Chromatic Coffee

Holy expensive-@$& coffee Batman, did I just pay 6.19 for a Dark Coco Mocha? Standard Size? Admittedly yes and I let them have the change bc I didn’t want 0.81 cents jingling in my wallet.
I’m pretty disappointed. When I first came here for their Ice Drinks it was new life getting to know coconut-​milked coffees and their signature Sugar Rush but now the price is almost a full-​blown deterent. I’ve had their Mocha and Cold Brew too but’s’nothing to drive out of your way for.
It’s a neat, very hip space with its darkwood/​stainless steel trims; personable and friendly workers to boot too, don’t get me wrong, but you have to wonder if those menu charges go to an AppleCare fundme for their 2015+ Macbook Airs.
(because they’re Hipsters).

I am addicted to this place. I always order a latte or flat white. Recommend trying this place out if you are looking for something that is not a chain coffee store.

Coconut Mocha and Bonus cup are my favorites! ⁵⁄₅ stars because the employees know what they’re doing. Chromatic’s coffee has two shots of expresso in it so it always does the job when I need a pick me up. I usually come here to study and luckily for me I always find a place with a nearest outlet. This place is good for study groups or to have a coffee date :)

Came here with a friend to study for finals, but found no indoor seating — probably our fault for coming on a Saturday afternoon! I ended up getting a vanilla latte which was good — a little sweet, but I guess lattes usually are.
The barista was pretty cool — not super friendly, but still somewhat chatty. The atmosphere was decent — they have hipster-​y knick knacks they were selling. They also played a lot of old Britney songs. I’d say it’s a bit harder to study in because of the crowd/​music, but if you want good coffee and a fun place to catch up with friends, this is a place to do so!

I ordered an iced mocha coconut. It was unique. It wasn’t too sweet, and it woke me up! It’s extra perfect on a hot sunny day.
With every good coffee shop comes a long line and a decent wait. Regardless of the wait I would still come back especially to pick up some of their coffee beans. Perfect place for studying/​reading/​chilling btw :)

All the stars for the cheerful cashier and the iced dark coconut mocha. I’m already a mocha fanatic so having that splash of coconut milk in my coffee, paired with a rich dark chocolate flavor is enough to make me go crazy and keep coming back for more coffee! I’ll have to try their other coffees, but the dark coconut mocha is my new favorite beverage!
The wait for coffee during the morning can be a little slow. Definitely not a place to go if you’re in a rush, but you have to WAIT for quality. ;)

Great service! Superb coffee!
A little pricey. I ordered a regular iced Vanilla latte and I have to say — VERY GOOD COFFEE. I paid about $ 5.65 or so. Compared to Starbucks where it would have been $ 3.95 BUT here you’re paying for QUALITY.
I would definitely come back.

Hands down the best coffee shop in the area and one of the best in general. They have a great selection of beans, sweets, and savory foods. Almost everything I see sold here is made of natural ingredients; so no processed stuff. they have breakfast items such as quiches and savory handmade pies every morning. I should also mention that they have an amazing weekend brunch here, so if you’re ever in the neighborhood on a Saturday or Sunday you should come by and try their extended menu and breakfast food.
You can always find work from local artists hanging around the building, and there is also outdoor seating if you want to get some fresh air, (as fresh as it can be in a parking lot near a busy street)!
I usually have my coffee black, and their pour over menu is always good; however, if you are looking for a sweet caffeinated drink, my two recommendations are the Dark Coconut Mocha and the Café Brulé, (a.k.a. the bruléd latte). They also serve some unique bottled beers that are worth trying.
You can sign-​in with five star here for any of you who use that. You can use it to earn free drinks and food.
The barista’s here are very kind and I have been coming here for years with no issues. Their prices can be somewhat high; but I can say you get what you pay for, and they deliver in every category, (service, food quality, etc.).

