Sustainable Coffee in Little Italy

One Sunday morning I wanted to try a new coffee place and I ended up going to James Coffee Co. in Little Italy. This was my first time, and I really loved it!

James Coffee Co.

What’s cool about this place is that it is super sustainable – they have cut out single-use plastic! Basically, they take a $1.50 deposit on your first drink that you get, and your drink is served in a glass jar with a lid and a koozie. I really love the glass and it was fun to use more when I got home. Even when I make coffee or matcha at home, I can use this cup to bring my drink with me wherever I go. It makes me happy every time I use a reusable cup instead of a plastic one!

The idea is that you will bring that same cup back next time to get your coffee in, which eliminates a lot of waste. I saw a lot of people bringing their cup back in, which was really cool. On their koozie, they talk a little bit about their mission:

I was really surprised that 600 billion one-time-use cups are thrown out every year. That is way more than I could’ve imagined. Thinking about those cups sitting in a landfill somewhere makes me really sad. Of course, I can tell that the world is working towards recycling many of these plastics, though. Reading more about James Coffee Co. started to make me appreciate what they’re working toward and inspired me to use my reusable cups more!

I read this really cool article about Reducing Single-Use Plastics in The Coffee Industry. Since this industry relies on serving individual drinks that people carry around all day, I do see why single-use plastics are largely used. However, the impact of these plastics is very concerning. That’s why it is so amazing that this coffee shop is working hard in their efforts to break the cycle of using these plastics. It is definitely something unique that I hadn’t seen much before.

When I visited, they had some seasonal drinks, so I ordered a strawberry iced latte (seen above) and it tasted just like the Special K cereal – in the best way possible! There were little strawberry pieces in there. It reminded me of eating that as a kid. Strawberries are my favorite fruit!

My boyfriend got a vanilla iced latte which was really good as well. Overall, the coffee was really quality, and it made me want to try some of the other drinks!

The vibes here were really cool because it is basically a market. There’s a barber and a few different shops. There’s one that sells beautiful candles but I had to look away because I buy wayyy too many candles! I always like a fun market vibe where you can see products from small businesses. This is a great place to be on a leisurely Saturday!

I would definitely come back here with my cup and maybe try one of their pastries – they looked really good! They have a bakery in Escondido, and I think it would be fun to visit there, too. There are a few more locations of this coffee shop as well!

The whole neighborhood of Little Italy is just so cute. There are so many restaurants and places to get drinks.