Theory Coffee Roasters — Restaurant in Mount Shasta

I’ve been here a few times and I have to give multiple stars for the kouign amanns which are excellent and not commonly seen in cafes. The staff (for the first year or two at least) was always pleasant. I don’t recognize many of the current staff so I’m not sure if it’s a seasonal shift or a turnover.

A few reasons for lost stars though: (1) they often run out of baked goods somewhat early and on other days (like today) the fly chilling out on the pastries is rather off putting. (2) zero noise absorption in the ceiling or walls so it gets pretty noisy even when not super crowded. (3)for some reason this cafe seems super resistant to offering drinks in mugs even though there are numerous ones stacked up and ready on the espresso machine. Knowing from prior visits that they default to to-go cups, I specifically requested if I could have a mug and the person taking my order said that was no problem. When I went to get my drink, the barista had made it in a to-go cup. I let her know I ordered it in a mug (I honestly would have been fine if she’d just swirled some hot water in one of the MANY clean mugs sitting right in front of her and chucked the drink into it), but instead she told me that they are only doing to-go cups. Which is ridiculous if the person who took my order said a mug would be fine. It is a completely different experience sipping from a ceramic cup versus a to-go cup and if I’m paying $7 (plus a tip), I would expect the more pleasant option, especially as I specified that it was available before ordering. And would have ordered something else if her answer had been no. Very frustrating.

I do like the fireplace, the seasonal variety of available drinks, and the option of a reasonably large sit down cafe right here in town. They could and should do a lot better on basic customer service though so 3...

I asked for half ice late, the girl didn't even care to write that down. Then the latte came empty and no ice..... i am not sure how they call themselves coffe roasters when a cup of coffee is full of ice literally the entire cup is ice which after 15 min you will be drinking water with your coffee. Then that old employee go tells the cashier I am trying to get more of my drink by removing half of the ice. You should never be a je* and fill your customers their drinks with ice. They are buying a drink not water or ice. You don't know what coffee taste like which is the only reason I would assume you tell her that or fill your customers latte with the whole cup of ice. This is 7$ for 16oz drink latte which literally cost less than 1$ to make without ice.

No i don't recommend them at all. I have no idea how they got positive feedback but they are absolutely ridiculous and the only one in the area which seems to...

11/21: I tried Theory Coffee in downtown Mount Shasta, CA and it was amazing coffee and the latte art was cute! I rated it 4 stars because I ordered a $3 latte, but added one pump of sweetener and changed the milk to almond milk and the new total was $10.50...this is for a 12oz drink. (Starbucks venti drinks are not even that expensive). I double-checked with the barista that the price was correct and she confirmed it. I paid for it anyway as a one-time thing to try it but I don't think I will again. The coffee was delicious, but the markup was a bit shocking.

12/5 UPDATE: Since this review, I have been in the shop a few times and everything has been the correct price and there have been no huge mark-ups. I'm not sure if someone saw this review or if the staff is now fully trained, but I'm happy to notice the change!! The coffee is truly delicious and you should definitely try it if you...