Sure, you could get your morning joe at Starbucks or stick one of those pods in the gizmo. But wouldn’t it be more interesting to explore a coffee or tea house that offers something out of the ordinary?
Some of the newest Bay Area coffee and tea spots are pushing the creativity envelope, offering drinks such as Corn Lattes and Thai Tea Einspanners. There’s a tea house that puts poetry into their craft — quite literally — and cafes that are reinventing that ultimate coffee go-with. (We had no idea we needed a “croissubi.”)
Here are nine hot new cafes to check out when you’re looking for something special.
Moonwake Coffee Roasters, San Jose
It’s not surprising that the Moonwake coffee menu reads like a sommelier’s tasting notes. Co-owner Ming Wood is a certified Q Grader, what the Coffee Quality Institute describes as an industry professional “skilled in sensory evaluation of green coffee.” And his roasters and baristas in West San Jose know their stuff.
“How would this one” — Zarza’s Pacamara, a Double Anaerobic Thermal Shock from Colombia — “taste over ice?” I inquire on a sunny day. From behind the bar, staffer Chris opines that the notes of red currant, cabernet sauvignon and maraschino cherry should hold up well in a cold pour-over ($13). Indeed, they do.
Wood and wife Mabel Yeung, both tech industry alums, began roasting beans first for friends and neighbors, then selling at the farmers market. They now offer the full coffee experience, having transformed a former 7-Eleven, of all places, into a sleek, ultra-modern cafe with seating surrounding a live coffee tree and a glassed-in roasting station.
They scour the globe for single-estate varietals, forging relationships with farmers so they can offer taste, quality, transparency and sustainability to customers in the shop and those who order freshly roasted beans. “The variety is what we find exciting about the coffee world these days,” he says.
The cup: Latte lovers go for the Cardamom Orange Latte ($7). For pour-over and espresso fans, about four pour-overs and four types of espresso ($4, light, medium, dark, decaf) are offered daily. Drip coffee ($3.50, rotating selection) is brewed until noon daily.
The bite: Neighbor Bakehouse delivers fresh goodies every morning. The Pistachio Twice-Baked Berry Croissant is a delicious choice; try it heated up slightly.
Details: Open 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends at 1412 Saratoga Ave., San Jose. You’ll also find Moonwake on Sundays at the De Anza College farmers market in Cupertino from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., weather permitting. www.moonwakecoffeeroasters.com
Masterpiece Coffee, Berkeley
Opened last fall, this teeny North Berkeley operation should earn an award for Unlikeliest Cafe Space. Masterpiece Coffee is in the Imasala Collective, a shoebox-sized retail complex with vintage furniture and children’s goods, and is basically a minimalist kiosk overlooked by its friendly owner, Young Sun.
The coffee is equally unlikely. The star beans come from Yunnan, China, and are roasted in Fremont. (There are also Peruvian, Colombian, Ethiopian and Brazilian coffees, with plans to debut a premium line from Ecuador and Tanzania.) You can get it black or white – the latter meaning mixed with oat milk, the only form of “dairy” here – or mixed into lattes with Asian ingredients like miso, sesame and Sichuan peppercorn. Tea lovers can sip organic ceremonial matcha or hojicha, green tea that’s roasted in porcelain over charcoal.
Young worked at Devout Coffee in Fremont and Artis Coffee in Berkeley, and also founded a roasting business called Storyboard Coffee, before landing at this little spot — which, as it happens, has a lovely hidden-aura garden outside to enjoy your joe.
“My philosophy at Masterpiece Coffee is inspired by the ‘shokunin spirit’ – a focus on quality and craftsmanship,” he explains. “I want to highlight Asian flavors and Asian coffee-producing countries, creating a slow bar with an intimate setup for deeper connections with customers.”
The cup: Folks who’ve never tried Chinese coffee are in for a treat. The brew is fruity and smooth, almost creamy, a perfect backdrop for the flavors in the lattes ($7). “Our most popular drink is the ‘Kuro’ (black in Japanese) using Okinawa black sugar,” Young says. “We also have a popular ‘Shiro’ latte made with white miso and brown sugar, and a monthly rotating seasonal drink.”
The bite: The shop serves pastries from Bake Sum, an Oakland boutique bakery that highlights Asian flavors. Bake Sum makes its decadent croissants with Isigny Ste Mere butter, and does twists on classics like loco-moco danish and a croissant/Spam musubi crossover called a “croissubi.”
Details: Open 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesday-Friday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday at 1714 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley; masterpiececoffee.us
Haiku Teahouse, San Jose
“Steaming cups of change
New leaves bloom with time’s embrace
Flavors come, then drift”
That haiku poetically describes the philosophy behind a new venture from two entrepreneurial cousins, Kevin Lam (CA Bakehouse) and Tim Cheung (@bayarea.foodies blog).
