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Specialty Coffee Guide

@specialtycoffeeguide_

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Your guide to the best specialty coffee shops
Making specialty coffee more accessible
9+: A+
8.1-8.9: B+/A-
7.0-8.0: B-/B

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

by @specialtycoffeeguide_

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2 months ago

Hi, we’re Margarita and Tyler, the faces behind SD Coffee Guide! ☕️🤎

We started this page because of our shared love for specialty coffee and exploring San Diego. What began as a fun weekend hobby has turned into an amazing journey of meeting passionate baristas, trying incredible roasts, and connecting with all of you!

If you’re new here, our goal is simple: to be your go-to guide for San Diego’s best specialty coffee. Every week we drop a new comprehensive review using our scoring guide to help you decide where to get your next morning cup.

Swipe left to get to know us better!

JOIN THE JOURNEY: We’re on a mission to review every specialty coffee shop in San Diego so you never have to settle for a mediocre cup again. Make sure you follow to find your next favorite spot with us! taken in San Diego, California by @specialtycoffeeguide_

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7 months ago

The top cortados of the 1st half of 2026. What is your favorite place to grab a Cortado? Drop in the comments ⬇️

#coffeeguide #specialtycoffee #specialtycoffeeshop #sandiegoliving #coffeelover taken in San Diego, California by @specialtycoffeeguide_

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3 months ago

🚨 THE 1H 2026 SIGNATURE LATTE RANKING IS HERE! 🚨

We’ve officially rechecked every single review from the first half of 2026 to bring you the definitive list of the TOP 10 SIGNATURE LATTES in San Diego! ☕️✨

Margarita has been on a mission to find the most creative, balanced, and delicious signature drinks in the city. From Rikka Fika’s incredible cafe cream top to Provecho’s reigning piloncillo perfection, these are the must-try drinks for any coffee lover.

👇 WE WANT TO KNOW:
1️⃣ Which of these have you tried?
2️⃣ What is the ONE signature drink in SD that we missed and MUST review next?
3️⃣ Tag your favorite coffee date in the comments!

💾 SAVE this post for your next coffee run and FOLLOW @sdcoffeeguide for weekly reviews!

#sandiegocoffee #specialtycoffee #coffeereview #bestofsandiego #lattelover taken in San Diego, California by @specialtycoffeeguide_

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3 months ago

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2 months ago

There are plenty of great coffee shops around San Diego that don’t get nearly as much attention as the usual names.

These 5 are all a little off the beaten path, and each brings something different to the local coffee scene. All are well worth going out of your way to check out.

What other SD coffee shops belong on the hidden gems list?

#coffee #sdcoffee #sandiegocoffee #sdeats #specialtycoffee taken in San Diego, California by @specialtycoffeeguide_

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2 months ago

Review No. 32: @loftycoffeeco 📍Encinitas

Margarita and I visit top specialty cafes to help everyday coffee drinkers find their next favorite spot. We dig into the story behind each place, the people who built it, and most importantly, how the coffee ACTUALLY tastes (you can’t buy us off 😉)

The ratings:
☕️ Cortado: 8.9/10
🧊 Margarita’s Iced Caramel Latte: 7.9/10

The place:
Lofty was started in 2011 by Eric Myers as a corner cafe on Coast Hwy 101, built around organic, locally sourced ingredients and coffee roasted with intention. It’s grown into a small San Diego chain, and it’s still where surfers, remote workers, and families overlap all day long.

The space:
Plenty of outdoor seating soaks up the coast highway energy, and there’s a whole shelf of brewing gear and merch to shop while you wait. The real showstopper is the driftwood cold brew tree by the window, glass vessels dripping down through branches like a science experiment crossed with art installation.

Additional info:
📍 97 N Coast Hwy 101
🕐 7am-4pm daily
🛍️ Merch and brewing gear available

Have you been to Lofty? Let us know your go-to order below ☕ taken in Encinitas, California by @specialtycoffeeguide_

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2 months ago

Four stops, four moods, one route worth saving.

Start at Marta, take your time at Lovesong, keep the momentum going at Genteel, then finish at Murî with a coffee and homemade dessert 🍮

This is not a route to rush. Pick a free day, bring the friend who never says no to coffee, and let each stop stretch the day out a little longer.

