Best fast coffee in Arcata! Great snacks from Los Bagels and some nice hot breakfast things also. Fast service for a great price and they always treat you right. I don't even need to order, just confirm my 20oz vanilla latte. No over priced cream and sugar here, locally roasted beans from Muddy Waters Roasters. Need I say more? read more

Why go to Dutch brothers or jitter Bean when Riptide is right here. Hardworking, competent staff, really good coffee, the unique Slug bagel, and far shorter lines read more

Riptide Cafe - Slug bagel - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Arcata, California

Excellent selection of alternative milks: almond, coconut, hemp, soy, and oat! Very friendly staff and accommodating to people that want something off the menu. Really tasty croissant sandwiches. Especially the pesto grilled cheese. They have gluten free muffins. read more

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we got charged twice! I ended up paying 47 dollars for Two coffees and two bagels. when mentioned we were told to come back in a few days which is a problem seeing as we live 4 hours away. Not thrilled hoping to call in and maybe get it sorted out read more

The barista that helped us out today was amazing. She was friendly, energetic, and answered all of the questions we had. I got an americano with amaretto syrup (first time I've seen it available at any coffee shop) and it was delicious. My boyfriend got an iced vanilla coffee and he also enjoyed his drink. The coffee is solid. I would highly highly recommend. The stand itself is also cute and the lot looked clean and not menacing what so ever. read more

My girlfriend and I come here pretty regularly and we both love it- it's a bit of a hidden gem. The manager is super friendly, prices are similar to Dutch Bros, and better quality! Their breakfast options are really good too- love to support a small business, (I also notice they use less plastic than most drive thru cafes so big +) the drive through line is never too long so I'd definitely recommend giving them a try if you haven't already. Thanks Riptide you guys rock! read more

Riptide Cafe is a small Drive-Thru/Walk Up coffee joint, located in Arcata, CA. I parked and walked up - ordered my traditional cold brew with cream added. Drink was pretty good, nice and cold, got the ole brain cells firing in no time! Service was good! #RiptideCafe read more

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What a quaint little coffee shop! Drove thru on our way out of McKinleyville. This shop is easy to miss so keep your eyes out! From when we ordered to receiving our food and drinks was about 10 min. Drinks: We ordered a 16 oz vanilla latte (hot) and a 20 oz iced vanilla latte w/ almond milk. The hot latte was passable. The iced latte was pretty gross. It just didn't taste smooth, the expresso tasted burnt. They made the iced latte extra sweet which I think helped cover up a lot of the bitterness. Drank about half of that one and threw it away. Also PSA most of their syrups are sugar free. Food: Food is where Riptide really shines. We had a ham & cheese bagel and a croissant with cream cheese & raspberry jam. Both were yummy. Croissant was pretty sweet so I only managed to eat about half. Overall, not sure I'd be back. This is one of the only coffee spots in town though. read more

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Coffee was decent, ended up being a tad cold, but the service made up for it. Awesome friendly barista who made our visit worthwhile.

Very cool. Loved food and staff but waaaay too loud. Didn't notice that at former name. No band but acoustics very bad. We were yelling at each other. read more

Good coffee and nice baristas, better than dutch bros across the street. Would be five starts but their hours are very inconsistent and they close early very frequently due to short staffing can't get coffee before work sad :( read more

Riptide is simply the best! Whether you like your coffee strong and black, or a creamy flavorful latte, they've got you covered. You can't go wrong with anything on the menu. Thank you Riptide! read more

Best little coffee joint around! I love their mochas but my husband and I are also hooked on their raspberry peach smoothies. Seriously do yourself a favor and try one, SO GOOD! The baristas are always so nice and always make me smile. Definitely drop by and give them a try! You won't be sorry! read more

This is a Drive-Thru really, not a' walk-up'. It states that you can walk up to order, but if the line is up to 10 cars deep good luck. I'm not going to stand in between cars in a line, nor be a creep and have an angry driver honk at me because I walk in front of them up to the window to order while they are already waiting in queue. Nor stand like a statue wondering what the heck to do, while nobody says a thing. Ended up leaving, cars are king. read more

Really great prices. The two girls working are sweethearts who were working so well through a busy afternoon. I got a 24oz iced coffee and 16 oz green tea iced. Cost 5.25 , they have sandwiched and other seasonal drinks read more

Riptide Cafe - Menu - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Arcata, California

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My favorite coffee shop. They make the best mocha. I usually end up trying the specials that they update every day. A pleasant local business worth trying out. read more

