Curated
Vigilante Coffee Company interior

Vigilante Coffee Company

Open
closes 6 PM
Neighborhood
Vista
Roaster
In-house
Food
Coffee only

Curator’s note

The other half of this building is a cannabis dispensary, and the founder's view is that the two go hand in hand. Ten percent of the profits from the DANK coffee and merch line go to Families Against Mandatory Minimums, so the pun is paying for something.

The Curated Order
The drink
Tin Lizzie Espresso Blend

Vigilante's signature espresso blend: washed Brazil, Giling Basah Sumatra, and natural Ethiopia lots roasted for a heavy body with deep chocolate and caramel tones.

The coffee

The house coffee is roasted nine miles south in Oceanside on a Loring the company calls Silver Surfer, and the Kalita Wave rotates single origins beside the Tin Lizzie espresso blend and one bought-in guest, the Colombian decaf Madre Laura from Campesino Coffee. Bag pages carry the producer, the varietal, the process and the altitude, down to Jorge Cruz Rubio's black honey San Pacho at 1,750 meters in Ahuachapán, though not one of them prints a roast date.

The beansCurrent lineup
  • Dank

    Guatemala and Ethiopia, Acatenango and Yirgacheffe · 1,700-1,800 m

    Roast
    Medium
    Varietals
    Pache, Heirloom
    Process
    Champagne Yeast Natural (Guatemala), Natural (Ethiopia)

    green apple · honeysuckle · red grape · creamy mouthfeel · chocolatey finish

  • Costa Rica El Cristobal Anaerobic NaturalPour-over

    Costa Rica, Chirripó · 1,450-1,500 m

    Roast
    Light
    Varietals
    Caturra
    Process
    Anaerobic Natural
    Producer
    Cafe Rivense del Chirripó

    berry aroma · bubblegum · pomelo orange · roasted macadamia

  • Tin Lizzie Espresso Blend

    Brazil, Sumatra, Ethiopia

    Roast
    Medium-dark
    Varietals
    Yellow Bourbon, Andung Sari, Heirloom
    Process
    Washed, Giling Basah, Natural
    Producer
    Capim Seco, Kerinci, Hadeso

    chocolate · toasty · sweet · full bodied · lingering

  • Kenya KiamugumoPour-over

    Kenya, Kirinyaga · 1,600 m

    Roast
    Light
    Varietals
    Ruiru 11, SL28, Batian
    Process
    Washed

    sweet tea · crème brûlée · cherry cola · nectarine

  • El Salvador Las Veraneras Black Honey

    El Salvador, Ahuachapán · 1,750 m

    Roast
    Light
    Varietals
    San Pacho
    Process
    Black Honey
    Producer
    Finca Las Veraneras

    molasses · dried fig · hazelnut · toffee · melon

  • Colombia La FaldaPour-over

    Colombia, Garzón, Huila · 1,450-1,800 m

    Roast
    Medium
    Varietals
    Caturra, Castillo, Colombia
    Process
    Washed
    Producer
    La Falda

    chocolate · orange marmalade · toasty

The room

Three thousand square feet of former Radio Shack, cut into a cafe by carpenter Jason Enis, with a mural the graffiti artist Risk painted across the exterior a few years back. A screen inside loops drone footage of local surf breaks and hiking trails cut with the shop's own coffee films, and the courtyard out back is the quiet counterweight to all that motion.

The work-test
WifiSolidReliable for most tasks
OutletsSomeSome along the walls
SeatingSpaciousLots of room to spread
NoiseModerateEasy conversation level
LaptopsLimitedWelcome outside peak hours

The vibe

Photos

8

People

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