Their talk of opening a creative, no-boundaries tea shop started during the pandemic, as they concentrated on restaurant catering and pop-ups. But it took a few years to bring the idea to fruition. Last August, Haiku Teahouse finally made its debut in San Jose’s Berryessa district.
The pan-Asian menu travels from Taiwan (boba) to Vietnam (coffee) to China (tea), Japan (matcha), Thailand (tea) and the Philippines (citrusy calamansi with tea) — and to South Korea and LA’s Koreatown, where a coffee drink called the Einspanner that originated in Vienna, Austria, is wildly popular. Traditionally a hot coffee topped with a generous dollop of cold, freshly whipped cream, the Haiku duo apply the concept to their Matcha, Hojicha and Thai Tea Einspanners ($7 each).
Brewed tea choices ($6.50 for 16 ounces, hot or iced) change with the tea harvest seasons. Current customer favorites include the complex 8 Immortals Oolong and the caffeine-free Chrysanthemum. Haiku’s owners and their staffers encourage customization, offering sweetness levels of light, moderate, “signature sweet” or “full sweetness.”
Young latte sippers pack the tiny tables most hours at Haiku, so you might have to wait for a spot to open. But come spring, outdoor seating will sprout on the expansive patio area.
The cup: We couldn’t resist trying the Corn Latte ($7.15), a bestseller made with corn milk, a shot of espresso, housemade corn ice cream and whipped cream. Refreshing and lightly corn-flavored on top, the drink becomes more like a Vietnamese iced coffee as the espresso and cream combine.
The bite: The Lam family’s CA Bakehouse in Little Saigon makes the guava and banana mochi cakes ($3.50). Croissants and muffins fill the rest of the pastry case.
Details: Open daily from noon to 9 p.m. at The Platform complex, 1501 Berryessa Road. Park in the back of the garage off Flea Market Drive (look for the Retail Parking sign), then take the exit walkway to the front. https://haikuteahouse.com/
Marvel Cake, Walnut Creek
Maryam Menbari and husband Reza Mirzadeh were on holiday in Paris when they fell in love with Mariage Freres tea, luxurious tea blends crafted by a French company that dates back to 1854. Mirzadeh scored a meeting with the company and, despite being told that Mariage Freres rarely sells its product for outside distribution, formed a relationship.
Today, Marvel Cake sells more than a dozen flavors of Mariage Freres teas, including blue teas, which combine the sweetness of green tea with the gentle flavors of black tea.
It’s been a big hit at Marvel Cake. The couple opened the first location in Campbell in 2020, offering teas and pastries baked by Maryam who had been baking cakes for friends, families and corporate clients out of her home kitchen for years. In 2023, they opened a second location in Palo Alto and the Walnut Creek shop has been open since January. Customers can create specialty advance orders or stop by for a relaxing afternoon with French tea and a tart.
The cup: Try any of the blue teas ($6), like the Paris in Love, with flavors of rose and red fruits. The coffee drinks are made from espresso by San Francisco-based SightGlass Coffee.
The bite: The viral spiral croissant ($7.50) made Marvel Cake famous. The couple spotted one in New York City, then decided to bring it to the West Coast. Before they knew it, two-hour-long lines were forming and every local news station was doing stories on the circular croissants that have a crunchy, flaky outside and creamy inside filled with pistachio, chocolate, hazelnut, strawberry or matcha.
Details: Open 9 a.m to 7 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday at 1496 Newell Ave. in Walnut Creek; marvelcake.com.
Temp & Time, Menlo Park
Hidden behind the Drunken Monk, a Japanese izakaya that opened in early 2024, this new dessert shop and cafe in Menlo Park specializes in Asian-inspired roll cakes and Basque cheesecakes, plus creative teas and coffee.
The cup: With an abundance of tea drinks to sample, it’s hard to pick just one, but the matcha strawberry latte ($6.50) is art in a cup. Housemade strawberry puree is layered atop creamy milk, then vibrant green matcha, yielding a drink that looks as good as it tastes.
The bite: Basque cheesecake or roll cake? It’s a tough call. Best get both. The classic Basque-style burnt-top cheesecake ($7.50) is creamy and rich; the hojicha roll cake ($6.50) pairs a fluffy cake exterior with dense, creamy green tea filling and flavor. Both are perfect for an afternoon teatime pick-me-up.
Details: Open 12-6 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday at 1438 El Camino Real, Menlo Park; tempandtimecafe.com.
