Luke L.
Yelp
This was the third and final coffee shop I visited in San Diego County. Once again, the shop was recommended by few of my coworkers (all of whom attended UCSD) through their Yelp bookmarks. Mostra Coffee was founded by four Filipino-Americans in 2013. In 2020, Mostra Coffee won the "Roaster of the Year" in the Micro Roaster category by Roast Magazine. Mostra Coffee also won the United States Roasters Championship award at the 2022 United States Coffee Championships and won 3rd place in the Cup Tasters at the 2024 United States Coffee Championships. This Carmel Mountain Ranch location is the flagship shop with three other branches in 4S Ranch, Bankers Hill, and Torrey Hills. The new Mira Mesa location is still in the works as of October 2024.
[Parking]: Easy & free plaza parking.
[Amenities]: They have a long communal table and few indoor tables, but no outdoor seating.
[Menu]: Their popular specialty drinks are inspired by Filipino desserts like bibingka crème brûlée latte, turon crème brûlée latte, coconuts cold brew, and ube latte (caffeine free). The Campfire Mocha Latte seems to be another popular choice, but somehow I ended up ordering a cold brew again for the second time in the same weekend.
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One Bra-zillion Coconuts Cold Brew (Brazil cold brew infused with Philippine coconut & vanilla bean, $6.85): I could taste a hint of coconut. The iced coffee had just the right level of acidity and overall it was a solid cold brew coffee.
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My instinct still tells me I should've gone for the crème brûlée latte or campfire mocha latte, but I will probably save them for next time if they ever decide to expand and open a location in Los Angeles County or Orange County.