Seven Seas Roasting

Eric Dobbs is a Q-Grader, and the bags out of his San Diego roastery name their producers, Diego Bermudez's experimental-process Geisha from Cauca among them. Almost none of that reaches the board in Aliso Viejo, where one pour-over goes out with no origin attached and no roast date printed anywhere.

All four cafes pour the company's own roasts from its South Park, San Diego hub, where Q-Grader Eric Dobbs founded the program and the espresso runs a named Guatemala, Ethiopia and Brazil blend. The retail lineup spans nine coffees, from a $25.95 Ethiopia Sidamo to a $44 limited Luna Bermudez Geisha, but no product page prints a roast date.

This is the smaller room of Seven Seas’ four cafes and closer to pickup-and-go than sit-down, so the shop spent its effort on the sidewalk: a hand-lettered COFFEE panel over a red door frame, a ship-logo blade sign, four iron tables under two red umbrellas against a clipped hedge. The main decoration inside is a board of photos of the dogs that visit, which is an honest read on who the room is for.