Dropped off my partner at UC Irvine early this morning, so early that we didn't have time to make…read morecoffee at home, so I ventured in unknown territory to try some local brews. A mere 1.3 miles away, I find this eight year old coffee shop that has its name origins from the German word for bread. Evidently, they have a plethora of baked foods mainly consisting of flour, water and often yeast displayed in full display next to the counter. I asked one of the staff if the shop makes their own bread and she said a local artisan bakery supplies them. They look amazing and they even have gluten-free options! This is a family-owned business that provides a more than suitable area for working on your laptop with WiFi access, or simply enjoying your favorite hot or cold caffeinated beverage, oh, and I must mention that they have premium blends as well for the coffee aficionado! Spacious indoor area that doesn't feel cramped and the exposed ceiling vents, the jazzy beats that is playing at a perfect volume and plenty of potted plants give it a balanced chill industrial vibe. There are tables outside too that's perfect for early morning or late afternoon when it's not too hot. I ordered the Vanilla Latte hot and asked that they fill up my insulated mug instead of the cardboard cup. Even with the steady stream of patrons, I received my expertly prepared brew by their hirsute barista, who gave me "beard envy" (I can only sport a goatee) :D The crew are friendly, conversing with the regulars. I can tell they enjoy working here! I don't come to Orange very often but would definitely grab coffee here again if I'm in the area and would highly recommend this place. This place is doing something right and by mere observation, I can tell they will continue to do so for years to come! Kudos!

My friend and I both ordered the iced mocha, and unfortunately, it was just okay. It tasted a bit…read morewatered down and could have used a stronger chocolate and espresso flavor. Wasn't worth the price in my opinion. The cafe itself is spacious, with plenty of seating both indoors and out on the patio. I also noticed several tables with conveniently placed outlets, making it a nice spot for studying or getting some work done. During my visit, there were quite a few people working on their laptops, so it seems to be a popular place to settle in for a while. As for the service, it wasn't particularly warm or welcoming. One of the baristas accidentally dropped something, creating a loud noise, and she was visibly frustrated and seemed like she didn't wanna be there which affected the overall atmosphere.

Recent discovery. My understanding is that they specialize…read moreon Vietnamese coffee... Wasn't aware of this being a thing, but I am happy that I have discovered it. Tried several drinks on the menu so far and sure, some things are better than others, but I'm a fan so far. Great staff. Everyone is super nice and accommodating, and of course the vibes in this place are outstanding. This coffee shop targets Young crowds and they do a really good job at it. The place gets packed during daytime. There are many places to get tea or coffee around downtown and this is a good one to consider. Certainly recommend you try if you're reading this review.

Solid coffee shop in Orange. The place has plenty of seating, a fun vibe with walls full of fun…read moreartwork and books, and a great playlist. Staff was also very friendly, and the drinks came out in less than 5 minutes on a busy Saturday morning. We got the iced mango coconut matcha which was solid, but I think the flavoring was a bit strong. The Kuya latte, which was an ube Vietnamese iced coffee, was yummy with a balanced, not overly sweet flavor! I will definitely come back when I'm in the area.

The mango slushy drink is my favorite. Nice place to stop for a refreshing drink, friendly service.read more

I wish I lived closer because I would go here daily!…read more Stopped by late one evening on my way home -- the amazing aroma floats through as you walk toward Coffee Heist and I was excited before I even got there based on how yummy it smells walking in to store. I got an iced coffee for the next morning and a jasmine tea for that evening -- both were exquisite. The tea was refreshing and the coffee is so flavorful, strong without being bitter and lots of delicious notes. The guy working behind the counter was so kind too -- appreciate his thoughtfulness once he found out I would drink it next morning, he held on putting ice in so it would stay concentrated til the next day. I need to go back and buy a pound or two of coffee -- or maybe they can open one closer to me in LA too :)

HHC Coffee was a wonderful stop and a great way to start our day! I enjoyed the Strawberry Matcha,…read morewhich was refreshing, smooth, and perfectly balanced with just the right amount of sweetness. My husband ordered the Brown Sugar Maple Latte and absolutely loved the rich, warm flavors. We also shared the Ham and Cheese Pesto Croissant, and it was delicious--light, buttery, flaky, and filled with great flavor. Everything tasted fresh and thoughtfully prepared. One of our favorite parts was the outdoor seating area. We loved dining outside and enjoying the beautiful weather while sipping our drinks and relaxing. It created the perfect atmosphere to slow down and enjoy the experience. The atmosphere was welcoming, the drinks were excellent, and the food was just as impressive. We'll definitely be back to try more of the menu. Highly recommend stopping by if you're looking for quality coffee, delicious pastries, and a great outdoor dining experience!

