Last Saturday we were part of Coffee Drift, our first Coffee Instameet hosted by content creator Kimberly Saldana and The Hidden Mug, a community for coffee shop enthusiasts.

The meetup took place at the Long Beach’s third-wave coffee shop Steelhead Coffee, and for almost 2 hours we met and chatted with other bloggers and Instagrammers over coffee. Raffles and polaroids included. It was fun!

The venue couldn’t have been better. Steelhead is a really cool coffee shop in Long Beach that opened its doors around a year ago. It had been on our list of coffee houses to visit for quite some time, so this was the perfect excuse to check it out. Even though the space seemed a bit tiny when we first got in, there’s enough space to sit 25+ people. There’s a big wooden table to share with other people, bar stools and a few tables for smaller groups.

Saturday afternoon felt like a perfect moment to enjoy a Lavender Almond Latte and a cappuccino so we went for it. Loved the strong coffee taste from the cappuccino, in contrast with the softness of the latte. Both were excellent. Steelhead offers coffee from Rose Park Roasters, Dogwood, Rival Bros and Huckleberry Roasters.

We had great time and are looking forward to meeting all of them again soon. Cheers!

We are really impressed with Patch Coffee, one of our latest coffee discoveries that has already been added to our list of favorite coffee shops in Orange County.

In a short sentence we would say that Patch offers delicious coffee and great customer service in a nice atmosphere. But we want to get down to the nitty-gritty of our experience at Patch and get all of you excited!

We went there on a quiet Friday afternoon and had a chance to speak with Deb, the owner, and some of their in-house baristas. From mochas or lattes to specialty drinks like the “Gibraltar” - which is a double-shot of espresso and a bit of milk served in a small Libbey "Gibraltar" tumbler, hence the name. Patch serves a great variety of coffee choices as well as teas and fresh-squeezed lemonade. To complement their drinks menu, they offer a small but carefully chosen selection of pastries like their apple bars or cinnamon spice cake. All gluten free. Oh! And they also have breakfast burritos!

During our first visit we tried their iced cold brew and had a cappuccino along with their pastries. The apple bar is the one we liked the most. It combined really well with the cold brew.

The space Patch Coffee lives in is pretty spacious with different atmospheres across the store. Big tables for big groups, quiet corners for those who need to get some work done and a really cool shipping container with sofas to relax - our favorite!

The word that best describes Patch is COMMUNITY. They are only a couple of weeks old, but they are already transforming Lake Forest with their creativity, their positivism and their delicious coffee.