Photo courtesy of Editor-in-Chief Izzy Nino de Rivera
This is part of an ongoing series promoting local businesses through feature articles concurrent with Instagram giveaways. To check out the giveaways, visit @slohsexpressions on Instagram. For more information, or if your business is interested in participating, contact [email protected].
San Luis Obispo High School students and staff have a lot of favorite coffee shops around San Luis Obispo county.
Among these favorites is Kin Coffee, an amazing little coffee shop located on 847 Higuera Street in downtown San Luis Obispo.
They have a great variety of beverages at affordable prices. They are known to have phenomenal service and provide a positive atmosphere.
“Kin Coffee Bar was started last year in August by me and my brother Christian Contreras. We opened up the bar with an idea to bring an innovative way to make drinks and make a community-based coffee bar [with a] more raw vibe and an old school feel of what SLO used to be. Being born and raised in SLO, we realized a lot of what SLO used to be was fading away. Downtown DIY music scene, art scene and overall community was heading in a different, more expensive direction. We wanted to keep the vibe of good drinks, good service, and a safe place to be for our community. Along with having DIY shows from music to arts, we aren’t just a usual shop,” said owner Julian Contreras.
The atmosphere and mood of Kin Coffee is absolutely amazing from their great drinks to the fun and unique decoration inside.
“We aren’t just a coffee shop. We don’t just open and function like any other shop. We opened as a coffee bar and matcha bar, breaking down the variables of all flavor compounds to create drinks people have never had. Whether it’s our banana mocha or our guava juice matcha, we have all of the basics and some not-so-basic drinks. With a bar setting, all staff is able to be attentive at all times, with a bar setting there is no line and you are able to order from anyone available and the fact that we all went to school here (elementary school through high school), we feel like we knew exactly what was missing in this town. Now, we are one of the busiest and the most outspoken coffee places, creating more culture out of a small space. We pride ourselves in getting organic goods and support local distributors as much as possible,” said Contreras.
From the amicable atmosphere to all the horticulture, Kin Coffee offers a welcoming atmosphere open to all people.
“I really like them because the energy there is totally different from any other coffee shop in SLO. It has amazing coffee and drinks, the staff are always super friendly and polite, they have cool signs and stuff, and they totally stole my heart when I tried their blue pea flower latte!” said senior Aaron Norris.
Kin Coffee offers creative and great tasting drinks that are very enjoyable, they offer very unique drinks that no other coffee shop offers.
“COVID-19 made business impossible for everyone. We collaborated with several different shops downtown trying to create a more unified culture. We all got second jobs just to bring in more income to the shop and the staff worked long hours to help. Now, we are bouncing back better than ever because COVID-19 pushed us to think outside of the box. We’re doing better on the to-go items and we’re able to stay eco-friendly at the same time by giving away reusable products such as bowls for our breakfast bowl. We’ve come a long way and have a lot to get done before we are comfortable. But because of everyone in the community, our doors are still open and we are still making drinks for everyone to enjoy,” said Contreras.
Kin Coffee is still currently open and serving their amazing unique drinks during COVID-19. They are eco-friendly, use recyclable items, and have great customer service that gives customers an amazing and unique experience.
“The vibes are immaculate. The drinks look and taste phenomenal,” said opinion editor and senior Celia Lober.
Overall, Kin Coffee is a great positive place to enjoy a cup of coffee and try unique flavor combinations! Make sure to go and try it out!
Kin Coffee is located at 847 Higuera Street. Order in person or place an order by calling Kin Coffee at (805) 439-4136. Visit kincoffeebar.com for more information and their menu.
