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    Academic Coffee

    4.2 (346 reviews)
    Open 7:00 am - 4:00 pm
    Updated 2 months ago

    Academic Coffee Photos

    Business Info

    ACADEMIC COFFEE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Dogs allowed
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - Academic Coffee

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    Reviews With Photos

    Banana Cream Matcha, Guava Matcha, Banana Cream Latte
    Leah Y.

    I really liked this cafe! They have a small, but well crafted and unique drink menu. I love the fun drinks they have available! I tried the guava matcha and it was really good! The matcha on its own was slightly grassy for my taste, but mixed with the guava cream was really delicious. The flavor came through really well and was perfectly sweet. So far this is one of my favorite matchas in San Jose. They don't really have a food menu here, but there are some pastries that look pretty good. I can't vouch for how they taste however. The drinks came out super quickly and the servers were really sweet! I also really liked how we could take the drinks outside to the large seating area and enjoy the drinks, but there is also some indoor seating. Parking might be a little annoying but there are some spots out front of this location. Overall I really liked this spot and I definitely want to come back to try some of their other unique drinks!

    Brenda L.

    I've been wanting to try Academic for the longest time but always found myself delaying my visit because of the comments I've heard about their parking lot lol. (They were right... the parking lot does suck!) If you're lucky enough to come at a quieter time and are able to snag a spot, I definitely think it'd be worth the visit! I ordered the guava matcha. As someone who isn't necessarily the biggest fan of matcha, I actually thought the drink was solid. The matcha had a lot of depth and the guava flavor was STRONG. My drink came out only a few minutes after I ordered; they're super quick to make drinks here, which is appreciated! They have a few seats inside the cafe and some outdoor seating if you plan on staying and hanging out. It is quite expensive here though - my matcha ended up being closer to $10. Not sure if I'd go out of my way to come again given how busy it typically gets but was definitely worth a try!

    Banana matcha and guava matcha
    Clare K.

    I've heard my friends raving about the Banana Matcha for a minute, so we decided to try! We went to their second location? Huge plus that it's right next to the park. It was super convenient if you're out walking your dogs like we were. I'm usually a fan of their Pandan, but I think I have a new favorite. The banana cream and Guava cream paired with matcha is a total game changer. You can tell they aren't using cheap ingredients; the matcha is high quality and the cream is actually thick and rich (hopefully its from real fruits haha) which makes such a difference for a latte. It's definitely on the pricier side( about $9 per drink if you want to substitute with other milk), but for the quality and the vibes, it's 100% worth it. Service was fast and great! Plenty seating indoor and outdoor but parking spaces were limited.

    Annie Y.

    There's a small parking lot in the back; otherwise, you can find street parking about a block away and walk a few minutes. They offer both indoor and outdoor seating. I ordered the Piloncillo Latte, and it was rich, creamy, and good. Service: 5/5 Tip(s): - Small parking lot in the back - Indoor and outdoor seating available - Accept Apple Pay

    Melissa G.

    Their pistachio specials from the last couple months were very good. However, it appears they've moved into guava season. I like this coffee shop, I've been coming here and especially the San Jose location for a long time. I appreciate consistency in my coffee shops and to be honest, academic seems to be losing the plot. Today I ordered one basic drink and one specialty- a vanilla latte and the guava matcha drink; both were just mid. The guava matcha is beautiful aesthetically, but the guava was way too overpowering, you couldn't taste the matcha. Also no oven to heat up the pastries. I still like their alum rock beans and purchase them regularly. They used to give you a drip coffee or espresso shot with purchase but I guess not anymore. Overall this spot appears to be leaning towards style over substance, but I hope they don't go that route. This review is a 3.5 but I rounded up because of the pistacho specials from the last couple months were very good.

    Banana matcha
    Maddie W.

    When I think of academic, the one drink that's unbeatable is their banana matcha. I keep ordering it at other coffeeshops hoping for a similar one, but it's not the same!! The banana flavor truly shines and everyone I've brought here loves it and is converted. It really does taste like a banana cream pie and matcha in the best way possible. Their pandan latte is also solid! I've yet to explore more of their drinks, but heard good things about their seasonal red bean latte. Their double chocolate chip cookie is to die for. Truly such a wonderful spot!! It's a smaller space, but there's decent amount of outdoor seating. Parking is meh, it's mostly street parking and very limited spots behind the building. The driveway feels illegal with how steep it is. Be careful if your car is low!

    Banana Matcha & Strawberry Matcha
    Andre M.

    Academic has been in my coffee/matcha rotation for a while now and does not disappoint. Between their coffee or matcha, both are a great choice at either location. Service is always very kind, and I would say that this location is more for socializing than studying.

