Better Buzz Coffee Fashion Valley — Restaurant in San Diego

Free Garbage Coffee. After my experience here, I'm convinced the only way this weird bean shack is still open is because it's one of the only places to get coffee in Fashion Valley that isn't Starbucks.

Once we got to the front of the line, our order was taken quickly. That's the only positive thing I can say about the whole expierence. After this, I stood in front of the register for about five minutes while some blonde-moustached hipster mutant pushed buttons without making eye contact or ringing me up. Five minutes. I even tried talking to him and was ignored.

At that point, I'd tried to pay multiple times and it was apparently giveaway hour (this was around 1:30pm, worth keeping in mind). I walked to the other side of the cart and noticed a horrible smell coming from a rag that was being used on all the counters. It smelled like swamp water.

Eventually our apparently free coffee showed up. No indication anyone was keeping track of the till, so these guys must be hemorrhaging lost revenue. Maybe this place is a money-laundering front for a trustfund mob collective? Who knows.

Our coffee was disgusting. Burnt roast charcoal espresso and the mint infused abomination my fiancee order tasted like it had been made by soaking a bunch of expired andes mints in spoiled milk.

TL;DR: Not worth it even if they for some reason don't take your money. These people are bad...

This coffee spot came highly recommended, and the line that was 10-15 people deep confirmed that it was worth a try

The menu offers a wide variety of classic coffee options with a Better Buzz twist. There are many seasonal and flavored drinks, you can choose hot vs cold on most drink options, and there are various drink sizes. You can also add additional shots of espresso

I tried the coconut flavored Best Drink Ever and the Hazelnut Divinity. Neither were incredibly sweet, which I appreciate. I’m not a huge hazelnut fun, but the taste was subtle and enjoyable

The storefront is trendy and modern, and it was very busy, but the counter and area was a little messy. It took several minutes or more to get our drink order, and that appeared to be par for the course. I also saw that a couple drinks orders didn’t have their lids firmly put on

Some tips: Obviously, this location is in a high-end shopping mall. So, enjoy your drink as you pursue the shops. Also, Better Buzz has a rewards program. So, sign up and start earning points...

I love, love, LOVE this coffee shop! The first time I tried it, my friend picked up a mango smoothie for me. It was supposed to have Red Bull in it, but they had run out and used their own custom energy drink instead. Not only was the mango smoothie absolutely delicious, but they even gave me the leftover energy drink in a separate little cup. Let me tell you—I’m a huge fan of Red Bull and its flavors, but their energy drink was next level. It tasted better than any energy drink I’ve ever had!

Of course, I had to go back and try more, and now I’m hooked on their energy drinks. They cost about the same as other energy drinks, but I wish I could buy them in bulk online! The lady at the shop said they don’t offer that yet, but I really hope they start soon because I need more of that in my life.

Their smoothies are amazing, their energy drinks are out of this world, and they have a great selection of other drinks too. Highly recommend checking them out—you...