I really enjoyed buying the mocha chai coffee it was so delicious. The service was Swift and the workers were all friendly!

This is the riverside edition of the local java junction chain, which while having 99 problems coffee isn't one of them. This is a strip mall shopping center thingy with extensive parking. Outside of the mass retail madness that is the Christmas shopping season parking won't be any issue. For the month of December though you might consider not driving here. This is meduimish sized shop. Plenty of inside and outside seating, both which have their own issues and advantages. The seating is of unremarkable table/chair/patio styles and most groups go for the outside seating as it has more space. I'm a big fan of the outside seats-unless it's a rainy day (winter) or if it's got that super strong California sunshine pounding down(summer), or it's chilly and foggy(every day before 10-11 am). The inside seats don't have the weather issues but this isn't a quiet contemplative place. Tons of folks going in and out, steamer noises, and occasional crowding around the order counter/bathroom. Much mellower outside,and yes the wifi extends across the entire patio area. They have the usual range of coffee/tea things-latte, espresso, loose leaf, smoothies and whatnot. Decent selection of light fare-the sandwiches are made on site to order and are fairly popular. They've the usual range of pastry items, and there is a small day old basket right in front of the register, which is both handy and a temptation. Usually the Achilles heel of the java junction's is consistency-they have a hard time getting the same order right several days in a row-but I'm happy to report that the staff here-so far-don't seem to struggle with that issue. If you like what you ordered, you'll like it the next time as well. So far so good, but there are some issues here. The staff have a kind of siege mentality. This area is at the forefront of various social issues and they won't be super friendly at first until the figure out who/what you are. There are fair amount of folks that come here just to try to fat finger whatever they can-this is why the cinnamon shaker has a chain on it, and why the creamer et al is behind the counter. I've never had any security issues in or around this spot, but you will for sure see some questionable things. Not in the coffee shop, but on the street outside. So enjoy your coffee, lock your doors and you'll be fine. read more

Nice quiet location. Hip music. Staff is more interested in talking with each other than their customers. They had 4 people working and no line. Not a good sign. My coffee drink was ok. Nothing too special. Big sign on the bathroom door - if you do drugs in the bathroom, they will call the police. Wait...it happens so often that they need a sign? read more

Java Junction - Nice presentation - no customers - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Food and drinks are mid, not to mention expensive. Should've just bought some Starbucks.

They had amazing service and a lot of options including bagels. I ordered an iced coffee with hazelnut and almond milk and oh my goodness one of the best ice coffees I've ever had. We also ordered a hot chocolate and they hand whipped the whipped cream right in front of us. Definitely a place to stop! read more

3 stars Bc it's usually an ok decent place for coffee but today...nope. I ordered a latte and a slice of coffee cake because I felt bad for it...sitting there all sad and squished. The coffee cake was ok after I rescued it from what I'm sure was a pile headed for the garbage, but when I went to take a sip of my latte it smelled like mold. Upon further inspection I think it was just the top that I grabbed that made it smell that way, but by then there was no way I was gonna drink it. Good thing it's all compostable Bc that's where it ended up. In a heap next to the coffee cake. read more

Java junction used to be cool but this location has gone down hill with the new staff. The pink, long haired girl seems to make going as slow as possible a sport, taking her sweet time walking from the espresso machine to the sink in between drinks. The unfriendly dark hair with blonde high lights girl was super rude and had to take over making drinks because pink hair was so slow. The manager anne always gets drinks out quickly and they taste great. younger staff is more interested in wacky eyeliner than making drinks quickly and well. read more

They spent multiple minutes trying to figure out of my cash was fake. Holding it to the light and just generally acting all weird about it. Then refused to let me use the restroom after I purchased two drinks - stating that they didn't have a restroom for customers, which is ILLEGAL in California. I won't be coming back based off that alone. I'm not going to patronize a business that sells food and drink and then ILLEGALY disallows their customers to use the restroom. The coffee itself was 2/5 stars. Suitable, but nothing special. read more

