Yesterday, I took the day off to spend some time with my parents...
Before meeting up with them, I made the short journey to a new coffee shop in La Mesa...
Blue Lagoon Coffee is right around the corner from Carnitas Uruapan and Craft Kitchen. Only three weeks new. I can't believe I missed this. So here I was, pretty early in the morning to give them a try.
The space is small but has a lot of natural light. There's some seating inside and more outside on their patio. The owner, Jack Harris and another barista were there the morning of my visit.
I asked for a macchiato (not on the board) and a cortado. Yes two. Don't judge.
These are my go-to espresso based drinks. The croissant is from Bread & Cie, so I knew it would be good, having enjoyed them previously at their shop in Hillcrest.
The croissant was so flaky and buttery...as it should be. The perfect thing to go with two drinks.
Both drinks were well made AND served in real ceramic glassware. Their beans are from Cat & Cloud, a roaster based in Santa Cruz (and also used by Hawthorn Coffee); it was a nice, smooth blend and not bitter like some roasts I've had at other places. The macchiato was on point. The cortado, a bit smoother due to a higher milk ratio. I forgot to get the milk subbed that morning, but at least I tried it this way first.
This was my solo jaunt yesterday. I asked Bert if we could do our weekend coffee run to Blue Lagoon which he was fine with. Other than the brief stretch of construction on the 125, the ride went smoothly.
Blue Lagoon Coffee is located on the bottom floor of this newish apartment complex called The Quarry (2015). It's on a somewhat busy stretch of Palm Ave and next to a Ukrainian church. Parking is street, NOT at the church lot.
As you may have already noticed, there's an octopus motif, which turns out is the owner's favorite creature. He was not there today but another barista, whom I recognized. Turns out she used to work at Copa Vida in East Village. I remember seeing her because she was petite and had a cute short hair style. A year or so later, when Bert and I were exploring coffee places up North, I recognized her at the Copa Vida in Sorrento Valley; in fact she is mentioned as giving us an unexpected discount on our drinks that day (I think it was because I had remembered her from the East Village location). Bottom line, she is super nice, friendly and a terrific barista.
Alas, no glassware available this morning...Mocha + capuccino & an almond pastry (Bread & Cie again):
Almond milk in both this time. Real milk is not our friend anymore.
We enjoyed our drinks at the patio outside. It was still early in the morning and the only people coming by were residents of the complex. An older couple dropped by saying that the address on yelp was wrong. The barista, Nyah came out for a tiny bit to chat with us as well.
Fashion note - Bert's Aloha shirt was from Goodwill in IB! It was a better quality shirt (since the brand was O'Neill, they were selling it a bit more than normal, $7.99). Thanks to my educator discount, it was 10% less. Hey, every little bit helps. I really liked the print and it was his size (M) so I splurged. Not bad for a brand new shirt.
Here's a close up of that almond pastry...
Yes, chock full.
There aren't any articles I could find (yet), other than a podcast on BBQ Wars. I didn't link it since the hosts, not the coffee store owner, used a lot of profanity (like A LOT).
Blue Lagoon Coffee
4330 Palm Ave, Suite 104
La Mesa, CA 91941
(858) 336-4264
www.bluelagooncoffee.com / fb page + reviews from you know where
We really liked our drinks here as well as the customer service. I hope the owner finds success in this part of town. Besides Public Square Public House, those are the two third wave coffee spots in La Mesa worth making a trip for.
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