Roots & Craft Tea Roasters is a San Francisco based tea brand founded in 2018 that specializes in…read moresustainably grown and harvested artisanal tea from Miyazaki, Japan. They market their teas through their website shop and at Dolores Outpost in San Francisco. Through the years they have taken part in pop-ups at various locations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area serving their Matcha, Hojicha and Sencha teas along with other Japanese specialties. Although I had previously had a sampling of their teas at one of their San Francisco pop-ups and have followed them on Facebook and Instagram it wasn't until recently that I became more interested in their product. Back in late April 2020 (actually May 1st) during the height of sheltering in place and bored out of my mind I came upon a ZOOM program hosted by the Japan Society of Northern California introducing participants to make-at-home tea concoctions using Roots & Craft artisanal teas and various forms of alcoholic beverages taught by Roots & Craft founders Maya Kono and her partner Teru. I learned of so many unique tea based beverages during that hour long presentation that suddenly I wanted to try them all. Then came the announcement about a week ago that following a series of successful pop-up events at Oakland's O2 Artisans Aggregate (now also known as Magnolia Mini Mart during the COVID-19 era) located at 2311 Magnolia Street in a mostly industrial area in West Oakland that Roots & Craft will set up shop every Friday and Saturday from 11:00 AM until 3:00 PM until further notice. A week later on a beautifully sunny July 4th Saturday I found myself at Magnolia Mini Mart minutes after they had opened their gate to pay a visit with Maya and Teru and their Roots & Craft shared stall located next door to June's Pizza. The featured beverage for their July 4th pop up was their Hojicha Frappe which I ordered to be made with oat milk (whole milk and almond milk were the other options). Hojicha is a Japanese green tea where the tea leaves are roasted instead of steamed which gives it a smoky, almost nutty flavor. Their Hojicha Frappe combines their brewed Hojicha tea with your choice of milk, white chocolate chips and ice cubes. It can be topped with a whipped dairy cream which I opted out of and a dusting of Hojicha tea powder. In addition to the Frappe I ordered one of two featured Japanese sandwiches that being a dessert-like fresh fruit sandwich. For the month of July Roots & Craft in collaboration with Shades of Sugar Bakeshop of Oakland are featuring a set of tea inspired macarons. I couldn't pass on that so I ordered some of those as well. After conversing with the super nice couple I took a seat at the outdoor garden located in front of the neighboring Soba Ichi Restaurant to enjoy my treats. The Hojicha Frappe was amazing and the roasted, nutty flavor really shone so much in fact that I mistakenly thought the little ground up bits of white chocolate chips were crushed hazelnuts. The fruit sandwich was a hit as well. Sandwiched in between two slices of light and airy bread were huge pieces of fresh mango, pineapple, banana, peach and orange in a lightly sweetened whip cream. I had another commitment in the East Bay that limited my time here, but I've got a couple of off days next weekend and I'll be sure to return to try out some more tea-inspired concoctions from Roots & Craft. In the meantime, I can't wait to dig into those tea-inspired macarons. For COVID-19 contactless payments via credit card is used and hand sanitizer is available on the counter. Maya and Teru wear face masks and to be respectful you should too. There is plenty of open space on site for social distancing. For more information on Roots & Craft check out their website or follow them on Instagram. Interested in those tea-inspired July only macarons you can get more info or preorder them at this link: https://www.shadesofsugarbakeshop.com/matcha

The review is for their superb service, I was unsure of their hours and they promptly responded…read moreback to me through Instagram. I swung by and got their Matcha Tonic with Hojicha Latte each ~$6. I'd say it's a bit pricey for what it is but they also have food that I Must come back to try.

Joe has amazing customer service; not to mention he makes the best latte in the bay…read more I go there on and off and he is consistent . Consistency is a rare thing. Thanks Joe

4++ Oakland coffee shop with multiple locations. This location is inside the fairly new food hall…read more(as of early 2026), the Prescott Market. The stall is not huge, so the menu is rightfully streamlined they got a few of the classics as well as a handful of specialty/signature beverages. I got the allspice latte and thought it was delicious. The area around the stall was pretty busy since it's a popular food hall, but since it was later in the day, the coffee place itself wasn't busy. I came in wanting a pick me up before I headed out to dinner with my nephew in the area. I also ended up buying a bag of whole beans as well. The coffee here is pretty good when I made it home as well.

After Covid knocked me down and broke my cookies, I stood up and decided to get my stuff together…read moreand do something nice for people I know and love. I decided to learn to roast coffee beans. Where to start? Sweet Maria's! I ordered the roaster, the beans, the bags, the book, all the things. I watched videos on their website (also, YouTube, I will not lie and pretend YouTube does not teach me all the things, it does, and so does the SM website, use both, but this review is for SM so I digress). I use the SR800 Fresh Roast air roaster. I love it. I upgraded to a Behmor AB2000 drum roaster and I was SOOO disappointed. No good way to watch temperature, no good way to stop it from coast roasting, just spent more money on a thing that was not (to ME) an improvement. I returned to my Fresh Roast 800 and I have gotten really good at roasting beans. I love the green beans selections from Sweet Maria's. The descriptions are great and they really know which beans roast up darker or lighter - I always press on that envelope and then I say to myself, "Why did I not just do what they tell me to do?" So do pay attention to the roast profiles on the beans - if you like yours dark, make sure Sweet Maria's thinks you should roast them up to Full City Plus. OK, other great things: They ship fast, and they have a nice flat rate UPS option that shows up on your doorstep quickly. They also have pick up service for when you drop your roasting chamber and break it on the day you planned on roasting. Yes, get a spare and yes, go pick that thing up instead of waiting on UPS! It's a cute little location and the folks are friendly. Beans beans - they source them from everywhere and the prices are right. Even Kona beans are available once in a while, which makes my heart sing songs about my coffee addiction. I am currently totally crushing on these: Honduras Dry Process Edwin Ever Parainema Kona Darnall Estate Typica Yemen Mokha Matari Guatamala Antigua Pulcal Inteligente Mexico (Organic!) Chiapas El Desvio Zambia Kateshi Estate AA I love Sumatra but I have not yet quite mastered that art yet, now that I have been at this game for about 5 years. Pro Tip: Order 1/2 lb tin-tie paper bags with ties so you can give some bean love to your friends. Other pro tips: Do get the Ecotact green coffee storage bags if you don't plan to roast your beans right away. Keep them fresh! Definitely store in good one-way valve containers, and don't roast too much all at once - just to have it get oxidized too quickly. Fresh! Fresh I tell you! They have an Atmos vacuum container. I use Airscape, works well.