YUM! Great options for vegans :) I ordered a VEGAN Monkey Business by adding an extra banana instead of yogurt and substitute soy/almond milk! Peanut butter banana delight! I also ordered an everything bagel with hummus, cucumber, and red onion. DELICIOUS! Served open faced. :) read more

Java Junction - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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I never write reviews but this place is awesome. The homemade whipped cream is amazzzzinngggg, thanks for giving me my boyfriends whipped cream on the side so I could eat it! 10/10 read more

Java Junction - Pb&j, Mexican mocha, whipped cream - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

This place sucks. It's to bad because I love the best turkey sandwich. I get 30 minutes for lunch and I might be the only customer in the cafe and it still takes forever to get my sandwich. The staff are to busy talking about whatever party or whatever person to take care of there customer. One employee was standing behind the counter just eating while I waited for my coffee and when I asked for my coffee he said " sorry I am on break" Are you kidding me. I have given this place more then a couple of chances and I get the same service each time. I have read reviews about how hard the manager works and I have also seen her in action, but she sucks as a manager and should be fired for NOT MANAGING read more

I ordered a coffee ''for here" but the cashier gave us a to go cup instead. Normally this is a small matter, but we waited for quite some time expecting the coffee to be ready not knowing that they had prepared a "to go" order. When we pointed this out to the employee, she appeared to not care. It is difficult to recommend this shop based on this experience, and I hope this review would serve to help improve the service at this place. read more

I had the most wonderful experience at Java my freshman year of college and have been going ever since. Shoutout to Emily the barista she was extremely friendly, attentive and makes the most incredible vanilla oat latte. Emily deserves a raise!! Thank you Java for getting me through finals week. read more

Great coffee, great service!! Best local coffee shop around! Made me a regular for life. read more

Terrible customer service they always forget to put the avocado on my toast after I pay for it and today they gave me my drink ina broke cup I had to stand next to the pick up counter for almost 10 mins to get it put in a cup that was not broken and by then I said never mind I don't even want it anymore it practically melted . read more

Java Junction - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Came in from traveling, passed up other options specifically for these smoothies. Some time before 5:30 and was told they stop serving smoothies at 5. read more

My favorite coffee shop whenever I come out here to visit not only is the coffee great but so is the friendly staff. The last time I came in I was helped by a very nice girl Emily who made my latte taste amazing! read more

The coffee and food here are good. My issue with this place is that they no longer allow paying customers to use their restroom. This is just bad business. I spent over $10 at this establishment and was told there was no restroom, even though I just saw an employee use their restroom and customers were allowed to use it in the past. When you go to a coffee shop you expect that there will be a restroom. This is why I am not giving this place more stars. I was also surprised that the employee did not know what a Red Eye coffee is. This is a standard well known beverage. There was 80's rock music playing which is fine if you're working out or socializing. I go to a coffee shop to relax and do work. The music did not promote a relaxing atmosphere. The vibe here now is spend money and get out quick. read more

Had a bad experience, then a few months later decided to give it another try and found an incredible barista who made the most amazing drinks and was so kind. However, I don't see him there anymore. Lately it's been a thumbs down, but it's location and hours make it convenient to walk my dog and grab a mocha. This was my last poor order and it was the customer service that did it for me. I ordered a drink, it didn't come out good, so I told them about it, they wanted to argue about it and make ONE shot to rectify the poorly made beverage. Instead of arguing with them when I'm the customer, I dropped the cold beverage into the trash (not threw, not tossed, wasn't angry or rude) just in a rush to get to work and UPSET that they even had to question the beverage when I come in so often and tip each time. Anyhow, I came back in for the CONVENIENT mocha (too tired that day to walk my dog farther) BIG MISTAKE! AND the barista confronted me about it and said I wasn't being kind?! When did staff start doing that? No it's not that I wasn't kind, I was an upset customer who doesn't want to argue with staff. Then the barista started talking crap about me to new customers as I was waiting for the drink I should have NEVER ordered. I KINDLY refused my drink, accepted my money back, and will NO LONGER do business there until they get better baristas. Maybe a couple months? A year this time? I dunno maybe never :( read more