I'm from Los Angeles and on the hunt for a good cup of black coffee in Humboldt County. Their light roast coffee has been wonderful to me the last three times I got it. Baristas are always smiling and in a great mood. Good spot if you want something convenient and (kind of) quick. I live right next to it so it's good for me. I personally think it's a nice little gem! read more

Love this coffee hut! They have a great team, always happy, they remember how I like my coffee. My only gripe is the wait sometimes when someone is waiting on food.. I wish they had a waiting spot so that we could get our nectar of the gods and go... All in all my favorite spot for a cup o'joe read more

Nice, local spot. Friendly service. Wide variety of drinks and treats, made with high- quality ingredients. Lots of milk substitutes. I had a blended Mexican Mocha with Hemp Milk, and it was delicious. It was a bit of a wait, but the place is tiny. I would recommend getting an "Affogato", if you've never had one before. I definitely recommend this place to anyone, and will be going back soon. read more

Such great service! Ordered a blended chai, which was decent. The girl that took my order was awesome, able to take my order, make suggestions, and handle other orders. Love that they asked me if I wanted a dairy alternative, and if I wanted a straw. She even delivered my drink over to Almas across the parking lot! read more

Me and my husband were pleasantly surprised with this place! They have really good coffee! We both got iced lattes with syrups. Perfect balance of sweet, milk, and espresso. The service was a bit slow, but it was worth the coffee. read more

Just moved to Humboldt and I am loving all the local drive thru coffee spots! Started work right down the street from Riptide and whatever lavender syrup they use is amazing. Matcha Lavender Lattes and Lavender Lattes and to DIE for. Clearly, they'll be getting all my money Monday-Friday read more

Ordered 2 cappuccinos - one with hemp the other with oat milk. LOVE the milk alternatives. Friendly staff!! Great way to start the day! Thank you Riptide! read more

I come to love this little coffee shack. They make good coffee and serve local coffee which is a plus for me. However the lines can get really long and take a while before you actually get up to the window and order. The other issue I've had is they have served me coffee with old soy milk. And when I came back to ask them to remake it (they were more than happy to do this) they used the same cartoon of soy milk that was extra extra clumpy as the other one. I said that soy milk has gone bad and if they can just use a new one. The lady that was helping me said that is how the soy milk is and nothings wrong with it. I told her I've been here so many times and have ordered soy milk products for over 10 years and very rarely does this happen and when it does it means it got too hot and is bad. Like I've said the previous I have had soy drinks from here before and they were absolutely perfect but it was this only one. Anyways I just left with my clumpy coffee and had to immediately through it away. Disappointed with that last encounter and may consider trying it again in the near future as I love to support local businesses. read more

Riptide Cafe - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Arcata, California

I waited in line for 15 minutes this morning and not one car moved. Its disappointing when you can't get your coffee because I can't waste gas having my car idol. Won't be back here sorry. read more

Anytime I'm in town this is my go-to coffee place--great coffee, delicious food, and kind employees. Today, my dog smashed my coffee in my car as I was leaving. The lady working was so quick to ask how she could help; came back with a ton of napkins and a new coffee. This place never fails to brighten my day. read more

I have stopped here many many times for coffee in the mornings on my way to work. Usually is always really good coffee, and they have some pastries. The other day I got a coffee and drove home. When I got home I opened the coffee to add creamer and there was a cockroach with eggs all over it's stomach. If I had not opened the lid I would have drank cockroach eggs......so I don't think I will be going back anymore. Be careful, check your coffee if you go. read more

It was horrible! We waited 10 minute for the person in front of us to get one small coffee. By the time it was our turn they didn't have the menu were we could see it and they were weren't helpful. I buy five coffees so I didn't want to wait 50 minutes so we left. read more

Went by here a couple of days ago to get a drip coffee. Spent 20 minutes waiting in line with only 3 cars ahead of me. When I placed my order I said no to cream and sugar. When i got home and opened my coffee to pour it into my mug there was clearly cream in it, it was basically white. I poured it down the drain because I hate the taste of dairy. I had only left the house to run an errand, so there was no way I was going back during a pandemic to get another coffee. I went to the website to call and ask for a refund, but they had no number listed, so I sent an email and still haven't heard back. I see a phone number listed on Yelp, but I don't understand why you wouldn't respond to an email when there is no number listed on your website. I was served an undrinkable coffee to me, spent $4.50 (I left a $2 cash tip), and wasted 20 minutes of my time to not get any response to my request for a refund. Having previously spent 3 years working in a coffee shop I can certainly say the customer service is lacking. read more