I have been ordering coffee beans from Sweet Maria's for over 12 years for home roasting and have…read morenever been disappointed. I love the large selection, detail bean profiles, and quality of the beans. It's also great that their packaging is done well and delivery estimates are consistently met.

My sister came to town with a list of businesses she wanted to check out (specifically coffee…read moreplaces because she loves coffee) and this is one of the places from her list. I had never heard of it, but I am sooo glad she found it! Everything we had was delicious! And those pastries??? Heavenly!!! The atmosphere in the building is relaxed and chill, and on one of the coolest things we saw in there were the positive, loving notes written by children in the community and posted around the room! We got soo much joy from reading them! Great food and drinks, friendly, welcoming staff, relaxing atmosphere ... This place is the definition of a hidden gem! Highly recommended!!

Finally a lively very friendly cafe right in Dogtown my hood...run by a couple of very dedicated…read moreneighbors, Justin & Jen. Pastries aleays fresh , coffee, matcha etc are made perfectly and fast. The crowd which frequents Soul Blends is diverse, very sophisticated and nothing could be more welcoming... pixs to come!!!

Great staff, adeni chai is my go to! Well lit space, lots…read moreof seating space, I love meeting friends here for a cup of tea. We shared a slice of the honeycomb, and spinach feta. Both were great!

Came here on a whim on a Friday afternoon and was pleasantly surprised with how pretty and quiet it…read morewas inside. Quite different from when this was a Starbucks. The pistachio milk cake instantly caught my eye. My favorite cake is tres leches and this looked very similar in consistency, so I decided to try a piece. Unfortunately, they were out of the iced tea I wanted, but the woman behind the counter suggested the wild peach, which sounded great, so I went with that. The cake was fantastic and the slice was pretty generous in size. If you like tres leches and pistachio, I'd highly recommend giving this a shot. It was so moist and fluffy and wasn't overly sweet at all. However, I didn't care for the tea. It had a bitterness that reminded me of hibiscus tea, which I strongly dislike, so I didn't end up finishing it. The owner was a very nice person and the atmosphere inside the cafe was welcoming, a nice respite for a quick afternoon snack and drink. A handful of people were working inside, others talking quietly. A chill spot overall with a lot more on the menu I'd like to return to try.

We ordered a turkey sausage breakfast sandwich and a bacon breakfast sandwich and loved both!!! The…read morebread was amazing. Full review on TikTok @jpennyyy

Had the bacon breakfast croissant sandwich. Finally somewhere that has flavor in their food ‍ also…read moregot a hazelnut iced latte which passed the color and taste test. The barista was so nice and attentive with service. Overall 10/10 will be back soon

Got an iced horchata latte and loved it! Also got an almond croissant which was a bit mushy, but…read morenot too bad! Also got banana bread which was also okay. Good space that has plenty of seating. Staff were pleasant. Not sure if they had wifi though!

Was really looking forward to finally checking this place out. They have a bunch of things to try…read moreon the menu. There was a lot of people in there 1/2 an hour before closing too so I'm sure the place is good. I tried something new cause I usually love this drink: banana matcha, (Even though i originally came to try something else) but I was disappointed. Matcha flavor was really light and so was the banana flavor. It was more of a light matcha milk, if you will. I will come back to try what I originally wanted to drink (horchata matcha latte, I believe it was) cause I really think they have good drinks. I've heard great things from friends so maybe I just got a bad drink, off day, or because it was a new drink on the menu, it just hasn't been perfected yet? Not sure but just wasn't what I usually expect from a matcha drink. Other than that, service was great. The cashier was really nice. I was able to find street parking really easily as well. (If you do try the banana matcha, maybe ask for less milk!)

Delah Coffee is a local gem that I love supporting! Located off the busy intersection of Grand Ave,…read morethis cafe offers a variety of Yemeni/middle eastern drinks and pastries. There are plenty of open seats inside, which is great for spending time with friends, reading a book or studying. I tried a few things this time - the Biscoff latte which is new, the pistachio and rose croissant, the milk cake, and the spinach and cheese turnover. Beginning with the latte, it actually wasn't too sweet and the Biscoff gave the coffee a light richness that wasn't overpowering. The milk cake is soft and practically melts in your mouth. The croissant goes well with the pistachio and rose filling. Lastly, the spinach and turnover is light, baked to golden perfection, and is the perfect size to share. I can't wait to come visit again!

Fantastic offerings, space, hours, and staff! I haven't found a better late-night study spot in…read moreOakland, and the folks who work here are the absolute best. I haven't tried it yet, but the food and dessert offerings look amazing. The general ambiance here is lovely and there are so many thoughtful details in the space and even the serving ware used for drinks and food.