1951 Coffee Company

It’s a nice cute coffee shop. The staff was very friendly. I had honey oatmilk latte, it was delicious! There’s seating both inside and outside the cafe to sip and enjoy!

Dharma M

Coffee shop for a good cause in Berkeley. The coffee shop was established to help refugee. Interior is neat and it has written on the wall about the coffeshop. It has plenty of choices of coffee drink and selection of pastries. You ordered from a touch screen kiosk. All the drink and pastries which we ordered were yummy. I love the atmosphere inside. It is quite and feel nice inside. There are parking on the street close to the shop and I also see parking garage.

Shalini Sathi

Went here with 3 of my friends and ordered hot chocolate, a vanilla latte, and a matcha latte. All three of us enjoyed our drinks. The interior is also very nice. Clean, well decorated, and plenty of outlets for studying. Seating might be slightly hard to come by. Still, it's a great place to spend a rainy day.

Curt Hampton

Love it, love it, love it! I basically flew out from Dallas to check this place out since I’d heard such cool stuff about it and just happened to visit some local friends while I was in town ;-) 1951 did not disappoint. The few different drinks I tried as well as the few pastry items i tried were all top quality yet still totally affordable. I got to chat with a few of the staffers at the cafe and heard some of their stories. I love the opportunity that’s being afforded them through what 1951 Coffee Company is doing. The entire concept is wild and amazing and it’s working!!! Definitely recommend this joint. Super fun crowd running this place and your expectations will be exceeded with the food and coffee drinks. P.S. try the Mochi Muffin.....It’s ridiculous!

Fawn Nivalen

Wonderful pastries, drinks, and service. Amazing cause behind the business.

Lauren Haley

This cafe is a great place to study because of its wonderful atmosphere. Drinks are also pretty good, as are pastries. However, what truly makes Cafe 1951 stand out is its incredible employees! They are extremely kind and friendly, making this a great cafe experience. Service is also quick.

Bryce McLean

Magnificent coffee and delectable croissants. Staff are lovely; professional & skilled. Courtyard area out back in the sunshine is recommended, unless you want to hang with the students inside.

yilin ye

01/19&22; popular study spot, very friendly staff, enjoyed doing work there so much! In love with their mochi muffin 😭

Derek W

For a long time, Berkeley was missing decent coffee shops besides Caffe Strada and Cafe Milano. 1951 Coffee Shop helps to fill that void and is now my favorite. First, this place is unique in that it's a non-profit organization that employees refugees and raises awareness about refugee issues. It's awesome to know that my money is going to support them rather than a corporation. Second, their coffee is pretty good. I ordered a cortado for around $4 (even though it's not on their menu) and it was rich with lots of crema. They get their coffee from Coffee Manufactory in Oakland. Third, the interior is clean with lots of seating. They have lots of high top tables and wifi. There are also a few outlets along the walls. Also, the music isn't too loud so it's a nice place to study.

James K

Verve coffee and mochi muffins in support of a social mission! (5/5 green stars also). It’s pretty quiet inside – definitely a study spot. But then the owner got some music going and the place seemed to relax a bit. Staff members were friendly. WiFi signal is good. Tables and lighting are good (although the high chairs may not be ideal for some). Coffee: The Verve pour-over was excellent – Jurutungo Natural (from Panama) – best coffee I’ve had in a while. Natural (sun-dried) coffees have a wonderful sweetness to them from the pulp that’s left on the bean. I recognized the mochi muffin from Sam’s Patisserie and nabbed one. Sam’s (whose bakery shares space with Catahoula coffee on 4th street) has been renamed as Third Culture Bakery. Their mochi hasn’t changed, thankfully : ) The coffee and mocha muffin came to just over $7 including tax, which was very reasonable considering the quality of both – Verve coffee beans aren’t cheap. The other pastries were from Starter Bakery. I tried their staff favorite – sour cherry Danish ($4). The pastry in the Danish was delicious and the cherry was sour, as advertised, providing a nice contrast. I’m also giving them 5/5 “green stars” for social and environmental impact, based on these reasons: • The whole refugee hiring and training program is legit and the owner seems to get along really well with the workers. • Verve coffee says: “Our direct trade practice allows us to exceed Fair Trade minimums every time, no exceptions.” No information on growth conditions (e.g., shade cover) but the natural sun drying processing conserves water: “capitalizing on the complex sugars found in fully-ripe catuai cherries, without further straining the water-scarce region.” • Sam, the maker of the wonderful mochi muffins bakes with organic (and pasture-raised) dairy, eggs, flour, and fruits whenever possible. He tends to use good local seasonal ingredients from sustainably-minded suppliers, e.g. fruit from Frog Hollow farm and flour from Central Milling. • Their other pastry supplier, Starter Bakery, say that their “flours and grains are non-GMO and/or organic; the only fats we use are butter, non-GMO canola oil and organic olive oil; we never use shortening. Premier local food companies like Clover, Guittard, TCHO, Central Milling and select farms supply us...” Interested in writing green star reviews? If so, contact me!

Adam Toner

Finally, a coffee shop around Berkeley got “cold brew, no ice” correct. My almond croissant was good, my wife’s coffee and muffin were good, the service was fast, we could shelter from the rain, and they were decorating for the holidays.

sampada samaka

It’s a nice cute coffee shop. The staff was very friendly. I had honey oatmilk latte, it was delicious! There’s seating both inside and outside the cafe to sip and enjoy!