Proyecto Diaz Coffee, Oakland
This West Oakland spot, opened in early 2024, goes deep on the coffees of Latin America. “We’re one of the few – potentially only — cafes in the Bay Area that historically and currently grows coffee. We come from a long line of coffee growers and have a family coffee farm in Oaxaca, Mexico,” says Fernando Diaz, who owns this coffeehouse with his wife, Hannah-Love Diaz.
Customers can get a taste of those Mexican beans as well as coffee from Nicaragua, Bolivia and Colombia, prepared at Proyecto Diaz’s roastery about a mile away. The preparations range from standard – pour-over, cappuccino, mocha – to Mazapan latte made with peanut candy, nitro cold brew and Americola with espresso and Mexican Coke.
The cafe boasts an airplane hangar-like space outside to enjoy your java, though it’s fun to sit inside with its wealth of colorful artifacts, prints and pottery. “We highlight and curate different Latin American elements,” says Diaz. “We treat the space as a pseudo-museum that teaches about different elements of the Latin American diasporas.”
The cup: Cafe de Olla Latte ($6) is the most popular drink and is made with clove, cinnamon and the raw-sugar piloncillo. A pour-over menu highlights extra-special coffees like the family farm’s and top-lot gesha. During winter months, there’s a rotating menu of atoles ($5.75) – a hot Mesoamerican drink thickened with masa – and in summer, the house dairy-free horchata ($5.75) should hit the spot.
The bite: The pan de elote ($5) from the local Tutuli bakery is a delicious and moist cornbread puck, threaded through with a corn husk. There are tamales ($6) in chicken, cheese-green chile and sweet-corn form, conchas from San Francisco’s Florecita Panaderia and flan from Richmond’s Michoacan Burgers. Scan the shelves for other fun treats like cactus sticks and chile-lime crickets.
Details: Open 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Saturday at 1416 20th St., Oakland; proyectodiazcoffee.com.;
Lac Coffee, Newark
This artisanal coffee and matcha shop is all about the concept of lost and found. Its name, Lac, means lost in Vietnamese, but its slogan, “You have found happiness,” suggests that you’ll find something joyful here. And that was definitely true on a recent visit sipping tasty caffeinated beverages and enjoying a comfortable study and work space and excellent vibes.
The cup: With coffee beans sourced directly from Vietnam and matcha direct from Japan, it’s hard to go wrong, but the house cream matcha ($6.95) is especially sweet, earthy and refreshing.
The bite: Look for small munchies on the menu like a pretzel croissant with bacon and onion or a lemon poppyseed muffin.
Details: Opens at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday-Friday, 8 a.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. Sunday at 39658 Cedar Blvd. in Newark; lac-coffee.com.
Junbi Matcha & Tea, Livermore
Laid off from her corporate job in 2022, Denise Leung decided it was time to chase her entrepreneurial dreams. The Los Angeles native thought about her favorite tea place back home — Junbi, which focuses on matcha-based cold drinks made with fresh exotic fruit puree — and realized: “There’s nothing like that here in the Tri-Valley.”
It took a while to find the right location, but Junbi finally opened in Livermore in January, taking over the space formerly occupied by Gong Cha, which sold Taiwanese milk tea. Junbi offers a variety of fruit-based matcha teas ($6.50 to $7) that range from yuzu dragonfruit to taro vanilla to the seasonal sea salt caramel banana tea. Leung soon plans to offer hot teas as well as Junbi’s specialty matcha soft serve ice cream.
The cup: The most popular drinks include a guava matcha latte and strawberry matcha latte and the Dirty Matcha, which includes a shot each of espresso and matcha. Top those drinks with boba, lychee bits, aloe, chia seeds or housemade almond jelly bites for added oomph.
The bite: Onigiri rice balls ($4.25) look like little sushi bites made with seaweed, white rice and salmon, snow crab or mentaiko inside.
Details: Open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily at 3046 W. Jack London Blvd. in Livermore; junbishop.com.
Goodthing Cafe, Burlingame
Come for the cake, stay for the coffee. This cafe, launched by husband-wife duo Vincent Gu and pastry chef Shuo Yang, opened in the fall and regularly sells out of Yang’s cheesecakes – so consider paying a visit on the earlier side of their opening hours.
The cup: The cafe is known for its Pistachio Einspanner ($8) — and it’s great — but the guihua oat milk latte ($7.50) is the most striking. Made with osmanthus flowers and syrup and paired with single-origin espresso, it’s smooth and sweet, with floral jasmine notes. Overall, Goodthing is focused on serving light roast coffees made with beans imported from Sweden, Netherlands and France.
The bite: Go for the popular Hokkaido milk and matcha yuzu cheesecake.
Details: Open 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday at 341 Primrose Road, Burlingame.