log in or create account

Location 1

Between Olson Hall and Sproul Hall

Location 2

Outside King Hall

Location 3

West of Academic Surge, north of Temporary Classrooms 1,2,3

Hours

Mon-Thu: 7:30am-4:30pm

Fri: 7:30am-3:30pm (early closures for days preceding University holidays)

Price

$1.80 for a small coffee

Owners

Christian and Diana Tribble

In September 14' I saw the Kiosk being hauled away by a demo/relocation company. I thought nothing of it until I heard later that Sodexho had forced them off campus / had a hand in the non renewal etc etc ~SD

Cargo Coffee is a privately-owned business that operates three coffee stands on campus. Each of the kiosks offers several kinds of drip coffee and tea (at a discount if your bring your own mug), the usual espresso drinks, fruit juices, as well as smoothies and frozen/blended espresso drinks. Coffee beans are organic and fair trade from Grounds for Change. They also carry an assortment of breakfast pastries, bagels, and quiche, supplied from Bella Bru Cafe in Sacramento. Soup is served in colder weather.

Cargo Coffee is not run by Sodexho; it is instead a sub-contractor (similar to La Crepe in the Silo). The man who owns the kiosk pays a hefty premium to Sodexho for the privilege of having his business within 'their' domain. Cargo Coffee changed ownership in December 2005.

The opening of Sodexho's Bio Brew in the Sciences Laboratory Buildings forced the long time Cargo Coffee location in front of Kleiber Hall to close. This location relocated to Engineering III on January 1, 2006.

Note posted Spring 2009 regarding their contract at the King Hall location

King Hall Fire

The King Hall location burned down on 4/30/2010 at about 6:00 AM. Fire investigators have called it suspicious, and police and fire department officials have been investigating the site throughout the day. The fire was enough to set off alarms in nearby King Hall—fortunately, before many people had arrived.

It happens to be the first day of finals for the law school, and rumor has it Law Students are collapsing in the corridors from caffeine withdrawal and muffinless starvation. The cruel King Hall administration has irrationally refused to cancel or postpone finals until this tragedy is resolved.

As reported several days later on 5/05/2010, authorities have now declared the fire to be an act of arson. On May 1st, the day after the King hall location fire, a potentially flammable or explosive device was also found near the Olson Hall location. The device apparently failed to detonate, and it was successfully disarmed by the Yolo County Bomb Squad after its discovery. Both cases are under further investigation. On February 25, 2011, the campus publication Dateline reported that the UC Davis Police Department still has no leads in the cases and that they were still awaiting an official federal analysis of the incidents.

Both Cargo Coffee and this wiki entry are now were officially famous, having appeared on the university's official news service. Sadly, the article has since been updated to remove the quote from this page. It previously included the preceding paragraph.

In February of 2011 the King Hall location was replaced with another trailer. It was missed by law students while it was gone.

---

2008-06-06 23:22:49   Way better than the Silo's Brenan's and the Coho's coffee! The Hazelnut latte is my favorite! —LupeDaya

---

2008-06-07 00:29:09   I totally agree. I think the CoHo coffee tastes gross and burnt and I will only drink if I have to. And whenever I get Silo coffee it's always a lot less hot than it would be anywhere else you get coffee. I always to try to plan ahead and go to Cargo Coffee when I need it. —OscarSabino

---

2010-04-06 21:40:53   I love Cargo Coffee. They have one of the best lattes I've ever had. A little more expensive than the CoHo but waaay better. I go out of my way to get Cargo instead of the CoHo. —csjaynes

---

2011-06-01 11:21:47   I have purchased coffee from the trailer near Olson a few times last year. Their prices were about the same as a Starbucks beverage, but much higher quality, and in particular the foam on the cappuccino was always top-notch. Just today, I purchased a cappuccino, and not only did the foam disintegrate simply by tilting the cup, the amount of grounds in my cup was just unacceptable. My teeth felt gritty after sipping it, and had I not been due for class, I would have asked for a replacement/refund. Definitely was not worth the now-exorbitant $5 (though I'd rather pay $5 for the largest over the $3.45 or so it is for a small). Probably won't be back due to the price alone. —KurtSassenrath

---

2011-08-07 10:04:17   The coffee tastes great and the people who work there are nice but I'm not coming back anymore after they jacked up the coffee price. Plus, they were always a little miserly about cup size. The largest size is not all that large... —nutmeg

---

2011-10-12 10:29:01   The picture of the price board needs to be updated because they significantly raised the prices of everything. The current prices are outrageous, a total rip-off. Most drinks are about a dollar above most other coffee places in town. The coffee is supposedly organic, fair-trade, but they don't even offer whip cream on their mochas. And they have very slow service. It took forever to get my drink, and there was not a line. I am boycotting the place. —MaraAnneChambers

• Can you swing by and snap a photo of the new price board? Everything on the wiki is provided by people like you. There's no "staff". —Evan 'JabberWokky' Edwards

---

2011-12-03 02:48:45   Yes, I agree. This place is a rip-off. $2.25 for a small coffee? I go to the Union, which is a bit of a walk from Olson, but coffee is only $1.50. They are stingy here, too. I asked for a plastic knife to eat my lunch, a PLASTIC KNIFE, and they charged 25 cents. I don't go here. —EricCarlJensen

---

2012-03-08 14:39:10   Anyone know if the location between Ghausi (Engineering III) and Academic Surge is still there? I walked through today and couldn't find it. —IsaacLiao

---

2013-10-23 15:41:34   Kick ass coffee. Maybe the best in town. Bring your own mug for a decent discount ($1.90 after tax). —ScottB

---

2014-08-20 07:57:03   What happened to the Sproul/Olson location? Are they all closed or just that one? —YesItsMe

---

2014-10-13 11:46:45   So disappointed that this is now closed. It used to be where I could conveniently get a quick cup of tea before running off to my classes in Olson. Also it was the only place I know on campus where I could get hot apple cider. —MichelleNguyen