We love this place and have been coming here for years now but today was a shitty experience from…read morethe lady behind the counter. I couldn't find a way to contact them through email so this is my only option. I went in to get coffee beans and a cold brew per my usual monthly visit with my pup. There was a tall woman behind the counter this time. We went through the typical spiel of what can I get you? Comes with a cold brew, etc etc. But after I walked away, 3 of her colleagues came up to chat and show pictures. As they were chatting I heard her say "I ain't got time for cold brew" and look directly at me. Then they split up and she went to stand at the other end of the counter while the 2 people she was chatting with came behind the counter and started sharing pictures or whatever. It just came off rude. I love this place and these are our favourite beans but just really crappy feeling as a local customer.

July 26th, 2026 10:45am Sunday…read moreOrdered: - Banana Bread Iced Latte - Oat Milk Iced Latte (Shot of Hazelnut Syrup) Atmosphere: -Two Floor, Indoor Seating -No parking lot, just street spots (we were lucky and found parking right in front!) -Lively Atmosphere, Friendly Staff -Music loud enough to offer privacy between group conversations! Final Notes: Lots of people doing their work here. Seems headphones are necessary if you need focusing, but very excited to come back during the school year to study in a comfortable environment :D

Oh, The Lost Bean... I'm at a loss for words…read more I really wanted to love this location. I've been a customer at the Tustin location for years, so I walked in excited. Unfortunately, this visit was one disappointment after another. We arrived at 8:30 a.m. hoping for a peaceful coffee-and-breakfast morning. Instead, we accidentally wandered into what felt like a Janis Joplin tribute concert. The music was blasting at nightclub volume--not exactly the relaxing start to the day we had in mind. But surprisingly... that wasn't even the worst part. The food was incredibly disappointing. I ordered the breakfast burrito, and the potatoes were still raw--hard enough to remind me they were once part of the ground.. My husband ordered the French toast, which looked suspiciously like it took a quick detour from Trader Joe's frozen aisle before landing on our table. There's nothing wrong with frozen French toast... unless you're charging $14 and calling it brunch. Another friend ordered the granola with berries. After a few bites, he gave it a skeptical look, pushed the bowl away, and decided breakfast simply wasn't worth the gamble. The coffee was decent , but honestly wasn't worth fighting the neighbors for a parking spot!

My review here is long overdue. I've been here quite a few times over the years and each time we…read morereally enjoyed it. My bf loves the coffee here. Anything of their espresso drinks either hot or cold has always turned out yummy, according to him. I'm more of a matcha person since my stomach issues years ago so as a matcha snob, I can say their matcha is strong here but the only down side is they only have almond milk as their alternative to dairy. And, I think they make the almond milk in-house, aka fresh, so there is no hint of sweetness at all. If you know, almond milk does alternate the flavor of your drink so I did not like the iced matcha almond milk I had very much. I would get their default matcha, it's perfect. One thing that deserves a huge shout out here is the avocado toast!! OH EM GEE! It's one of the best we've ever had! Each toast is on a thick sourdough, packed with tons and tons of smashed avocado, with asiago cheese and pancetta (fancy bacon), and lemon. AND, you need to add their soft boiled egg. It's perfection! Highly Rec!!!!

I honestly had a little bit of a cultural shock--in the best way!…read more As someone who absolutely loves matcha and coffee, I was surprised that I had never heard of this place before. It has such a unique vibe. It's located around Downtown Santa Ana, and the sign isn't very big, so it can be a little hard to find. Honestly, I'm glad I came with my friends because if I had come by myself, I probably would have missed it and gone home. The atmosphere is definitely different from your typical Orange County coffee shop. I heard the owners are from New York, and I think you can feel that influence. It has a very urban, sophisticated feel, but at the same time, there's something warm yet slightly cool and edgy about the space. It's hard to explain, but it has a personality of its own. The coffee bar is completely open, so you can watch the baristas make your drink and see every little movement they make. I wanted to try so many things on the menu, but I had already had two cups of coffee that day, so I decided to go with matcha instead. What really impressed me was how detailed they were when taking my order. They asked about the sweetness level, syrup options, type of milk, and even the type of cup I wanted. Since I was staying to enjoy my drink there, they served my matcha in a beautiful glass. And watching them make the matcha right in front of me was such a treat. It wasn't just some sweet matcha powder mixed with milk. You could really taste the quality of the matcha, and the drink was clean, smooth, and delicious. Santa Ana is a little far from my home, so I don't come here very often. But this place made me want to come back someday, take my time, and just enjoy a cup of matcha without rushing. Definitely a place with its own character. Would I come back? 100% YES.