My fave South Bay café. If you didn’t order the dark chocolate coconut mocha you must absolutely have to come back. Just sayin’.

Came by the other day for their Dark Coconut Mocha and it was mediocre at best. I’ve been a Barefoot/​Chromatic fan over the years when this location used to be known as Barefoot and had quality drinks with a slight premium, although still a fraction of their newly inflated prices…
Over the years, it appears that corporate greed has become rampant. When they switched over from Barefoot to Chromatic, their Voodoo became the Dark Coconut Mocha and suddenly became way too sweet… (Try out the Voodoo from the Barefoot on Bascom for a a quality Voodoo beverage…)
When they moved from their internal loyalty program to the current Five Stars program, they wiped away all of my drinks… (It used to be Buy 10 get 1 free along with a free drink on your birthday.) Now with Five Stars, it’s $ 1 for a point and free dessert drink after $ 75…
Voodoos used to be ~$ 4.5/$ 4.75. Now they are up to $ 5.69+ tax or $ 6.17 after tax…
The line for drinks is usually out the door and the drinks take a while to come out… with that said, a coffee run at Chromatic is a good 20 – 30 minute visit. …at least they now feature Manresa Bread pastries.
.with the decline in quality, increase in price, and reduction in loyalty program… there are plenty of other premium coffee shops that would fit the bill (Philz, Barefoot etc.)

This is my second or third visit to Chromatic but I have to say I didn’t even go inside the coffee shop this time. We had our newborn in the car napping so I stayed in the car while hubby left the car to get us some coffee on an early Saturday morning. But this recent visit was so awesome!
OMG I was so blown away by the kouig ammon? so after our weekend I wanted to find out who made such heavenly delightful treat to go along with my soy latte. The coffee was smooth and delicious but the pastry really made it spectacular for me. The coffee and the pastry together just took this place to the next level so yes please take this 5 star rating as a huge compliment.
made pastries! I will be going there next!

Wish I tried their horchata latte (specialty coffee) of the season when I was there. In the future, I’m hoping to try their Gibraltar brew as well. I’ve heard great things about it.
Instead I settled for the regular latte– which was excellent as well.
My boyfriend and I tried their avocado toast and fruit French toast. I would highly recommend the avocado toast. I was a bit disappointed when they couldn’t put a sunny side up egg on top. When I asked, I was told they couldn’t that day…
In terms of baked goods, always go for the Monkey bread. If you have a sweet tooth, you’re missing out if you don’t try it!
All in all, coming back for the coffee; not so much for the food.

Total hipster spot. The place reminds me of something you would find in Berkeley or somewhere in Socal. My coworker took me here for a coffee run. If you’re looking for a quick order, this isn’t your place. They seem to take their time in making the drinks, adding love and creativity, I’m sure…
I ordered the Chai Tea with Soymilk, which they don’t charge extra like other coffee joints! Plus one star for that. It also came with a cute leaf design too. Plus one hipster point too.
The overall vibe was a tad bit pretentious and prices were a little on the high side. Still a cute little coffee shop, nonetheless.

Came here on a busy Saturday afternoon to study. When we first arrived, we almost left because there weren’t any tables available for us to sit at. Outdoor seating was available but it was starting to rain. Luckily, my boyfriend saw a table open up while I stood in line.
I got the café brulee latte and ordered the dark coconut mocha for my boyfriend. Both seemed to be favorites with Unilocalers. The café brulee was a bit disappointing. The top layer was like a crème brûlée dessert with the torched sugar (completely blanking out right now with the name of it) and that part was the only good thing about the drink. The latte itself tasted like purely milk. I’d recommend ordering the dark coconut mocha. My bf and I ended up switching drinks because I liked his better.
Staff is friendly. Line gets a bit long because there’s only one cashier taking orders. You bus your own tables. Free water available in the middle of the coffee shop. They have pastries and snacks, but we didn’t order any. I saw a menu for weekend brunch specials that last until 12pm, I think.
Prices are teeeensy bit overpriced. I love the music playlist they’ve got going on.
I’d def come back to study. Hopefully, we get a table right away.