My experience has always been great service with the banging atmosphere. I hesitated to post this, because some good things y'all just don't need to know about. Lol

Staff is friendly and service is quick. The coffee is very unique tasting and rather strong. I enjoy it, and love 1951’s fun theme and central location.

Great coffee, made very well. Staff is very nice. There is a lot of seating, including outdoors, so handicap accessibility should not be a problem. Lots of students use this place, so it's pretty quiet.

jkubr

Staff is friendly and service is quick. The coffee is very unique tasting and rather strong. I enjoy it, and love 1951’s fun theme and central location.

Rodney Enis

My experience has always been great service with the banging atmosphere. I hesitated to post this, because some good things y'all just don't need to know about. Lol

Nathan Walrath

Great coffee, made very well. Staff is very nice. There is a lot of seating, including outdoors, so handicap accessibility should not be a problem. Lots of students use this place, so it's pretty quiet.

Good coffee in clean, upscale interior space with cafe style outdoor tables for enjoying a sunny day. Cappuccino and cortado were good though lacking intense aromas, thick crema and strong arabica notes I’ve come to expect from top tier coffee shops. Chocolate croissant was dry - likely a day old pastry given it was Memorial Day. This establishment roasts its own beans which I appreciate. My son previously purchased beans here from which we made good coffee at home, however, did not buy on today’s visit. The draw of this establishment appears to be its financial support of Bay Area refugees and large, quiet inside space which many patrons were enjoying while working on their laptops. There is also a sitting area with soft chairs in a quiet corner. If milder coffee is your preference - my palate prefers strong Italian espresso flavors - 1951 Coffee Company could be a good choice.

I can tell I'm in these California prices like 11 for my dirty chai. I can't really afford these prices but I don't live here so maybe you can. Good flavors though. Inside was way too busy for me but out back has patio seating.

Hot macha latte and ice coffee were awesome but the mochi donut felt like not fresh. They were not soft and pretty dry.

Gary Cole

Good coffee in clean, upscale interior space with cafe style outdoor tables for enjoying a sunny day. Cappuccino and cortado were good though lacking intense aromas, thick crema and strong arabica notes I’ve come to expect from top tier coffee shops. Chocolate croissant was dry - likely a day old pastry given it was Memorial Day. This establishment roasts its own beans which I appreciate. My son previously purchased beans here from which we made good coffee at home, however, did not buy on today’s visit. The draw of this establishment appears to be its financial support of Bay Area refugees and large, quiet inside space which many patrons were enjoying while working on their laptops. There is also a sitting area with soft chairs in a quiet corner. If milder coffee is your preference - my palate prefers strong Italian espresso flavors - 1951 Coffee Company could be a good choice.

Amanda

I can tell I'm in these California prices like 11 for my dirty chai. I can't really afford these prices but I don't live here so maybe you can. Good flavors though. Inside was way too busy for me but out back has patio seating.

PD

Hot macha latte and ice coffee were awesome but the mochi donut felt like not fresh. They were not soft and pretty dry.

Love the mission and nice menu of items! The mochi muffin was delicious, loved the texture. The strawberry lychee matcha was okay. I appreciate the barista made a heart with the foam and showed me before capping the cup. Close to campus and great additional outdoor space in the back!

Friendly service and plenty of seating. Love the mission of the place. There are two issues I had - first, the seats are incredibly uncomfortable, and your bottom will not properly fit in the seat if you are at all overweight (I'm about a size 12 and the seats were too small for me). It's a very specific type of metal chair - if you know, you know. Hate hate hate those chairs. My other issue is that there are zero savory options, which was a bummer, but not a major issue, I suppose.

Mallory Ann Welty

Friendly service and plenty of seating. Love the mission of the place. There are two issues I had - first, the seats are incredibly uncomfortable, and your bottom will not properly fit in the seat if you are at all overweight (I'm about a size 12 and the seats were too small for me). It's a very specific type of metal chair - if you know, you know. Hate hate hate those chairs. My other issue is that there are zero savory options, which was a bummer, but not a major issue, I suppose.

Not particularly thrilled with this coffee shop. The coffee was a little excessively sweet - not as first taste but after a few sips you realize it starts to hit you. Also didn’t taste the coffee as much as the milk.. and the pastries were not good at all. They were tasteless and rather dry. Also, the location was oddly quiet? Like I know it’s a coffee house but literally libraries are louder.. felt very awkward. Anyways, my experience was not wonderful - and I should add it’s not cheap either (to be expected by still).

Juan P

Not particularly thrilled with this coffee shop. The coffee was a little excessively sweet - not as first taste but after a few sips you realize it starts to hit you. Also didn’t taste the coffee as much as the milk.. and the pastries were not good at all. They were tasteless and rather dry. Also, the location was oddly quiet? Like I know it’s a coffee house but literally libraries are louder.. felt very awkward. Anyways, my experience was not wonderful - and I should add it’s not cheap either (to be expected by still).

Shifa Dass

I really wanted to like this place. I truly did. Cute name, cool mission. But the drinks? Absolutely tragic. We got an iced chai and an iced matcha, and I genuinely wish we hadn’t. The iced chai tasted like watery cinnamon sadness. Way too much spice, no creaminess, just vibes — and not the good kind. And the iced matcha? I tried to convince myself it was “earthy,” but no. It was just bad. I don’t know what happened in that cup but it wasn’t tea. Please live up to the previous reviews for next time 😔💔🥀.