    Double Matcha Latte & Hojicha Latte
    Kiana L.

    Went to Academic Coffee to celebrate our birthday morning since it's one of my cousin's favorite matcha spots, and honestly, it made for the perfect start to the day. The café itself is small but clean, with a simple and relaxed vibe. The staff seemed really nice, which made the experience feel easy and welcoming. We ordered the double matcha latte and a hojicha latte, and I can definitely see why this is one of my cousin's favorite spots. The matcha was strong, smooth, and well balanced, especially with the double scoop, giving it a richer flavor without being too bitter. The hojicha latte had a nice roasted, nutty taste that felt really comforting and not overly sweet. It's one of those places where you can tell they care about the quality of the tea, and it really shows in the drinks. Overall, it was a great way to start our birthday, and I'd definitely come back again for a solid matcha fix.

    Jason Q.

    Drinks were amazing, I only tried the banana matcha, but it was easily one of the best matcha I've had this year. Super smooth, rich, and not overly sweet. Service was friendly and quick, and the staff made the experience even better. The ambiance had a clean, modern vibe with a nice downtown feel, making it a great spot to relax. Prices felt fair for the quality you're getting. Stopped by Academic Coffee in downtown San Jose and it definitely lived up to the hype. Will definitely be back. 5/5 stars from me.

    Pandan Latte
    Anh T.

    I visited Academic Coffee for the first time with a couple of friends. Finding parking was difficult in the area. I didn't wait too long to try their pandan latte with oat milk, and it was excellent! I wish that the pandan flavor came through a bit more strongly, but it was still sweet enough and balanced well with the espresso taste. The oat milk also added a nice creaminess without overpowering the drink. The drink was unique and stronger in coffee flavor. The area itself is cute, with seating available to work at or hang out with friends.

    Eva C.

    Love! Their parking lot is very small and usually full so parking is a bit difficult. I've tried their guava cream matcha, banana cream matcha, and hojicha. I personally am a fan of guava so I really enjoyed the guava cream flavor. Their banana cream is also very well made it had a strong flavor that paired well with the matcha without it tasting artificial. They have some seatings both inside and outside, which was really nice.

    banana matcha (left), vanilla latte (right)
    emily d.

    Used to be an absolute favorite and go to for the easy parking, great drinks, and proximity, but slowly have been trying other spots. I have always loved the banana matcha along with their seasonal drinks like the melon matcha or double matcha, but have felt like the coffee quality and dial can be inconsistent occasionally making the coffee sour. Understandably with the increase of demand the price has also gone up for the matcha to maintain quality, but because of that I have also started looking elsewhere. But I also have always appreciated how sweet and kind the staff is, always a wonderful interaction at the counter! I usually park the street over or around and walk through the community garden or apartments to reach Academic, but usually the parking lot itself is pretty full.

    Strawberry matcha and banana matcha latte
    Grace P.

    Absolutely obsessed with their banana matcha. Their banana cream is heavenly. Perfectly sweet and creamy enough to mix with the drink to sip on. Parking is kind of tricky here. There's like 7-8 parking spots in the lot, but the sign says you can only park for 30 minutes. I recommend parking on the street or across the street at bank of america.

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    Academic Coffee Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Academic Coffee

    What's the phone numbers of the SJ & Santa Clara Coffee shops? Also, where exactly (land mark) is the Santa Clara shop next to? We had a hard time finding it, & despite Gps,…

    Hi Shirl! I'm not sure what the phone number is to this Santa Clara location but I can tell you that it's located on the same side of the old strip mall that has the Shoe Cobbler in the corner located on Dorcich Street. It's just a little further… 

    Are they still serving guava matcha latte?

    Yes we are still serving it!

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

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    This review is not for the ice cream itself, because it is delicious. It is for the ordering…read moreprocess. After three attempts the place an order online (over the course of a week), with zero response, AND leaving a message on the catering voicemail, I went back to the website and found an email address for Lori. While she was responsive, it was a frustrating element while planning for an event. I even tried calling the store multiple times, which was never answered, and the voicemail suggests not to leave a message because it's rarely checked. (The store doesn't open until 5:45pm) There is no way to talk to a live person. While we ended up using the pickup option, I was surprised to be told that they do not sell or supply dry ice, even though it is listed on their website that it is used for deliveries. Everyone at my event loved the ice cream tacos, but I was disappointed that was such a hassle to set up.

