Spectra Coffee — Restaurant in San Jose

This was my first experience at Spectra. The day was going to be over 100 degrees, so it was imperative to go someplace cool. The moment I stepped inside, the light décor instantly hit the spot.

There was only one person working behind the counter when I entered, and she was busy with another order, so, not knowing how things proceeded in this place, I must've looked lost because a customer told me to enter my order on an electronic device at the counter. But before I could, the girl behind the counter finished and turned to greet me and ask what I want. (So I have no idea what the customer was talking about. Anyway, the device turned out to be where I paid with my card!) I gave the girl my order (iced coffee), and she asked me if I wanted cream in it.

And that threw me! I have NEVER been asked that before. Admittedly, I don't frequent coffee bars (can't stand Starbucks and have only tried Peets twice), but I have ordered iced coffee at restaurants and fast-food joints (even made some when I worked at JitB), and NEVER have I been asked if I wanted cream. So, of course, I said no. (I don't drink cream. Milk is just fine.)

When my order came up, it was BLACK coffee with ice in it! Instantly, I figured out what she was asking. Apparently, here, iced coffee is BLACK coffee with ICE. If you want the typical look/tatste of milk-based iced coffees, you need to answer, "Yes, please," to her inquiry about cream!

Well, I'm not a big gourmet coffee drinker. I don't even really do coffee at all. I have a cup in the morning, and I only drink decaf! I actually prefer tea. So I REALLY dislike BLACK coffee! I mean, "gag" dislike. However, instead of getting her to add cream, I just took my coffee (and added A LOT of sweetener, which didn't help counteract the bitter flavor of undiluted coffee) and drank it.

So that's my first experience at Spectra. One I will NEVER forget. And one I will NEVER repeat. Oh, not because I'll never return. I wasn’t upset or anything. No, I just mean that if I return, I will be CERTAIN to seize the offer of "cream?" when...

On part 13958284 of my journey of supporting local businesses around my area… what other coffee shop could beat Spectra Coffee? I’ve been here a couple of times, and wanted to give it a try after not having come here for… about two months I think?

Here’s my experience this time around —

Food: 5/5 We came at around 1:30 in the afternoon, shortly after lunch rush hour reeled. To my surprise, I didn’t expect that there was less people than I anticipated. My friend and I got the banana cream latte, the iced vanilla latte with oat milk, and the apple strudel turnover — because they had ran out of the apple crossaints already (which, by the way, are REALLY good and I recommend you get them when you go!). The banana cream latte was just right — it wasn’t too creamy, neither nutty. It had just the right amount and consistency of dairy and everything surrounding it. The oat milk latte, according to my friend, was really taken to a whole new level — the coffee was just right for her too. The apple strudel turnover was just right — the crust was golden and it wasn’t burnt at all. Even an hour later, it felt warm and toasty and still gave that aroma out.

Service: 5/5 The people working at the bar and at cash register were really understanding and gave me recommendations — which I should thank them for because it isn’t easy to choose especially when there’s plenty of options to choose from.

Atmosphere: 3/5 Now… this is one I have to talk about. In terms of studying environment, this one can be a hit or miss at times. The parking situation can be quite messy because it’s conveniently located next to a pho place, Trader Joe’s, and Costco. There are also a lot of people in the coffee shop trying to be productive, so at times, they can get quite stubborn to let you sit next to them. I wish I could do something about this… but unfortunately, this is the reality we all have to face sometimes.

I’d definitely come...

The cashier greeted me, my iced cappuccino tasted wonderful… but they forgot to give me the pastry we ordered. So I gently reminded them that I’m still waiting for the pastry. Their response was “ Oh, I forgot!” And they proceeded to put the pastry in the toaster oven. I waited again, and they were preoccupied in talking to someone, a friend they carried a conversation with for the last 25 minutes. And again they forgot to take the pastry out of the toaster. I was puzzled as it was not a busy time in the café (3:45pm on a Saturday). I walked up to the counter, smiled and pointed to the toaster and asked, “ could I get my pastry out of the oven?” The girl behind the counter stop talking to her friend and grumbly proceeded to take it out of the oven. Unhappily, she placed it in a bag and hand it over to me - unfortunately 2 pieces. I receive no apology for either the first time they forgot, nor the second time. This was not my first time in this store. I really do like their food and latte…but I would like to urge the management to please re-train your employees to be more customer service oriented, or at least aware of their responsibilities to your paying customers. If I receive a positive response for this review, I will happily renege my rating. I would love to see more neighborhood cafés with this variety and quality of food but more over would strongly recommend working on the quality of service. I believe it go along way in...