5 stars for the manager there, she's always on top of things; friendly, efficient, and makes great coffee. I feel like the rest of the staff has become less friendly and customer-oriented lately. Today it took no less than 5 minutes for me to even be noticed by an employee, in addition to nearly 10 minutes to get my food, which was not heated nor a complicated order. The quality of coffee is really dropping. I find myself tossing my coffee after a few drinks because it's very bitter, or bland, or watery. There's no love in the drinks anymore. Hope you guys get that back. read more

A review for the food, smoothies, and service. I came here for lunch and there were no lines. I ordered a smoothie and a salami and cheddar sandwich. My sandwich was quickly made. I have ordered other sandwiches as well and they are all so bland. its like lettuce, meat, and cheese with a pathetic amount of effort or creativity. My smoothie tasted good, i got the one with peaches and bananas (forgot the name). I would have liked it better had they not forgotten about my order. I stood waiting at the counter to pick it up for about 5+ mins till they realized and asked if i was waiting for something. totally clueless, even though i was basically the only one in the store. get organized JJ! $5 min on credit cards Outside seating is nice :) they have umbrellas to protect from the sun read more

Java Junction, what's your function? Hooking up addicts with caffeine and sugar. Java Junction how's that function? Blendin' up smoothies and toasting those bagels. There's a few facts that you might know about me by reading this review. 1. I'm older than dirt for knowing this song. 2. I'm prone to earworms. (In fact, this particular song goes through my head quite often for some strange reason.) 3. This song is playing in your head right now too...you're welcome. Java Junction has two locations in Santa Cruz, one in the Seabright neighborhood where I live, and this one in a strip mall on River Street near Highway 1. I never go to the Seabright location as my favorite coffee shop in the world, Verve is right around the corner from me. I will hit up the River Street location from time to time if I'm in that area though. When you need caffeine, you need caffeine...right? Their single origin and blend roasts are organic and fair trade and make for a pretty good cup of coffee. Their bagels are brought in from local bagel maker The Bagelry so they are always fresh and delicious. They have a large selection of smoothies and frappes too! Try the Creamy Orange smoothie, it tastes just like a Orangesicle! While I have my favorite coffee roaster in town, Java Junction is a pretty good standby! Java Junction, what's your function? Hooking up good folks with coffee and making 'em function. read more

I will never frequent this establishment again. I had an hour to burn, I needed to be in that parking lot so why not a coffee right? Wrong! In the hour that I sat there, at least 15 if not more vagrants came in, made messes in the bathroom that pissed off employees, the dirty mop then gets carried dripping through the dining area, appetizing right? They pulled all their stuff out of their bags setting up their tables like tiny condos and claiming their turf and the whole vibe was horrible. Let me also add that instead of having a milk carafe out, they hand their milk over the counter for people to handle and pour then take it back over the counter when customers are done so they can use it to make drinks. Not a good feeling about their cleanliness. Gross!!! Top that off with the cashier saying "hhhhheeeyyy" and "oooohhh yeah" loudly every damn two minutes and I questioned if I had driven to the shelter in my caffeine deprived stupor. I hate to sound insensitive to the homeless but I am so tired of feeling like I am second class citizen when they take over the parks, sidewalks, biking trails, and now this coffee shop. Two stars because my mocha was decent but I couldn't drink it after the smell, the dirty dripping mop, and the milk contamination. read more

I would say Java Junction is solidly average. The employees are usually helpful and the coffee is coffee, but nothing is notably above average. I have eaten here a few times and never once thought or audibly said "mmmm thats good". Their salad and half sandwich is a pretty good deal because the salad is a full sized grilled chicken salad, but it's all on par with what you would make at home in a hurry. Coffee wise they have a few different options, but it doesn't seem the beans are anything special or the people who work here are barista's per se. They are also always about a person short. For example on a holiday weekend they had one person on the register and one poor girl making all the food and coffee orders, I can see how it would be easy for her to mess something up without meaning to. read more

