Zumbar Coffee: Bringing Buzz to San Diego’s Sorrento Valley

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San Diego’s Sorrento Valley has brain power to spare, with a high concentration of tech companies in the neighborhood, and those minds need fuel to keep humming. That’s where Zumbar Coffee comes into play. Steve Rayle originally set up a coffee cart outside Intuit’s offices in 2003 and graduated to a strip mall space near the Coaster train station, where he roasts, grinds and brews. In Spanish, zumbar means to buzz like a bee or hum like a motor, and Rayle continues to keep San Diego techies and coffee junkies in gear.


Coffee Menu San Diego
The small space houses metal tables, wood banquette seating and a wall-mounted wood menu. Rayle keeps a pair of La Marzocco espresso machines, Mazzer grinders, and French press coffee makers. Up front, a small Zumbar fridge contains bombers of cold brew, which during my visit consisted of a three-bean Hummingbird blend.

Coffee San Diego
Rayle worked alongside two baristas during my visit: new hire Mary, and Aaron Penne.

Coffee Roaster San Diego
Rayle roasts coffee on a 1950s cast iron Probat, which lives in back of the cafe.

Coffee San Diego
El Mundo ($2) a mix of Latin American and Indonesian coffees, took a hot bath in a French press an hour before our arrival. I tend to prefer pourover or cold brew coffee, but this particular coffee blend was just fine minus milk or sugar.

Coffee San Diego
Espresso ($2.25) was a Hummingbird blend from three different regions – Africa, Latin America and Sumatra – and packed some pretty good bite.

Zumbar also brews single origin beans like Guatemala Bella Cardena and Bali Blue Moon via French press, and process yields two cups at a time, good for couples or friends..

Coffee San Diego
No specialty coffeehouse is complete without artistry at this point, and the latte Aaron Penne pulled for me displayed decorative fronds.

Zumbar also produces a well-balanced House made Chai ($3.35) that incorporates concentrate crafted from cinnamon, clove, orange peel, sugar, honey and more.

Zumbar Coffee is on the outskirts of San Diego proper, but worth visiting, scientist or not.

Address: 10920 Roselle Street, San Diego, CA 92121
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Joshua Lurie

Joshua Lurie founded FoodGPS in 2005. Read about him here.

Blog Comments

The level of quality at Zumbar is unmatched. They work hard and are always quick with a smile. Their knowledge about their product is what draws many customers, but the love they put into their product is what keeps the customers coming back.

Try the espresso. Ask Lee to make you a latte. Talk to the boss (Steve?) for some surf chatter. He knows everything there is to know about coffee, roasting, etc.

Best damn coffee shop around.

Jonathan,

Glad to hear you have such a positive impression of Zumbar. What’s your go-to drink when you order there?

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