After reading the reviews on Unilocal of Chromatic Coffee I made a special sojourn to see for myself what it was all about.
It is the same location as the old Barefoot Coffee, but has been reinvented as Chromatic to explain the wide spectrum of both the coffee experience and those that patronize it.
The radio tower logo is recognition of the high tech industry and innovation around it. The logo reminded me of the old local comedy troupe ‘High Wire Radio Choir” logo!
They have an online retail website that appears to be stale since 2014 were the last postings I could find at
.
Being a fan of the tropics the Dark Coconut Mocha mentioned on the Unilocal website and in the pictures really intrigued me.
Enjoyed great service and dialog with the barista that both took and made my order before going off the clock. I was given the option of hot or cold over ice and since it was a warm day I ordered one over ice to go.
I saw many other offerings along with cold brew coffee that I first experienced when this was Barefoot Coffee Roasters and inspired me to make my own cold brew creations at home.
The barista was happy to divulge the recipe of the ingredients and I quickly memorized it so I could replicate the same drink it at home.
They use a unique raw sugar simple syrup!
Being a home roaster I wanted to know if they sold any of their green beans, but alas I was crushed to find they do not sell any coffee beans in the raw for home roasting. I wish they did!
They are a true coffee house with local artists featured on the wall and feature local entertainment as well.

This place is great! It gets really busy on the weekends with the fluctuating line of people waiting. The line is pretty much always going out the door. The place is a good size with counter seating along the window and walls and tables in the front and some seating near the back. There are surge protector strips along the walls where the counter is. This makes for a good place to study at or doing some work on your laptop. They have one bathroom in the back that they keep pretty clean.
I had the café brulee. It was a good cup of coffee with bruleed sugar on top creating a nice crust to break through with a spoon. The coffee is served in mugs with their logo on it.
My boyfriend had the half order of biscuits and gravy, which he said was good.
I sat at the counters that were along the window. It’s a good place to people watch and do some studying. There was a nice surprise later when I saw a man outside who brought his two birds with him. The birds were attracting a lot of attention, from the people outside and me looking from the other side of the glass.

I love this place! I am such a fan of their dessert drinks.
They have a super cool dessert drink called the Café Brulee. Price is steeeep but it’s such a unique drink, it’s definitely worth a try. It sounds like it would be painfully sweet, but it’s not. I believe it’s a latte with torched brown sugar on top. The espresso itself isn’t sweet so the sugar on top actually contrasts wonderfully. Crispy on the top and liquidy goodness underneath.
The dark chocolate mocha I was unsure of, but after seeing how popular it was among Unilocal reviewers I had to give it a try. SO glad I did. It’s amazing! Thought I wouldn’t like cause I’m not a dark chocolate fan and coconut in coffee sounded eh to me, but it’s so good! You can taste a hint of the coconut and it’s sweet but not overbearingly so. God. It’s delicious and comes lookin so fine. Only wish I could get a larger size!
Their pastries are from MANRESA. Holy damn, so bougie.
Friendly baristas. And they have FiveStars! Free birthday drink :)

