Shrine Coffee — Restaurant in Santa Cruz

What a delightful surprise! I’ve lived in Santa Cruz county for over 30 years and explored this area extensively, but it wasn’t until my devoutly Catholic friend and I were walking West Cliff & she said “let’s get coffee at St Joseph’s!” And I thought maybe they served free coffee and donuts in the back of the chapel or something. Tucked in the back of the parking lot is a lovely space with an outdoor patio and a full service coffeehouse. The people working there are friendly and warm and the coffee is outstanding. There are other great specialty beverages and various pastries and snacks. We got our beverages and split an absolutely divine (see what I did there?) banana butter cake. On a cold day, one can inside on a big velvet sofa in front of a fireplace. Wonderful! I love that - so far - only locals know about it. For the merchant’s sake, however, I hope they can stay in business because I will be a...

First off, readers should know that I am an espresso lover but a demanding one. My favorite espresso drink in the US is a cortado, similar to a cappuccino but with less milk. I like this drink made so the acidity of the coffee is tempered by the steamed milk. I appreciate a smooth texture overall and definitely don't want it too hot! Of course the beans are fundamental, and my standard is Illy medium roast. There are many, many good artisanal and boutique manufacturers; the particular brand is less important than the type of bean and the degree of roast. Anyway, Shrine Coffee was delicious, by my standards. They served it in a nice thick glass, tinted dark blue. One of our party had a small cappuccino and liked it. The setting is absolutely stunning. The shop occupies an annex to a church, to whose beautiful garden the coffee shop opens. If you're a coffee buff new to Santa Cruz, definitely...

I don't leave many reviews, but this time I have to. I have Rancilio Silvia espresso machine at home which I mastered over time and make great espresso drinks which are better than 95% of all coffee shops I have ever tried over 10 years so far while being away from home. Shrine makes espresso drinks which sure get into those 5% for my taste and are very close to what I get at home with my espresso machine. Beans they use are medium roast it seems as I didn't notice that nasty oily shine and they are fresh enough so I smell and taste the aroma. I observed their barista technique and no surprise it yields good result. Likely they keep the machine clean too. Keep going and thanks for two good morning...