Oceanside’s renaissance has been a long time coming. For every beachside pawn shop that exists, there’s now a corresponding indie boutique, family-friendly craft brewery, or independent eatery that’s popped up in the past few years. And the coffee scene in O-side is buzzing as well, most notably at Revolution Roasters.
Opened in 2015 by Miriah and Dan Scheibe, the breezy spot is hemmed in by trendy local handbag shop Rais Case and acclaimed eatery Wrench and Rodent Seabasstropub on a bustling block in South Oceanside.
“We’ve always loved Oceanside,” says Miriah. “There’s so much movement and opportunity up here.”
Under the direction of lead roaster Brian Davis, Revolution’s small-batch roastery—located in Leucadia—regularly churns out hand-selected creations via their vintage gas-fired Probat L12 roaster. The old-school equipment forces them to keep volume relatively small, but despite the hand-crafted nature of Revolution’s offerings doesn’t limit their menu.
Boasting a wide variety of options, from flat whites to matcha lattes and even a coffee soda (espresso mixed with soda water and vanilla syrup), every concoction features Revolution beans and house-made syrups. The small seasonal menu features the same attention to detail their small batch beans enjoy. Their current feature, the “Winter Spice Latte”, is made with espresso, steamed milk, and a custom winter spice syrup, which the barista listed as a combination of “cardamom, cinnamon, and star anise”. It’s reminiscent of an elevated hot cocoa meant to be sipped by a roaring fire, but was still a welcome beverage on a recent sunny day when I tried it (the snow chalet-esque taxidermy decorations may have helped with the cozy cabin vibe).
True to Oceanside’s unique mix of locals, Revolution plays host to the requisite coffee shop regulars clicking away on laptops, but also welcomes everyone from gaggles of cyclists stopping for refreshments to families enjoying the small (enclosed) sidewalk patio.
Like Oceanside itself, Revolution has plans for the future. “We launched our in-house pastry program in 2018 and that’s been a real area of creativity and growth for us — we’re planning to expand our offerings there. Beyond that, we’ll also be bringing in some new single-origin coffees for limited release.”
And to those outside Revolution’s super-local focus, fear not. There are plans to expand this year.
1836 South Coast Highway, Oceanside
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