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    Green Star Coffee

    4.9 (31 reviews)
    InexpensiveCoffee Roasteries
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    Gig ol bag of goodness!
    Jema H.

    I absolutely love GreenStar Coffee! I think I first discovered it at an Earth Day celebration more than 10 years ago and have been making visits to their warehouse roastery ever since then (warehouse pickup saves shipping costs!) they offer everything to love when starting your day: Local fresh roasted coffee organic fair trade coffee. I like to get the whole beans and grind my own and usually go for the 5 pound bags. I have found they stay quite fresh in their packaging. There is nothing like opening a new bag. I wish I could capture that amazing aroma to share!! I have tried many beans and blends but our overall house favorite is Morning Star. It is easy on the pallet and good anytime. I also like to keep the Espresso blend on hand which is great and offers a nice kick. I have also enjoyed their teas and even get a small bag of decaf, which my parents love when they visit. It is always a pleasure to pick up the coffee and usually I am greeted by one of the owners, Dan, who is friendly and makes time for a chat. They do have all the safety protocols in place for Covid so you should not hesitate to order ahead swing by for a door pickup!

    a cup of coffee on a table
    James K.

    Quite possibly the best coffee in Santa Barbara. (5/5 green stars also) I run a nonprofit called the Green Stars Project so I was super-excited to see a place called Green Star Coffee listed in Santa Barbara. My project is all about ethical consumerism, so I went to their location in the Public Market with a little trepidation, hoping that it would not be the kind of place that serves commodity coffee in Styrofoam cups. Thankfully, I had no cause for concern - they live up to their name :-) More on that in the next paragraph... Overall, I tried coffee in several places in SB - Green Star, Handlebar, Helena Avenue Bakery, and the SB Roasting Co. Of the four of them, I thought Green Star had the best overall experience when you combine quality/experience with sustainability/ethics. I had a small Americano - pretty decent at $2.50, considering it contains two shots of organic, fair trade coffee. Nice Americano: not too weak (thanks to the two shots) and nicely roasted (not over-roasted). The barista was super-friendly. Nice seating area outside the public market. I'm also giving Green Star Coffee 5/5 "green stars" for social and environmental impact, based on these reasons: * All of their beans are certified organic and Fair Trade. Most of it is also shade-grown (impt for habitats). * I read that one of their suppliers, a coffee farm in Guatemala, was affected by coffee leaf rust. Green Star agreed to pay them higher prices to get them over the difficult patch. They seem like genuinely good guys. * It's one of the few places I've come across lately that uses compostable cups. You know regular cups have a plastic lining, right? The vast majority of conventional cups end up in landfill because there's nothing else to do with them. Green Star's hot cup lids and cold cups are also compostable. * Their milk, sugar and agave are all organic. Plant-based milks available too, naturally. * They are a zero-landfill café. They re-use their own coffee bags and everything else is recyclable or compostable. Find out more about the other green star thing at Green Stars Project dot org.

    Nice roaster!!
    Wendi H.

    Best coffee ever!! Definitely worth checking out. They roast their own beans. Phenomenal customer service. Well worth the price. You can drop by their shop or order online. They will let you try anything and you'll love the variety. Love supporting a small business like this. Hope they stick around

    Very cool foam work on a latte!

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    1 year ago

    Love the coffee, love the people! Am a regular buyer from their walk-up window. Love to support great local businesses

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    6 years ago

    Best craft coffee I have found and at the best price. Their single origins make some impressive espresso.

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    Really great customer service and the beans are awesome. Definitely gonna be my main place to buy coffee now.

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    9 years ago

    Haven't tasted the coffee but had the nicest encounter and service there. Business owners like that are what make this country great!

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    Ask the Community - Green Star Coffee

    I was super sad to see the Green Star Coffee in the Santa Barbara Market close. Is another shop going to be opening elsewhere? Maybe the new spaces across from the airport on Hollister?

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    Review Highlights - Green Star Coffee

    I mainly drink espresso and Dan made a recommendation (Red's Espresso) that I absolutely loved - the crema is outstanding.

