Manzanita Roasting Company and Coffee House — Restaurant in Poway

First time I came here they gave me a great latte. The second time and what I'm drinking right now, is supposed to be a latte but it tastes like they made it with an Americano instead of an espresso shot. It looked really nice but it's very weak and tasteless. A caveat I will not go to Starbucks, I am a coffee snob Ivan roasting my own beans and making my own espressos and lattes for over 20 years. I rarely buy coffee out, but this place has a really nice atmosphere and like I said my first latte was good. For me to say a latte is good means that the espresso pull was right on. So hopefully this is a one-off, I'd really like to find a place where I can get a decent espresso pull or latte. I guess I will go back and if they want to give me a free latte I will see how that goes and if it's good I will update this review. There seem to be a lot of Happy coffee drinkers and the atmosphere is nice, so again hopefully this is an exception. Just in case wait until you take a sip to tip because I tip generously and I did for a watery latte, haha. The picture is a large by the way I don't think they really...

I visit San Diego frequently, and every time when I want to enjoy some freshly roasted beans I fail due to espresso bars' business hours (they close in the afternoons). I found this place to be open until 6pm. Even though it was 30 minute drive I took a chance after work. I am glad I did. It is in a small courtyard, part of a vineyard, with other fun activities like live music and a food truck. People sitting around relaxing with their wine glasses, or in my case with their coffee cups. I drank enough coffee that day so I had a mocha with their decaf beans. It was very flavorful, if you need in decaf beans without a big comprise on the taste this is it. I also brought back a bag of El Gaucho, their espresso blend with me. It was a medium roast, so you won't get the bold (sometimes burned) flavor which is perfect for me. It smells good, it produces good crema, and it does not stick to the basket. Employees are knowledgeable and friendly. Overall, it's a great place to get fresh beans or chill over...

I always loved Manzanita's coffee, unfortunately, I'm not sure what happened during the last two visits... My family member bought three drinks there and drove over to me. All three were terrible, so bad. It was disappointing we couldn't drink the $16+ worth of coffee. By the time we tried them, the shop was already closed so we couldn't go back. The next weekend, we went back again and mentioned there was an issue. The staff didn't offer a partial refund or anything and just had another employee make two drinks... These were not as awful as the prior time but, still, another wasted $11.

I'm unsure if it's a training issue, if they had a bad batch of beans, if they unknowingly used one of the milk alternatives, or if the machine was broken... Hopefully, someone sees this and can make sure things are checked up on. Every other visit before, the first sip of coffee was...