When you arrive at 655 and the place opens at 7 doors unlocked you think great to coffee time. NOPE rude girl says we don't open till 7 and infers we must go back outside and wait. As a business owner I would like my employees to be friendly, maybe say hey there not quite ready but I'll be with you as soon as I can, have a seat if you like. Oh well this was my last chance for them back to fins on ocean!!! (Also no bums at fins) CLEAN UP YOUR TOTAL ACT JAVA JUNCTION read more

They put nuts in a cup and seal it with celophane. Yeah. You don't have to dress up my nuts and make them fancy. Give it to me bake-sale style, and save me the pain of having to unwrap some sparkley-glitter-bowtied bullshit that makes me wish that I carried some wire-clippers in the glove compartment. I like your style. And they were cheap! I've developed a habit of stopping here before I head over the hill. Your coffee is great, but I wanted to rave about your cup of nuts. read more

Stopped at one of my favorite coffee houses when I go to Costco I bought the usual coffee and a Mexican cookie. I asked for the bathroom key and I was told that they no longer have a public bathroom??? Well this was my last visit Adios read more

What a waste. I guess that is what you get when the establishment is overrun by a bunch of teenagers behind the counter more intent on checking their texts and emails on their phones than taking actual orders. Thank the owners for thinking it to be a great idea. Jeers. read more

Java Junction - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Just went to Java Junction. I wanted a chai. My daughter had to use the restroom and the counter person first rudely made sure we were aware of their customers only policy on the restroom. I guess this was just in case we didn't get it when we read it on the sign on the door. The staff which were 3 young women had us wait in line behind customers ordering to obtain the key to use it. Apparently, they can't hand you the key, and then wash their hands. Chai was just okay. No welcome and unfriendly attitudes towards customers. Probably won't go back there again. read more

If you like your mochas super sweet this is the place to go. They have Mocha Mania choices in which you can get your mocha creme bruele, milky way or some other concoction. This place is a decent as the other yelper said below, but nothing stellar. They have free wireless internet and the store is welcoming and clean. They have a small deli/ sandwich selection and their smoothies sounded good. My order-- a Mexican (chocolate) Mocha...took a while to make (ten minutes) because the person was talking to a regular customer-- it was way too sweet to the point where I could not taste the espresso-- - but tasted better when I added more soy.. was it worth the four bucks I paid for?? nope... usually i would give a place two stars-- but based on their cafe as a whole it is a three read more

Not a people-friendly nor pet friendly place. I walked in with two tiny service pups and was not welcomed by the staff only told dogs are not allowed. I told them they were service animals and still received horrible service. Food and coffee are average. Service-terrible. read more

I decided to update my review and lower a star for Java Junction on River Street. In my particular experience, the cashier could not get my debit card to work and blamed the machine a couple of times. I found this really inconvenient for an establishment to have unreliable card readers. I did not want to go to a random ATM and pay an extra $3 to use it just so I could get cash out for my $6 coffee. Also, on that note, why have a minimum amount required to use a card. It's 2019! Just pay the credit card fees like every other business does. Sure makes your business look stingy and penny pinchers. The white mocha I got was okay - it really should have been called a white chocolate milk since I didn't taste the espresso at all. They also no longer have a restroom. I wonder if it has something to do with the MASSIVE crowd of homeless people camped out behind their business. It's sad to see that all those drug addicts are ruining local businesses. Not so great experience this time around and sadly, I probably won't return for a very long time. read more

ordered a dirty chai that came luke warm. loud music, and certain employees are rude if you ask for the bathroom key.. I get that you're next to tent city, but I'm a paying customer. ill be going go to the seabright location, which is more spacious, quiet, and friendly. read more