    Mentioned in 6 reviews

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    Handlebar Coffee Roasters

    Handlebar Coffee Roasters

    4.4
    (369 reviews)
    7.2 mi
    $$

    handlebar on de la vina is one of those places that has fully committed to its identity and then…read moregone a little further you pull up and it's bikes everywhere. not scattered. organized chaos. leaned into each other like they've all agreed this is where they belong i'm more of a unicycle guy. no handlebars. pure trust. you either believe in yourself or you don't and the road sorts it out so seeing this many handlebars in one place does raise some questions. not judging. just observing. at a certain point you start wondering if two hands on a steering device is more of a lifestyle than a necessity but i respect it. clearly it's working for them walk in and the place is dialed. not loud. not quiet. just focused. like everyone understands the assignment without needing to say it coffee is serious. you can feel it before you even order. these beans have had a journey. people behind this have had a journey too. it shows i got an americano because that's how you remove all variables it delivered. clean. balanced. no distractions. just coffee doing exactly what it's supposed to do guy behind the counter was locked in. didn't catch the name but pretty sure it was barron sawyer. had that calm confidence like he could make coffee or lead a small expedition if needed you've got cyclists coming through mid-ride, people talking quietly, someone reading something that looks important and then there's me sitting there with my coffee thinking about trust and how far you can really take it this place works because it knows exactly what it is five stars handlebars optional but apparently popular

    Nice and spacious place; bright room and perfect for working on your laptop or hanging out with…read morefriends but coffee wasn't great. I also love the fact they use reusable plates and cups/glasses (for dine in) instead of disposable ones. Service was pretty good.

    Photos
    Cowboy cookie + Cortado & iced vanilla latte
    Cowboy cookie + Cortado & iced vanilla latte
    Cowboy cookie + Cortado & iced vanilla latte
    Cowboy cookie + Cortado & iced vanilla latte
    Cappuccino + Bagel w Cream Cheese, outdoor seating

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    Cappuccino + Bagel w Cream Cheese, outdoor seating
    Cajé Coffee Roasters

    Cajé Coffee Roasters

    4.2
    (198 reviews)
    8.8 mi
    $$

    We had a tough time finding a place to hang out and kill time in Santa Barbara waiting out traffic…read morebefore continuing on to LA. We tried multiple other places that didn't have outdoor seating (so not dog friendly), but then we found Caje on State Street. It's on a protected set of streets where there are lots of shops and stores. There's common outdoor seating just outside the store, which met our objective of hanging out with the dog. Granted it was a hot day, but this store was really really hot inside, like unpleasantly so. I felt bad for the barista! The coffee is reasonably priced, all things considered (fancy flavors, Santa Barbara, crowded location) and the flavor was nice and not one I've personally had before. I asked to go light on the ice and they did a good job there. The wait was a bit long, but we weren't in a hurry, so it was all fine. Good place to stop and relax and have a good tasting coffee.

    Our group of four stopped by this location as a nice break from our downtown shopping on State st…read more We were the only patrons in there so we were assisted right away. The location is nice, but it felt really hot inside. The space is small so there's not much seating inside, but they have a small outdoor seating area out front and additional seating options around the corner. They were almost out of pastries so we split their last two croissants amongst the four of us. The croissants were probably my favorite part of the visit. Most of our group seemed to be okay with their coffee choices, but overall no one was overly enthusiastic about their drink so we'd say it's about average. I ordered the iced chai latte and it was probably the worst drink I've had at a coffee shop. It was pretty much a big glass of milk with some chai spices mixed in. Very disappointing. I ended up throwing most of it away. Their staff was okay, but nothing stood out about their service so the experience here overall was pretty mediocre at best.

    Photos
    Yemen...yum!
    Yemen...yum!
    Menus at the back
    Menus at the back
    Coffee bar

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    Coffee bar

    Green Star Coffee - coffeeroasteries - Updated August 2026

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