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    Ice cream tacos
    Ice cream tacos
    Regular size split taco (mint chip + cookies n cream) dipped in milk choco & sprinkles + almonds
    Regular size split taco (mint chip + cookies n cream) dipped in milk choco & sprinkles + almonds
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    Croissante

    Croissante

    4.1
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    2.4 mi
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    The croissants were great! We had 3 types as well as some bread! Service was good. It's was some…read morewhat busy kind of loud. We got our food to g

    You are getting to go to the left. Super easy to see which way you should go because your eyes are…read moreimmediately drawn to all the pastries. Beautiful, flaky, sweet and savory; there are so many delicious options. Gourmet pastries with gourmet coffee equals perfection. Best way to start the morning. I love that. You can actually see them fresh baking pastries while you're sitting. We didn't go overly sweet because it was the morning, but I would love to come back in the afternoon to have a nice sweet treat and a cappuccino. For my family of three we definitely got over excited in order too much, but each bite was delicious. We got a leek quiche, a banana latte, spinach, artichoke danish, mango croissant, almond croissant, and a ham and cheese croissant. I was trying to increase the protein to not spike my blood sugar. Lol. I'd have to say the mango and the almond croissant were probably my favorite. The strong second would definitely be the artichoke and spinach croissant danish thing. Sorry, I forgot what they called it. They offered to heat it up a bit and I definitely recommend this. They did the perfect temperature for the perfect timing. Just enough to make the outside flaky and the inside warm and soft. The pieces that had cheeses were so much better warmed up. They definitely know what they're doing there. Seating was great. I'd love the decor. You can also order off of a menu, but we were too enamored with the actual pastries to even glance at it. I took photos but made sure to not take photos of the staff. I let the staff know that I wouldn't include their faces without their permission. they were very friendly and very appreciative. My family loved your little shop and we will definitely be back when we're in the area.

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    Indoor dining option
    Indoor dining option
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    French onion soup- too salty
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    Choc Cookies

    Choc Cookies

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    These are some of the best cookies I have ever had in my life! We needed to place a large order for…read morework, so a colleague and I came by to test them out first. The aroma of fresh baked cookies hits you as soon as you open the door, it's it's over. Give me all the cookies. Now normally, I would only order chocolate anything but decided to try ube. This cookie was everything, slightly crusty outside and soft interior. We then placed an order by contacting them via email and the process was super easy. We asked for them to be individually wrapped, which they did. Cookies were delivered on time & we're still warm. Everyone loved them. Can't wait to order again!

    I have a huge sweet tooth. We were in Santa Clara recently and I wanted to try some popular…read morecookies in the area. We arrived at Choc Cookies on a Tuesday early evening. The bake shop is located in a small older plaza off El Camino Real in Santa Clara. There is limited parking in the small parking lot out front. The bake shop is small, clean, with simple black wall decor. When you walk in there is an oven area to your left and the cashier is in-front of a small counter straight ahead. All orders are to go as there are no tables or chairs inside. We ordered their popular $10.00 Tuesday special which includes 4 chocolate chip cookies. The cookies were huge and plump in the center. They were soft, chewy, and delicious. The center was gooey with plenty of big chucks of chocolate. Overall we enjoyed our experience at Choc Cookies. The staff were nice and helpful. The cozy environment was family friendly. Thier $10.00 Tuesday special is a great value. I definitely want to come back to try the other cookie flavors.

    Photos
    Perfectly baked - nice crust, not too fudgy not too cakey, perfect melt on the choc chips.
    Perfectly baked - nice crust, not too fudgy not too cakey, perfect melt on the choc chips.
    Soft, thick, gooey and loaded with chocolate :)
    Soft, thick, gooey and loaded with chocolate :)
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    whaT’s More cake studio

    whaT’s More cake studio

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    4.6 mi
    Locally owned & operated
    Women-owned & operated

    I had ordered my dad's birthday cake from here back in 2024 (salted yolk/pork sung/matcha mix…read morecake), and it was absolutely delicious! This time I decided to stop by here after dinner, my first time sitting down here and ordering. The inside is very clean, modern, and Pinterest-like. They added more decorations and seating from 2 years ago, making the inside more aesthetic. whaT's More always has unique Asian flavors, like durian, earl grey, pandan, red bean, and oolong. The cakes are not too sweet, so definitely Asian parent approved haha! Unfortunately, when we came around 6:30pm, they were sold out of most flavors - so would definitely recommend coming earlier or just ordering online earlier in the morning for pickup. We got the sesame dark chocolate crepe cake. When you eat in the store, the owner provides you with free cups of tea, which are really great for washing down the cake. The chocolate was super rich, and they did not skimp out on the flavor - super chocolatey. The sesame added such a fun earthy and nutty flavor - I thoroughly enjoyed it! The cake is on the slightly denser side, so was super filling. While on the pricier side, the flavors are super unique and the craft that goes into crepe cakes is commendable. I will be ordering my next cake from here again!