Finally doing an update after many recent visits to Chromatic! It’s been 3 years since my last review, so let’s bring this up to speed.
Redesigned interior! There’s still merchandise, coffee equipment, beans, window seating, tables in the front and in the back, patio seating, as well as a stand up bar. There is Wi-​Fi available, outlets are limited towards the back of the shop– something to keep in mind. The atmosphere is at a good volume, even with the line out the door.
Some drinks I really enjoy here include the Bonus Cup and Dark Coconut Mocha to satisfy my sweet tooth. The Bonus Cup is cold brew with equal parts sugar and cream. The Dark Coconut Mocha has a lovely chocolate flavor, it is a creamy drink with a hint of coconut. Their lattes are also simply good as well, substantial foam top and well made. The seasonal drink, The Psycho Chiller, is something I order when I feel like spoiling myself. It has flavors of citrus and white pepper, the white pepper gives it a slight kick and enhances the tang of citrus notes without being too spicy. Keep in mind that this drink is a bit sweet as well. Drinks here are a bit pricey than your average café, the Seasonal ones pushing $ 6. They also use Organic Straus milk, so that could one of their reasons for their higher prices.
The service here for drinks is served in a timely manner, but can take a bit longer especially with a line out the door. This place has been particularly crowded since the holidays, line out the door crowded. Nonetheless, Chromatic is still one of my favorite places despite their higher than average priced drinks because their service and quality of coffee is great!

I love that this SF City worthy café is in my hometown of San Jose and in a strip mall. This place replaced Barefoot Coffee a couple of years ago. I was initially upset when Barefoot Coffee went away. It had a loyal following for a good reason: their coffee was really good. However, after coming to Chromatic Coffee 3 times now, I am happy to say that Chromatic Coffee is definitely an improvement over Barefoot.
The first reason I like it better is the new vibe. Barefoot Café always reminded me of your typical crunchy, college co-​op café: eclectic, with flea market furniture and eccentric staff. The eccentric staff are still here, but now, the place has more of a professional, casual vibe. Plus, the staff seem more knowledgeable of their products.
The main reason I love Chromatic Coffee is their monthly drink specials. Last month, I enjoyed several holiday spiced drink specials. This month, they have two drink specials: «The Psycho Chiller» and «The Winter Tonic.» The «Psycho Chiller,» which I had hot, has orange extract, white pepper, vanilla, cinnamon, raw sugar and cayenne with steamed milk over espresso. This drink was extremely smooth with just enough spice to give it some kick. The «Winter Tonic» on the other hand, is not a coffee but green tea with fresh lemon juice, honey, ginger, and cayenne pepper. As much as I love coffee, between the two drinks, I actually enjoyed the Winter Tonic better. The drink reminded me of a non-​alcoholic hot toddy. I highly recommend trying this drink (hot) before it goes away.
Along with a great drink menu, they also serve several savory and sweet items that are worth trying.
And for those of you that love reward programs, Chromatic Coffee has an electronic rewards system that makes entering and accessing rewards a breeze.
This place is VERY popular, so getting a place to sit on the weekends will be difficult. Several «stand» stations, located along the back wall, are a nice alternative.
This place is definitely worth the wait.

If you ask me what the difference is between Peet’s Coffee and Starbucks, I’d tell you about $ 0.55. I honestly have no clue once you put some cream, sugar, ice and/​or any of those fancy syrups. If it’s straight black coffee, then yes, I can tell there’s a difference. But, for which one is better? All the same to me.
These days, though, you have your fancy schmancy coffee shops like Philz, Barefoot Coffee Roasters and of course, Chromatic Coffee. Could I tell the difference between these ones if given a cup of standard black coffee? No. But, I do know that I could taste the difference in quality. Case in point, my favorite at Chromatic is the Iced Dark Coconut Mocha. While the coconut flavor is there, it doesn’t overpower the taste of the coffee. The coffee stands out so much, that while I’m not a coffee expert, I do know that I liked it tons better than anything I’ve even gotten at Starbucks. Now, I’m not putting the Seattle chain down. I do love a Frap here and there and the Pike’s Place roast is pretty good. All I’m just saying is that Chromatic has a better quality feel to it.
Another good coffee is the Café Brulee. It’s basically a Cubano, but doesn’t have the burnt sugar topping. Keep in mind that you can’t get his one to-​go. It has to be enjoyed in house because of… FIRE!!! But, like I said, you can just order a Cubano and it’ll be similar.
For pastries, they go to Manresa Bread for their supply. With the Manresa name behind it, I don’t think there’s anything else I really need to say about that.