If you have to make the sad morning commute over 17 on weekday mornings, may I suggest that you try stopping at Java Junction before you hit the road? It is just at the corner of River St and Hwy 1 so you can swing right on to 1 to 17 within moments after you have grabbed your delightful coffee. Some mornings, if I am in the car with my husband and we are trying to decide how much time we have, how much money we have and where to go - he almost always says "Let's go to the Junc!" He loves this place and that is rare. I like it too. They have really good quality beans and the roast never tastes burnt. I like to sit out on the patio on warm days to drink my coffee. Reminds me of coffee houses from the 90s. In the multitude of times we have been here, I only had one bad experience with one barista that biffed my mother in law's order one late afternoon. When we brought the drink back to her she was like, "oh I can add the right flavor on top of that" That sounded like one of those suicide drinks you made as a kid when you got free reign at a soda fountain... so we said no thanks. Then she said "what do you want me to do???" Like we were really frustrating her. ummmm dude, we want you to make her the right drink that we paid for. Shouldn't even really have to ask. read more

I couldn't be more pleased with the Smoothies here. I was becoming such an addict, the counter barista gave me one of those "buy-nine-smoothies-get-the-tenth-free" cards because she recognized my face. I mean I couldn't blame her; I probably came in to the store like three times in one week. Why not 5 stars you ask? Well I've never tried the sandwiches or the java soooo until then, 4 stars based on smoothie consumption. Shmeriously, you gotta try them ALL. read more

My experience is always hit or miss here. The boss lady, whose name I should remember by now, is always nice and strikes up a conversation. If I could give her 5 stars separately, I would. And the place is always clean, so 5 stars there. Pretty good food and smoothies too. Sometimes there are new, younger employees who put on their best smile and try hard to show some customer service, but the guys that have been there for a while just seem....miserable. Like they're there against their will. There's a tall guy with glasses and a septum piercing (shocker for a coffee shop, I know) who said some flippant remark to my girlfriend and walked away from us the first time I brought her in. Next time I saw him, he was jovial and joking with customers. It's taken me 25 minutes to get a bagel with cream cheese before, and other times they'll hear me order it and have it ready before my coffee is done. I always feel like I'm inconveniencing the baristas by ordering a drink. They have a sticker on their pastry case that says "Resist Corporate Coffee" My inner hippie agrees with that sentiment, but if you want to stay open in a world of Starbucks, you have to deliver something they can't so people will come to you. The quality of the coffee is inconsistent and some of the staff's attitudes are bad. I can go to a corporate coffee joint and get a coffee that tastes the same every time made by an employee who won't give me the stink eye. But I will continue to come back to Java Junction because it's close to my work and when they get everything right, it's a really great experience. read more

This place is the best, my only complaint is I wish it was closer to my house!! I never used to be a "coffee snob," but now I compare every cup to this place. I can't even do Starbucks anymore because the taste is so different. I also really love all their signature coffee ideas, and the staff here is friendly too! read more

I keep trying to like this place, but today was the last straw. I ordered a cappuccino and a cookie, got over charged, got that worked out, then waited for my cap. Waited and waited, listened to the two guys complain about getting off of work on time, waited some more...then walked over to find my cap sitting on the counter, cold. When I told the guy that I didn't get called when it was ready and that it was cold, he just waved his hands in my direction and said "yea, well, it's ready". So long Java Junction! read more

The coffee & food here is pretty decent, however the staff is less than welcoming. If you are looking for a friendly smile with your coffee, look elsewhere. From the girls at the counter to the baristas in the back, every time I come to this location they seem irritated to be there. This morning I looked up to the barista and thanked him for the coffee. He never looked up, never smiled or acknowledged me. However I left with a delicious vanilla latte so oh well! read more

I have been coming here for 4 years now when it's convenient. I love their whipped cream and espresso is great great quality! Only reason why it's not five stars is because it's never consistent on how good the drinks come out. 7/10 are great but always get a crappy one. No hard feeling though!!! I love you guys. read more