    After randomly browsing Yelp and found this place, we happened to be nearby and I decided on an…read moreimpromptu visit on a Saturday afternoon. The place was situated in a quiet plaza just outside of Lawrence Expressway. There's ample parking but it doesn't feel like the location is suitable for a cafe where you can picture sitting inside looking through some big windows facing a busy pedestrian walkway. However, once I stepped inside, I was surprised at how zen and peaceful the decorations were and how fitting it was for a cozy and quiet cafe hangout. The cake shelf was surprisingly busy. And this is where I took one star out because the lines were confusing and the staff skipped me to talk to the group behind me while I was clearly the next to be helped. Luckily another staff member came out from the back kitchen and jumped in to help. The staff spoke fluent mandarin. I was interested in their box cakes. A few of the yelpers raved about their soy milk cake and luckily they had one out for sampling. It was covered with lots of cream and the cake layer was soft and moist, but it was still slightly too sweet for me and I felt that it lacked the tofu kind of soy flavor. Then, I spotted on their menu that they have a black sesame matcha box cake, and black sesame is always my favorite, so I asked for it. They had the last one left! The staff said she had never tried it so she couldn't tell me if it is less sweet than the soy milk cake. Since it was the last one available and I already sampled the soy cake, I decided to give it a try. I am happy that I did. The cake was filled with matcha mousse and tasted light and aromatic with the jasmine kind of matcha flavor. It is definitely less sweet. Unfortunately, it doesn't have as much black sesame as I'd like. But overall, the cake flavor is the kind that I like, subtle, moist, and not too sweet. $38 for a box cake of 4x4 is a bit pricey, but I'm glad that I gave it a try. The cakes were freshly made and tasted best the same day of purchase. They also recommend refrigerating the cake and consuming it within a day or two.

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    Strawberry Boxed Cake
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    Strawberry Molten Cake
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    Snowtime

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    4.6
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    I've been coming to Snowtime for a couple of years, and it's still one of my favorite dessert spots…read morewhenever I'm in the Campbell area. They have an impressive variety of drinks and desserts, and I especially love that their snow/bingsu comes in three different sizes (small, medium, large), making it perfect whether you're treating yourself or sharing with friends. On my latest visit, I tried the Banana Matcha drink, and the flavor was delicious. The banana layer on the bottom is a nice touch and you can clearly taste both the matcha and banana. My only note is that I wish the layer on top was a bit thicker for a creamier texture. Even so, the quality and consistency keep me coming back. If you're craving shaved snow desserts, soft serve or unique drinks, Snowtime is always worth a visit!

    Just discovered Snowtime and we were pleasantly surprised to have a Taiyaki place so close!…read more The place is very simple in decor. The A/C was blasting so it was a bit cold eating our soft serve but it's better than being hot! The taro soft serve was good, a little more tart than I'm used to but good! The Taiyaki was freshly made. I would have liked more custard but I'll know next time to ask. Toppings were ok, the coconut and almonds would be much better toasted. The Black Sesame was inert but gave it texture. The banana latte was delicious! Creamy on top, mild coffee flavor, and the banana came through nicely. Big cup also! We'll definitely be back!

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    Miss-You-Matcha
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    MeloMelo Coconut Dessert

    MeloMelo Coconut Dessert

    4.7
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    3.7 mi
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    We stopped by Melo Melo for dessert and really enjoyed the experience. We tried the ube and black…read moresesame flavors, and both were delicious. The ube had a smooth, creamy texture with just the right amount of sweetness, but the black sesame was the standout for me. It had a rich, nutty flavor that wasn't overly sweet and quickly became my favorite. The staff were friendly and welcoming, and our order was prepared quickly. Even though it was our first visit, they made the experience easy and enjoyable. The shop has a clean, modern aesthetic with a cozy atmosphere that's perfect for a quick dessert stop.

    It was our first time visiting. We stopped by with some friends after having dinner next door and…read morewere excited to try it. I ended up buying four different flavors, and we ate one there in the shop. Later that night, both my husband and I developed pretty bad stomach aches. At first, I thought it might have been dinner, but the next day I ate another jar and experienced the same stomach pain, and my husband did as well after eating his. We also noticed that the jelly seemed much more watery than we expected. The store itself was very warm during our visit, the bathroom was out of service, and the cashier wasn't particularly friendly. Unfortunately, based on our experience, we don't think we'll be returning.

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    Large piece of Musang King Durian!
    Large piece of Musang King Durian!
    Peach gum and Triple Latte
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    Academic Coffee - coffee - Updated July 2026

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