Marta → Lovesong → Genteel → Murî
@marta.sandiego
@lovesongcoffee
@genteelcoffee
@muri.cafe

📌Save this for your next San Diego coffee crawl, then tag the person you are taking with you.

#SanDiegoCoffee #SDCoffee #SanDiegoEats #SanDiegoFoodie #CoffeeGuide CoffeeTour SpecialtyCoffee SupportLocalSD NorthParkSD

Which stop are you starting at: Marta, Lovesong, Genteel, or Murî? taken in San Diego, California by @specialtycoffeeguide_

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2 months ago

Review No. 31: FRIENDS OF FRIENDS @friendsoffriends.sd
📍National City

Welcome to SD Coffee Guide. Every week, we visit one San Diego cafe to help you discover exceptional coffee. We never accept free drinks or payment for reviews (you can’t buy us off 😉)

Friends of Friends is actually three businesses under one roof, and that’s the point. Grab coffee in the morning, come back for a smash burger and a beer at night.

THE RATINGS:
⭐️ CORTADO (Tyler): 9.2/10
☕️ PILONCILLO LATTE (Margarita): 9.0/10

THE PLACE:
Friends of Friends opened in 2024, co-founded by Marco Laguna and chef Brandon James-Keeper, who wanted to build the hangout South Bay never had growing up. It’s actually three separate businesses sharing a building: the coffee and beer bar, Wavy Burgers next door, and 10K Coffee Lab, a roasting workspace for local coffee entrepreneurs. The idea is you drift between them all day, coffee in the morning, then back for Wavy’s smash burgers and a beer at night. Laguna is a coffee veteran from Public Square Coffee in La Mesa, and the menu leans Mexican, South American, and Filipino, made from housemade syrups. Wavy also serves breakfast burritos and sandwiches, a Portobello sandwich called the Porto Burg, loaded tots, and housemade ice cream like matcha strawberry and peanut butter miso. Together they sit on East 8th Street, in a National City stretch becoming a real food and coffee destination.

THE SPACE:
The vinyl lounge, called Pour Music Taste, is anchored by a mural from local artist Nicholas Danger and a wall of records doubling as a DJ booth. A backlit Friends of Friends sign presides over vaulted wood beam ceilings and exposed orange trusses, with plants hanging everywhere. Tables are topped in a collage of coasters from other San Diego breweries and bars. Seating on the Wavy side skips power outlets on purpose, since the owners wanted it to feel like a hangout, not a study hall.

📍 127 E 8th St, National City
🐾 Dog friendly
🕐 M-Th 7-5, Fri-Sun 7-8

#specialtycoffeeshop #specialtycoffee #specialtycoffeeroaster
#nationalcity #nationalcitycoffee taken in National City, California by @specialtycoffeeguide_

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2 months ago

Guess the coffee shop🧐

Full review on the mystery shop drops tmr morning. Don’t miss it, this one’s gooooood 😎😋😏😉 by @specialtycoffeeguide_

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2 months ago

Colombia needs our support right now. Many of the coffees we love begin there, and after the recent earthquake, we want to show up for the communities behind every cup.

We’re directing this fundraiser to Direct Relief, a humanitarian aid organization that works in all 50 states and more than 90 countries to improve health outcomes for people affected by poverty and emergencies. Its disaster-response work delivers requested medical resources to local healthcare partners when they are needed most.

Tap the fundraiser link on this post and donate now. Every dollar donated through the fundraiser equals one entry in our giveaway. Four supporters will each win one $50 gift card from Yipao, Torque, Ultreya, or Klatch Coffee. The more you donate, the more entries you earn, while keeping it fair: one gift card maximum per person.

🚨It has come to our attention that we CANNOT see who has donated and the dollar amount donated. If you donate PLEASE send a screenshot to @sdcoffeeguide DMs showing your name and amt donated so we can keep track for the giveaway.

No donation is too small. Donate, share this post, and tag someone who believes coffee communities should show up for one another. Let’s turn care into action and help Colombia rebuild.

#supportcolombia #directrelief #coffeecommunity #fundraiser by @specialtycoffeeguide_

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2 months ago

Coffee shops worth trying:
@candtcollective
@shepherdscoffeeco
@beauristacoffee
@muri.cafe
@chancescoffeesd

📌 Save this post for your next coffee run taken in San Diego, California by @specialtycoffeeguide_

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