesan curls was kind of strong too. She liked the flavors of the meat, eggs, and green onions, although the proscuitto she said had to be enjoyed little by little since it was pretty salty.

Here is a recent article:
"Holsem Coffee Opens", Paul from SD Urban, May 17, 2015 (you can see better interior shots from his post, especially the Eames chairs and the handsome barista)

My previous visit:
The Day Before!

On the way back to the car, I snapped this shot of a painted utility box:

which is definitely by the same artist who did the boxes near Off the Record

(photo from my "Off the Record on University" post, February 2011)

and another one seen in Mission Hills:

(from my "Heartwork Coffee Bar" post, January 2015)

I'm sure we will be back to Holsem to try out their other specialty coffees. I'm especially interested in L'orange...

Update - I went today and tried it!

I had some exchange time for work and used it wisely to leave early, heh heh. Errands needed to be done since the next few weeks will be busy with the school year winding down.

Here's a photo of those vintage Eames chairs for ya.  I was able to snag a seat inside by a window. Score yeah.  But alone. Boo.


When I picked up my drink, the barista (a different one) said, "It's almost done...wait for it"....while he scraped off some rind, twisted it so that the juice/oil would flavor the top of the drink, then placed the rind on the saucer.


This was my savory scone with the cappuccino drink called L'Orange which had caramelized orange, Madagascar vanilla and milk (subbed with almond milk).


The drink was just so beautiful. I could really taste the orange flavor in there. Real. Not that fake syrup shit. It was a bit on the bitter side but I didn't add any extra sugar. I can take it, I tell you, I can take it!

Loved the melted cheese on top of this tasty scone which had caramelized onions within along with even more cheese!


The appearance of my new glasses, which are still purple. I can't seem to get away from funky colored specs.

This was a great little snack to enjoy this afternoon before doing the bulk of my errands this afternoon.

Hot off the press, Darlene's write up on Zagat SD:
"4 reasons why Holsem Coffee will be your favorite hangout" May 22,2015

I still want to try the coconut iced coffee and I wouldn't mind having the banana nut bread iced coffee again, this time in an actual glass instead of a paper cup.  I just realized I combined three visits in this post. I hardly ever do that, but figured, it's more efficient that way. Looking forward to my next visit here...