The Coffees We Drank

Our passion for coffee is equal parts consumption and ritual. For us, a morning cup starts the moment you wake up and decide you're going to have one. Obtaining the drink was a big concern as we made our way north through California, and while it came to us in various forms along the way, we made sure it happened every day. From pour overs in Los Angeles to instant in the woods, here's a look at the coffees we drank on our trip.

Intelligentsia is a Chicago-based coffee roasting company with satellites in New York and Los Angeles. In L.A., there are locations in Pasadena, Silver Lake, and Venice. We stopped by the coffeebar in Venice, on Abbot Kinney Boulevard, before the morning smog burned off and just before we took to Highway 1.

Outdoor seating.

Ana Henton of MASS Architecture & Design did the beautiful interior. Her intention was to provide each guest a personal experience with the baristas when they were ordering and having their coffee made.

Our pour over. Serving extra coffee on the side isn't something you see very often. It suggests you can take your time, so we did. We enjoyed our coffee and plotted the next couple hundred miles of our trip.

Intelligentsia | 1331 Abbot Kinney Bldv | 310.399.1233 | map | www

About two hours to the north of Los Angeles, on State Street in Santa Barbara, is French Press. We spent a weekend in Santa Barbara and didn't have coffee anywhere else. This newer location hadn't started serving pour overs yet, but our espressi and Americani were all fantastic.

French Press | 1101 State Street | 805-963-2721 | map | www

Orcutt, California is sixty miles northwest of Santa Barbara in the Santa Maria Valley. The town, with a population of 35,000 spread over 11-square-miles, was put on the map in the early 20th Century after geologist William Warren Orcutt discovered oil there. The Steller family moved to Orcutt in 1955 and eventually came to own the Old Town Market on East Clark Ave. We happened on the market by chance, having pulled of Highway 1 for gas, and got provisions for our first night camping.

Old Town Market | 405 East Clark Ave | 805-937-5619 | map | www

San Simeon State Park is eighty miles north of Orcutt in Cambria, California. Site 229, part of the Washburn Campground, is where we pitched our tent for the first time and would have our first fireside coffee.

Breakfast was scrambled eggs, refried beans, and bacon, all courtesy of Old Town Market. Everything was cooked over a campfire on a 10-inch Ikea skillet. The coffee, a dark roast instant variation from Starbucks we borrowed from the hotel we stayed at in Santa Barbara, was made with water we brought to a simmer in the skillet before cooking breakfast.

We drank our coffee out of a green mug as bacon sizzled under a stark blue sky and the cold morning wind whipped in off the nearby coast and made the campfire flutter. It was one of the best cups of coffee we've ever had.

Big Sur is sixty miles north of San Simeon State Park. Nepenthe is loved there for its humble food and illustrious views, but Big Sur Bakery & Restaurant provides a much more intimate experience. The house the bakery occupies was built in the 30s, so there's a long, shared history with nourishment and travelers.

Two CIA alums and Jersey natives opened the restaurant with a Southern Californian by the name of Mike Gibson, who, according to the restaurant's website, "Enjoys the collecting and wearing of overalls." Everything is scratchmade, including the bread and pastries, which are baked in a wood oven.

We refueled with an Americano and a roast beef sandwich. The meet, seasoned perfectly and incredibly tender, was sliced thick and made a hearty meal. Peppery arugula lent its spice while a light aioli and provolone gave the sandwich just the right amount of fat. Enjoyed outside amidst Redwoods and perfect California weather provided an experience we won't soon forget.

Big Sur Bakery & Restaurant | 47540 California 1 | 831-667-0520 | map | www

Santa Cruz, home to Verve Coffee Roasters, is seventy-five miles north of Big Sur. Verve's downtown store has entrances off Front Street and Pacific Avenue, but both take you to a great cup of coffee.

Coffee and merchandise for sale inside.

Verve's downtown location is a stones throw west of the San Lorenzo River. There are a few sidewalk tables along Front Street in addition to those inside the spacious store.

An Americano from Verve.

Verve Coffee Roasters | 1540 Pacific Avenue | 831-600-7784 | map | www

San Francisco was our ultimate destination this trip, so it made sense we get coffee from Bay Area brand Blue Bottle once we got there. Blue Bottle has four locations in New York, but it was a treat walking around the Mission and stopping by the 18th Street location.

The 18th Street store, opened in the former Mission Linen Factory in August 2012, is a kiosk at the Heath Ceramics factory. Heath Ceramics is a name that's been around the Bay Area since 1954, when Edith Heath founded the studio in Saulsalito. To the left of the entrance is the kiosk...

To the right is the ceramic gallery, library, and kilns.

Seating behind the kiosk.

Blue Bottle | 2900 18th Street | map | www

Coffee is one of the world's great pleasures. Like food, it speaks a universal language, and when you find yourself on new ground, whether it's in the streets of Saigon or along California's Highway 1, there is an immediate connection to something familiar found in every cup.