I've driven past this place for years & never paid much attention. Then one day it's cold, rainy, & I'm too lazy to drive to either McKinleyville or Eureka for my caffeine fix, but I still want my chai. This is a good place to get a nice HOT soy chai [not tepid like the Seattle-based coffee place I often go to.] Priced closely to the coffee chain, but the difference here is that Riptide offers locally-made ingredients/products & apparently organic when possible. Riptide offers two variations of locally made Planet Chai - either sweet OR spicy; or the more commonly available Oregon Chai. I tried the Planet Chai spicy, and while it wasn't quite the taste for me, that was just my personal preference & not due to the barista or due to the chai itself (too spicy - lol. Guess I need to accept I am more of a sweets type of girl.) They also have locally made, organic soft serve from Straus Farms in homemade waffle cones. I didn't try one this time around (too cold for me, but my grandbaby, a true Humboldt County kid - not feeling the cold at all - had one & loved it.) If you are familiar w Dutch Bros, their set-up is similar: you drive up to a window on either side of the "hut" (not sure what else to call it) to place your order. Another similarity to DB is that they offer a stamp/punch card (buy 10, get 1 free). Don't forget to ask for one because chances are they may forget to offer. ;-) Buy / support local business! I like that in addition to BEING a local place, they also do their part to support local artisans by offering locally made products where they can (Planet Chai, Straus soft serve, & I've heard they offer bagels from Los Bagels.) I sure intend to start buying here more often. read more

Open on Sunday morning, saved our lives! Friendly, patient server with our indecisive group, quick service once we picked something. The Chai Charger was a surprising treat, chai mixed with two shots of espresso, it allowed me to taste both the chai and the coffee, neither cloyingly sweet not full fisted coffee. My wife's white chocolate mocha was good too. On a whim we added the "Strawberry and Cream Cheese Croissant". What a good choice. It was lightly grilled similar to a panini, and the local strawberry jam was just right, not overly sweet as many jams end up. We'll probably go again next time we're in the area. read more

2nd car in line and waited 15+ min for a drink that wasn't at all hot. I ordered extra hot. The extended wait was for a food item to be cooked for the customer ahead of me. If you're going to make people wait forever while you cook food in a drive-thru coffee shack, at least make sure you get their order correct. I understand we're in Humboldt where things are slower ,but just wow. read more

First off, convenient location and I love that they also offer a small selection of food items. The baristas can be hit or miss. There's a dark haired one (I think she might be the manager?) that's usually there in the morning that makes an EXCELLENT latte. Other baristas, the quality goes down and there's one that frequently burns her espresso shots. The service is pretty slow. If there's more than two cars in line, I skip it. I once spent 20 minutes waiting for coffee with three cars ahead of me (no one ordered food/complicated drinks that I could see). While I enjoy the coffee/pastries, I don't have time to waste 20 minutes in a drive thru on my way to work - I'd rather get coffee somewhere else if that's the case. read more

Decent service and decent coffee. I found that small talk made the barista's mood improve. It is a little drive through place with two sides like a standard Dutch Bros. We only tried the plain coffee and the barista put the cream in for us. They claim it is organic coffee and it was brewed nicely and tasted good. I cannot comment on their food or espresso as we only tried the coffee. read more

This was my first time here and I was very impressed. Great food that is made to order. They panini press their croissants and now I can never eat one that's not prepared that way. Fast and friendly service and great coffee! read more

Very good drive through. A lot of choices. Just threw my food and drink away though as, during a pandemic, they were not wearing masks to prepare food or drinks. read more

Cute little blue house with great espresso, tasty food, and friendly baristas! Lots of custom toppings for your bagel/croissant and dozens of syrups to add to drinks (both regular and sugar-free). They seem to have monthly specials which is awesome. My go-to is the croissant sandwich with turkey, cheese and pesto and an iced Americano. Fair prices and great service, I love giving this place my business! read more

I had never gone here before and I decided to give it a try on my way to work a month or two ago. I couldn't believe I hadn't gone here earlier! It's a sweet little place, much better than any of the corporate drive-thru coffee places around here. I got a vanilla latte and a ham and cheese croissant sandwich with larrupin sauce. Both were out pretty quickly and tasted great! I was impressed. I've been back a couple times since and have always been happy with the service and food/drinks I've received. I like that they have more hot food items on the menu than most coffee places offer. They always have friendly girls working there, and the entire place just has a good atmosphere to it. read more

I've never had a bad coffee or bad service here. My favorite drink is the black and white soy mocha. They carry a 24 oz size. This drive thru coffee shop also has delicious food (try the cream cheese and jam croissant). read more

Ordered and enjoyed their Humboldt Fog! The girls who were working were super friendly. Great for a quick stop on the road.