Cal Java Coffee Roasters on East Avenue

Cal Java Coffee Roasters is a small chain of cafes located throughout Chico. The chain offers the standard coffee drinks and pastries, with a few fair trade selections. At the Notre Dame location, there's plenty of seating, including a comfortable couch. They locally roast their own coffee! In the East Avenue cafe the master coffee roaster carries out his craft in the open. Thus Cal Java has a huge selection of fresh roasted coffee beans to choose from, hailing from counties such as Costa Rica, Peru, Ethiopia, and Columbia. At least four varieties are fair trade. Their house roast consists of a blend of Central and South American beans. Additionally, many of their beans are shade-tree grown. If you reuse your coffee bean bags you should get 10 cents off from the total price.

Their beverage menu includes many blended coffee drinks, including "Frozen Hot Chocolate", and a couple of choices of smoothies. Bring your own coffee container and have it filled with coffee of your choice for 25 cents less. Or buy a large mug of coffee (well, the mug isn't yours to keep unless you want to buy it ;-) and enjoy free refills for the duration of your stay! Soy is 55 cents extra.

Cal Java has seasonal drinks, a wide selection of tea, and in early 2009 added Tea Lattes to their menu.

East Ave Location

The East avenue Cal Java Coffee Roasters location (and presumably their other locations) offers several varieties of bagels such as the Everything Bagel and Onion Bagel. They'll toast it and provide the cream cheese which come in regular or herb and garlic. The house has a full condiment bar with many ways to sweeten your coffee, including honey, pure liquid cane sugar, and liquid splenda. This Cal Java location offers at least six choices of self-served brewed coffee. If you order a mug of coffee, you get free refills. Better yet, bring your own mug to get that 25 cent discount.

Since this location roasts their beans in the common area, seating is somewhat limited but they have more than adequate numbers of two person tables and even have a one family sized table — popular with groups of coffee-totting, newspaper reading friends. Speaking of newspapers they generally have one copy each of the Sacramento Bee, San Francisco Chronicle, and the Chico ER.

Additionally, this Cal Java coffee house offers free wireless and they have a comfortable patio with plenty of shade. Bunny rabbits may hop around the lawn along East Ave and there's a fun sign to read about them posted on the adjacent inside wall.

If you compost, they usually have a bucket of used coffee grounds ready to be grabbed. Finally, it is important to note that the bathroom is quite clean and is complete with mouthwash.

Skypark Plaza Location

The Cal Java on Notre Dame or Skypark Plaza is a comfy little place to get coffee and sit around to enjoy it. There is bar seating along the windows for those that prefer to get a bit of sunshine or watch the people and cars move by. As with the East Avenue location, the baristas tend to know the names of their regular customers which adds positively to the environment. Plenty of pastries and choices of coffee are present. The bathroom is very clean.

Butte College

While Cal Java does not own the Wired! Cafe at Butte College, they do brew with Cal Java's beans.

Comments

2008-08-04 19:43:45   I love the smell of roasting coffee on a brilliant Sunday morning. —RyanMikulovsky

2009-01-11 11:13:25   Their drip coffee is great but depending on the baristas, a cappuccino is served essentially as a small latte in a glass mug (not a porcelain cup)- - with a bit too much milk. I suppose some would call it a wet cappuccino. It did have foam on the top though it was not a very fine foam. I'm really no expert here but this is compared to cappuccinos that I have had elsewhere. I think the particular barista just didn't put enough care into pouring the milk and foam. Nevertheless it is a good solid place to have coffee and bagels or scones. I haven't tried their designer drinks yet. —RyanMikulovsky

2009-05-02 16:06:49   Can anyone verify the anonymous edit saying Cal Java is filing Chapter 11? I haven't seen any required legal notices to that effect. Any resources saying that this is so? Any reasons this is not happening? —RyanMikulovsky

2012-03-01 17:08:08   I think they also have locations in redding now. —166.2.60.77