The blueberry matcha is to die for! I'm not the biggest blueberry fan but I will definitely come…read moreback just for this. The service was 10/10 and the vibes were even better. Going to stop by here when I can before my dog walks ;)

This is currently my favorite matcha place in the OC!…read more I like to think I'm a matcha latte purist, so I get mine 25%/less-less sweet and normally don't get cream tops or a bunch of extra toppings. I've tried many of the popular matcha lattes in OC, and I feel like a lot of them are only good when you add a cream top or some kind of fruit puree/mash...or just too sweet for my liking. Not this place. Their matcha latte is genuinely good on its own, and not too sweet at less-less sweet. You can actually taste the matcha, and their lattes are a nice bright green. I also really appreciate that they hand-whisk their matcha. A lot of places use a premixed paste or some kind of pre-made blend, so I really like knowing their extra effort put into my $7 latte. I also noticed they use Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract/Paste in their syrup, which I thought was a nice little indication that they care about the ingredients they use. (It's a good quality brand!) Also, their standard milk is oat milk! Definitely get a salt bread to go with your matcha! It's soft and chewy with a buttery center and is such a good pairing. Pretty solid. I've also had coffee here, and I enjoyed it. I'm not a coffee expert, but I thought it was smooth. It didn't have that over-brewed bitter taste. There's plenty of parking in the plaza, but just be prepared for a long line. It can get pretty busy! This place is small (with most of the space being used for whisking match) and there's no seating, so this is definitely more of a grab-and-go spot. I've only had one bad experience with this place, where my latte was a little too milky and clumpy (which I'm going to attribute as an off-day), but that was only once out of the....ten(?) times I've been here. Overall, this is my go-to matcha spot in OC and one I'll happily keep coming back to!

[Update 8/16/26] My third visit to Airoma Cafe in FV was a pleasant surprise to see that they made…read moreimprovement to their food safety handling of the cups since my last visit. From my observation, the cups were no longer stacked inside of one another; rather, placed side by side on the counter and picked up like that to the back kitchen to be filled. THANK YOU to staff/management who perhaps read my review concerning food safety issues and made the change to safeguard customers' health. Despite the price increase on their Double Matcha ($8), I can now recommend Airoma FV to my friends who are matcha fans.

I've tried both the Matcha Pandan and Matcha Einspanner and honestly you can't go wrong with…read moreeither. The matcha here is strong, rich, and earthy and actually tastes like matcha instead of getting lost underneath all the other flavors. But the Matcha Pandan is THE drink for me. I most definitely think Airoma makes the best matcha pandan in town and honestly, I don't think there's a true competitor. It is definitely on the sweeter side with a stronger pandan taste, but you can still distinctly taste both the pandan and matcha. The pandan is creamy and fragrant and pairs SO well with the earthiness of the matcha. The Matcha Einspanner is also SO good. The cream is thick and creamy, but the matcha underneath is strong enough to hold its own. You still get that earthy matcha flavor even with the cream, which I really appreciate. There's usually a line, but it moves pretty quickly and the drinks come out fast. Definitely one of my favorite matcha spots in OC. But if you're only getting one thing here, GET THE MATCHA PANDAN.

I went here around 2 times these past 2 weeks, and the drinks and the avocado toasts with bacon are…read moreso damn good! It's so good that I still crave it hours later. The bacon is cooked to perfection, the honey drizzle is so good, and the avocados taste fresh and nice.

Currently obsessed with their Yuzu mango matcha drink! I do unsweetened matcha because the yuzu jam…read moreand mango syrup add enough sweetness! At least for me :). I'll be sad if it's a seasonal summer drink. Would love to have it all year round lol.

Philz Coffee is AWESOME! I am a huge fan of any place that sells coffee coffee - not just the…read moreflavored stuff that so many places in Orange do. The abolute NICEST folks work at this shop. there's great parking, and these guys truly care about their customers (me included!). Highly recommend you stop by first thing in the morning - they open at 5:30 am!

The honey haze is always my go to and refreshing especially for summer! The service here was nice…read moreand friendly. The atmosphere is bright and homey feeling, seems like a nice spot to do some work. Parking lot is super small maybe only 4-5 spots but there's street parking since it's downtown Orange.