More Than Macchiato

Diversify your morning with these five Central Coast café favorites.

WORDS Ninette Paloma

Look, we're not suggesting you break up with Joe. And no one is judging your codependent relationship, either. But here on the Central Coast cafés know how to flex their morning range, offering iced and smoky hojicha and mate lattes spiked with butterfly pea flower as respectable alternatives to a classic a.m. fix. These are a few of our favorite reasons to, literally, take a coffee break.

Thai Iced Tea
Cajé Santa Barbara

Using a signature blend of black tea, star anise, aromatic herbs, and a dollop of house made rosemary cream, this spiced-up take on a classic is worth getting up early for.
 
Blue Spirulina Kombucha
Handlebar Coffee Roasters Santa Barbara

Served on tap and in a fancy tulip glass, energy-boosting blue spirulina is the star ingredient in this addictive kombucha. Like happy hour, at 9am.
 
Honey Tea Bowl
Scout Coffee San Luis Obispo 
 
Need a morning hug? Organic chamomile flowers, orange peel, and rooibos are steeped in frothy almond milk and a touch of honey before sliding over to you in a generous bowl. 
 
Iced Maté w/ Butterfly Pea Flower
Hook and Press Donuts Santa Barbara

The earthiness of South American maté meets the calming properties of butterfly pea flower in this dazzling iced latte served in a tall Collins glass. 
 
Hojicha Einspanner
Kin Bakeshop Goleta

A Korean café favorite and more like dessert, toasted green tea is layered with thick clouds of oat milk and poured over ice. Don't forget to request a roasted black sesame cream topper.