Have You Bean to Bird Rock Coffee Roasters?

For students looking to discover a unique coffee blend or to get their caffeine fix on campus, Bird Rock Coffee Roasters has swooped into UC San Diego’s cafe scene. The outdoor coffee stand is nestled on the east side of campus, adjacent to the Central Campus Trolley Station.

After several soft launches during the winter of 2022, Bird Rock Coffee Roasters is now open for good, Monday through Friday, from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The locally-owned cafe’s first location opened on July 5, 2006, in the Bird Rock neighborhood of La Jolla. There are a total of ten Bird Rock Coffee Roasters cafes located throughout San Diego County that sell a variety of teas, coffees, and pastries. Bird Rock Coffee Roasters has original flavors such as their “Bird Rock Blend,” which features notes of fudge, red apple, and black pepper, as well as the “Monkey Bite,” a drink with notes of butterscotch, dried apricot, and brown sugar.

“[We] hope to provide a service and quality coffee for [the east side] of campus. It is a new area that we feel is underserved for coffee, and we were given the opportunity to provide it in that area with the new amphitheater,” said Jeff Taylor, the owner of Bird Rock Coffee Roasters.

Additionally, Taylor stated, “Our goal as a company has always been first and foremost to find great coffee.”

Bird Rock Coffee Roasters emphasizes their company’s “farm to cup” policy. This involves sourcing ingredients from external producers through direct communication and working closely with coffee farmers in different countries.

”We help collaborate on the coffee that we want to buy with them, so that we get a specific coffee in a specific lot on their farm,” Taylor said.

From there, Bird Rock Coffee Roasters contracts with exporters and importers to pay farmers and bring the coffee back to the United States.

Bird Rock Coffee Roasters has an app called “Bird Rock Coffee,” giving patrons the option of ordering their coffee ahead of time. Customers even have the opportunity to earn loyalty points that can be redeemed for future rewards, which range from a variety of coffees and food items.

“We pride ourselves on having great coffee,” Taylor stated.

Bird Rock Coffee Roasters also intends to spread its wings and open another location at 8980 Villa La Jolla Drive west of Rita Atkinson.

Meg Barrett is a News Writer for The Triton.