Fresh Roast
| Address: | 308 S San Gabriel Blvd, San Gabriel, CA 91776, USA |
| Phone: | +1 626-451-5918 |
| Rating: | 4.5 |
| Working: | 7:30AM–10:30PM 7:30AM–10:30PM 7:30AM–10:30PM 7:30AM–10:30PM 7:30AM–10:30PM 7:30AM–10:30PM 7:30AM–10:30PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 11
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Felix Lee
For over a decade, Fresh Roast has been a popular coffee shop serving citizens of San Gabriel. It was around even before the "third-wave coffeehouse" movement began. Dating back in the late 90s and early 2000s, customers around the neighborhood came to surf the Internet at computer stations in exchange for purchasing a cup of coffee. This practice remains the same today, except customers are bringing in their own electronics, and they understand and appreciate artisan coffee much more. Fresh Roast is one of the rare places in the San Gabriel Valley that uses a siphon to brew coffee. The siphon technique involves brewing coffee at a constant temperature, which ensures the extraction time is controlled. It yields one of the cleanest and most crisp cup of filtered coffee. Pair it with the latest roast and you have the best tasting 20oz (~2 to 3 cups) of coffee in San Gabriel. A wide variety of single-origin coffee beans is roasted in-house by owner Jimmy. The beans are country specific, but are not sourced from specific microlots or farms like third-wave coffeeshops do. However, the beans are inexpensive at around $10 to $12 per pound except for the special Jamaican Blue Mountain Wallensford Estate ($50/lb). Third-wave coffee shops typically charge much more, in excess of $20 per pound. Jimmy seems to roast the beans a little darker than I prefer.
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Toan Duong
Coffee/juices/Tea/food: 4/5 stars They roast coffee and whole sale from here so their coffee is always fresh. They have Hawaiian, blue mountain, and even luwak coffee here. Try the siphoned coffee for kick if you havent. The latte is on point. The house blends beans used to be better years ago with a unique flavor but now its more like a normal flavor but still very good latte. The HK waffle is excellent. Snacks and sandwiches are very good. Noodles are just ok. Atmosphere: 4/5 stars If you like eclectic old country look then youll like it here. Mom and pop kind of place. Friendly and relaxing where you can sit for awhile and forget the traffic outside. It could use a thorough clean up and freshen up. Service: 5/5 stars You can get coffee/food Togo or sit in. Friendly staffs that get to know you. Mom and pop will greet you by name so service is very personal if they are not busy. They have snacks, sandwiches, and food beside coffee and more fancy coffee. Expense: 4/5 stars Prices are less than your local Starbucks. Return: 6/5 stars Ive come here for decades for coffee so thats an achievement by itself. You can see my bias in my rating do just come and support your local mom and pop coffee shop if you dont want to see a Starbucks replacing it.
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JR C
Im just gonna call this a 5 stars night, because all the new places that I visited on this Friday Night are all going to get 5 stars from me. Heading into Fresh Roast, I was overcome with hospitality, friendly service, and satisfying coffee. A small family-run coffee shop like this one might not be for everyone, but I suggest trying Fresh Roast at least once to experience a place that cares about their customers and coffee made with gusto. This place was supposed to be closing, but when I popped my head in to ask, I received a friendly "Of course, open for you!" -=- Coffee Lover -=- This was the recommended coffee to get. It was sweet and had a light caramel flavor. It was not too caramel-y or too anything for that matter. It was like a smooth blend of all the sweet coffees. -=- Waffle Bites -=- We didnt even order this, but the owner came by and said that we should try it. So awesome and so friendly. They were on the plain side, but thats what I like. These go down pretty light, so it could get dangerous if you are trying to avoid eating too much.
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Carmen Leung
I wasnt a big fan after trying this place. Didnt meet my expectations of HK egg waffles. I came here on a weekend because I saw yelp had some good reviews that the waffle is really good like its from Hong Kong so I decided to give it a try since I have been craving HK waffles and havent had it since I moved to LA. I got the durian coffee and Green tea waffle with durian and red bean. I love durian so I decided to try anything with durian. I never had durian with coffee and never came to my mind that would go together so I decided to try it and it literally just tasted like durian with coffee. Iced coffee with pieces of durian as you drink it. The green tea waffle was not the best I have tried. I probably wont be back as I had better in NY and HK so this was just okay. Didnt have the taste or texture I was looking for. There was no fluffy or puffiness that I have tasted before. I will have to continue my hunt for good hk style waffles unfortunately.
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Eileen Tien
We found Fresh Roast on Yelp. The picture of the HK waffle lured us in. We love the HK waffles. You can get plain waffle, or with fillings. We tried blueberry, chocolate and mochi. Chocolate is everyones favorite. They also serve good coffee. The friendly owner recommended #1 Coffee Lover. Its made with espresso, milk, caramel and condense milk. Just the right amount of sweetness with the bitter taste of caramel. It was great, and perfect with the waffle. Its a comfy little place where you can relax or hang out with friends.
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Daniel Razo
High quality coffee. I always ask Jimmy if I can try a new coffee sample and he always makes me a fresh sample coffee. Try the sumatra plain then with milk and sugar. Kenya is delicious on its own plain. His house blend is not too bad. Colombian is good as well, stronger than most. Very good place to buy coffee per pound. He has his own machine and always brews fresh roasts. I write this post as Im waiting for another sample (Italian).
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Steven Martinez
Great Vietnamese Iced Coffee here. I make my own Caphe Sua Da at home but Fresh Roast literally fresh roasts their coffee with their in-house coffee roaster. This coffee beats anything you can brew with Cafe Du Monde or Trung Nguyens pre-ground nonsense. I love stopping here and then I like to head to Golden Deli to get some delicious pho and egg rolls!
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hyuk kang
I liked their ambiance te most. Cafe owner and his staff were friendly. I tried their coconut coffee on ice. I can distinctly taste both the coffee and coconut flavor but the its not a good combo. I couldnt even finish half. I would like to try different drinks next time.
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Joseph Royal Coleman
They do not except credit cards under $5 purchase. And I believe the owner said they only allow wifi for some other minimum purchase. I am only rating low because I didnt get to try the coffee and wanted to post this so that others will know about the credit card policy.
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A Private User
The owner is super freaking nice. How nice? He bought my son a little momento when he was at Disneyland. The reason this guy ruined my coffee taste buds is because I can never drink another coffee unless its at this place. He roast his own beans. Its amazing.
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Chris Aldama
Good coffee, had a hot chocolate once and it tasted a little like coffee.... Which i thought was a little weird. Also they have a strict time period on WiFi one drink will get you and it really ruins the vibe of the place.
