Queenstage Coffee House

Where: Queenstage Coffee House, 190 N Coast Highway 101, Encinitas, CA 92024
Open: Daily 7:00 AM - 4:00 PM
What: Batch brew-Steady State Roasting Daybreak Blend (Brazil & Colombia)
Roast: Medium-Dark
Tasting notes: Bitter chocolate, caramel, plum, rich
Price: $3.25 
What I’m listening to: Charlotte Cornfield, “Partner in Crime”

A chef and cycling fanatic open a coffee shop. Shenanigans ensue. It sounds like it could be a fun sitcom, no? Until a streamer comes calling, you can experience the real-life show at Queenstage Coffee House. 

The cafe is located near that blurry line that separates Leucadia from Encinitas. They are tucked in between (and a little behind) Velotown bike shop and Moto Deli, with whom they share an entry and an oversized patio filled with picnic tables. This morning it is already 85 degrees out with no end to the heat in sight. Why I still love drinking hot, black coffee in this weather, even I don't understand.

But, that is what I order from Co-Founder Esteban Rodriguez. He and his wife, Chef Valeria Linss, are intimately involved with the day-to-day operations. He serves me a black drip Steady State Coffee Roasting Daybreak blend coffee. It is the same coffee I had in this very cafe a few months ago. Instead of continually mixing and matching coffees, learning to dial them in, and adjusting prices, at Queenstage, they found one excellent coffee and have pursued providing a consistently perfect cup every time. I think they've succeeded.*