Review of Better Buzz

I have mentioned before that I vacation at a particular little beach town in near San Diego, CA. Encinitas is my absolute favorite place to be. It has grown quite a bit, but has maintained its small town feel. Over the last two years, the little town has had an explosion of great coffee. They went from none to four, real quick. I have tried all of them. My most recent was Buzz.

Buzz Coffee (http://www.betterbuzzcoffee.com/home)  is on the coastal highway, next to my favorite diner. I was on my skateboard and I'm barely good enough at skating to carry my lunch, let alone hot coffee. So I hit it that night after dinner.

My first impression was really just awe. It was the best designed coffee shop I had ever been in. Now, I have been in some that I really liked, but this one felt like a designer had come in themed the whole thing. I mean the name, to the tile floor, to the "B" in the table, everything worked.

One of my favorite aspects was the bar. It was a horseshoe in the middle of the building so there was seating all around. This is a design I really like. It has that first point of contact, but then files people to either side depending on what they order. I think it opens up the opportunity for barista interaction.

Speaking of which, This was the best barista experience I have had since my time at Portola, down in Old Town Orange County. She was super sweet and actually had opinions and shared them with me. I appreciated her and spending the time to make my experience great.

Now to the coffee...

This was my very first experience with Nitro. I saw they had it and absolutely had to have one. Looking back on this, I realize not everyone states exactly what their cold brew/nitro is. I liked that they told me it was a Kenya Nyeri Peaberry. The coffee was seriously intense, it really does make it almost a porter. The body is creamy (from the nitro) and tasted strongly of dark chocolate with just a hint of berry.

I also ordered a hot coffee....which I remember was a pour over...and I remember thinking it was good...but I was so excited about trying Nitro that I have totally forgotten. I also didn't take any notes on it, which is weird. I normally send myself notes so I don't forget. Oh, well, I'll just have to go back!

Overall, I strongly recommend this coffee shop. It was a cool spot to hang out and had great coffee.