Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Better sipping through technology

Copa Vida focuses on precision in its East Village

A barista takes notes at Copa Vida’s East Village shop. Its Alpha Dominche Steampunk and Curtis Seraphim machines sit in the foreground.
A barista takes notes at Copa Vida’s East Village shop. Its Alpha Dominche Steampunk and Curtis Seraphim machines sit in the foreground.
Place

Copa Vida

905 J Street, San Diego

In mid-October, a year after announcing expansion to San Diego, Pasadena coffee roaster Copa Vida opened the doors of its East Village (905 J Street) storefront, and will open a smaller location in Carlsbad in early November. While city restrictions forced a redesign that delayed plans for the downtown shop, Copa Vida owner Steve Chang says he had his eye on the space even before opening his first location in Pasadena two years ago.

Staying nearby while on vacation, Chang stumbled upon the empty space on the ground floor of Petco Park adjacent to Diamond View Tower, right beside its Park at the Park. “I told my wife, this would be perfect for a coffee shop,” Chang recalls. By coincidence, a property manager for the tower contacted him about leasing the space soon after.

Sponsored
Sponsored

That serendipity repeated itself this year when Cruzan, a real estate firm with an ownership stake in Diamond View, sought a coffee merchant to work out of a shipping container to serve its soon-to-open MAKE office development in coastal Carlsbad. Chang had just finished a proposal to build a similar shop in Los Angeles when he got a call. While that shop didn’t work out, the timing of it allowed Copa Vida to deliver a working design within minutes. “I literally just erased Los Angeles to the proposal and added Carlsbad,” Chang laughs.

One notable feature of Copa Vida is its embracing of interesting brewing technology. In addition to a custom-built Kees van der Westen Spirit espresso machine, the shop makes pour overs with a pair of Curtis Seraphim devices, which allows a barista to precisely control water temperature while automating the timing and flow of water into the coffee bed. Chang says the devices promise more consistent pours, along with better customer interaction. “A lot of time when baristas are working on the pour over,” he says, “They can’t engage with the customer, they can’t look up. Using this machine the barista can.”

For tea drinkers, Copa Vida uses an Alpha Dominche Steampunk, which agitates tea leaves with steam as part of an automated immersion and siphon brewing method. This device also allows for more precise temperature and timing control, which Chang points out is crucial for the 8-14 tea varieties the shop will offer. For example, “Green tea will burn at 200 degrees,” he points out, “Whereas a black tea at 185-189 degrees will under extract.”

Most intriguing may be an upcoming cold brew offering. Australian company Elixir Specialty Coffee has devised a means of brewing coffee using sound waves, resulting in a refreshing, tea-like beverage that highlights different coffee notes depending how long the brewing process lasts — generally between 6 and 24 hours. Copa Vida is the first coffee retailer in North America to offer its coffee using the Elixir method.

Though previously reported Copa Vida would serve coffee from multiple roasters, Chang says the two San Diego county shops will initially focus on its own beans, and may add an unnamed second roaster to complement its selection.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Live Five: Andrew Peña, Frankie J, Beat Farmers, Jesse LaMonaca, Puddles Pity Party

Latin, roots rock, and pity parties in Mission Beach, Little Italy, El Cajon
Next Article

Rapper Wax wishes his name looked like an email password

“You gotta be search-engine optimized these days”
A barista takes notes at Copa Vida’s East Village shop. Its Alpha Dominche Steampunk and Curtis Seraphim machines sit in the foreground.
A barista takes notes at Copa Vida’s East Village shop. Its Alpha Dominche Steampunk and Curtis Seraphim machines sit in the foreground.
Place

Copa Vida

905 J Street, San Diego

In mid-October, a year after announcing expansion to San Diego, Pasadena coffee roaster Copa Vida opened the doors of its East Village (905 J Street) storefront, and will open a smaller location in Carlsbad in early November. While city restrictions forced a redesign that delayed plans for the downtown shop, Copa Vida owner Steve Chang says he had his eye on the space even before opening his first location in Pasadena two years ago.

Staying nearby while on vacation, Chang stumbled upon the empty space on the ground floor of Petco Park adjacent to Diamond View Tower, right beside its Park at the Park. “I told my wife, this would be perfect for a coffee shop,” Chang recalls. By coincidence, a property manager for the tower contacted him about leasing the space soon after.

Sponsored
Sponsored

That serendipity repeated itself this year when Cruzan, a real estate firm with an ownership stake in Diamond View, sought a coffee merchant to work out of a shipping container to serve its soon-to-open MAKE office development in coastal Carlsbad. Chang had just finished a proposal to build a similar shop in Los Angeles when he got a call. While that shop didn’t work out, the timing of it allowed Copa Vida to deliver a working design within minutes. “I literally just erased Los Angeles to the proposal and added Carlsbad,” Chang laughs.

One notable feature of Copa Vida is its embracing of interesting brewing technology. In addition to a custom-built Kees van der Westen Spirit espresso machine, the shop makes pour overs with a pair of Curtis Seraphim devices, which allows a barista to precisely control water temperature while automating the timing and flow of water into the coffee bed. Chang says the devices promise more consistent pours, along with better customer interaction. “A lot of time when baristas are working on the pour over,” he says, “They can’t engage with the customer, they can’t look up. Using this machine the barista can.”

For tea drinkers, Copa Vida uses an Alpha Dominche Steampunk, which agitates tea leaves with steam as part of an automated immersion and siphon brewing method. This device also allows for more precise temperature and timing control, which Chang points out is crucial for the 8-14 tea varieties the shop will offer. For example, “Green tea will burn at 200 degrees,” he points out, “Whereas a black tea at 185-189 degrees will under extract.”

Most intriguing may be an upcoming cold brew offering. Australian company Elixir Specialty Coffee has devised a means of brewing coffee using sound waves, resulting in a refreshing, tea-like beverage that highlights different coffee notes depending how long the brewing process lasts — generally between 6 and 24 hours. Copa Vida is the first coffee retailer in North America to offer its coffee using the Elixir method.

Though previously reported Copa Vida would serve coffee from multiple roasters, Chang says the two San Diego county shops will initially focus on its own beans, and may add an unnamed second roaster to complement its selection.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego Fix it Clinic, Gaslamp Holiday Pet Parade

Events December 14-December 18, 2024
Next Article

A history of the house on the hill at Ivanhoe Ranch

From Apolinaria Lorenzana to Jane Goodall
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader