Alpen Sierra Coffee Roasting

Pour-​Over-​V60 5 Stars –WOWZER!!!
Trifecta Drip 5 Stars– REALLY GOOD!
Tried these methods with their Ethiopia Nekisse. Well, this place still has a long ways to go to topple Starbucks next door. THEY HAVE THE SUPERIOR BEANS (FAR AND ABOVE MUCH BETTER THAN STARBUCKS) micro lots, single origins from different regions, equipment, etc… but the STAFF and SERVICE needs work. I don’t want to go into details, but awareness is lacking. Honestly, get rid of the SWILL SELF SERVICE COFFEE. that thing no matter how you look at it does a great injustice to your beans. It’s weak and under extracted. Individually hand poured coffee is the way to go. I know its a big step, but look at places in the BAY AREA who went that direction. STARBUCKS and PEETS will not put up shop next to them cuz they will know they will get crushed. I know of a Starbucks next to a well known local roaster and the little guy has 10 times the amount of business. Anyways, good luck, I will support you whenever I’m in town. Sorry I could not buy any beans this time, I have way to many COE’s in my collection to go through before they go stale.
Again, if you are ever in SF go visit Four Barrels, Blue Bottle, Ritual, Barefoot (Santa Clara) and Philz (Mission Area). And the newbie in town SightGlass.

I think very good coffee… some of the best I have ever had.
.friendly folks… good healthy food offerings
free wifi !
great place to stop on your way to the slopes !

The atmosphere is just so inviting and I get to drink my coffee from a ceramic mug, not a paper cup.

Considering I’m a coffee connoisseur, I was so unimpressed I didn’t even finish my café au lait. Sad but true. I was left high and dry sans caffeine… no bueno. Service was slower than a tortoise, which left my friend who was waiting in the car more irritated than me. My attempt to avoid Starbucks and instead support a local business was unsuccessful.
Step up your game Alpen, so I can avoid Starbucks.

Fantastic place I just discovered last weekend and I have been coming to Tahoe for years. Love supporting the local coffee shops and it is also a way to get a feel for the culture and environment. Place was always busy.

We went for a cup of Morning octane, I mean Coffee. It is right before Pioneer trail and has a small Coffee House feel. They had lots is Couches and Chairs where you can read the Newspaper or cuddle up with a Book. They had a large Bakery Case with goodies. I ordered a Carmilla and a Sm. Mocha. The Baristas were very Friendly and very Helpful. The Coffees were Great and we will definitely will be back.

No change in my opinion of the coffee, i.e. on par with Starbucks… this update is a result of terrible service.
I think one of the key differences between good places and bad is how involved and present the owner is. And my impression of this place is (and I could be wrong, it may be a different reason) is that the owner is just not here that much. I suspect the lack of control over the employees is why they are often indifferent and have no sense of urgency, as some other Unilocalers have noted. I know of other coffee shops in town where the owners are present, and I can tell the difference.
Again, I could be wrong… my experience with the bad service may be attributable to other things entirely… just my impression.
In any case, and whatever the reasons, Alpen Sierra serves up mediocre product with bad service. I’ll go elsewhere from now on…

I honestly want to give this place 5 stars. I really do. I love local coffee spots and this place is pretty cool. Laid back vibe, decently sized so plenty of sitting room, good prices, selection and the coffee is pretty tasty.
So why am I not giving them 5 stars? Well Day one I didn’t get my wheat bagel I ordered, I got some everything bagel. I was too hungover to return it or say anything so I just sucked it up and ate it. At that point they were still sitting on 4 stars with me because in the bigger scheme, the wrong bagel isn’t the end of the world.
Day two-​I was in a hurry. It was quite obvious I was in a hurry. I had a large order for 3 and of course I got the new girl that was being trained. Girl that was training wasn’t the friendliest color in the crayon box either. In fact I would say she made the process even slower. Girl that made the coffee whipped the drinks out super fast though which makes up for slow ordering process.
All in all, I wasn’t super stoked on this place, which sucks because I really wanted to be. Definitely willing to give them another shot though. Maybe 3^rd time is the charm?

I like going to non Starbucks coffee establishments cuz, well I don’t know how else to put it but Starbucks is the devil. So on our way home we decided to try this place out. My wife forgot if I wanted my americano hot or iced, and I told her iced. It was already done by the time she walked back in, and she told the barista to make it iced… which usually means putting it in a cup of ice. No. The barista gave some ‘tude, threw out the drink and made a new one from scratch. When my wife asked why, she rudely answered «cuz the ice drinks are made from filtered water.» Now I have no problem with this, but chill on the attitude please! Also, I believe you should either make all your drinks or none of your drinks from filtered water… but that’s just me. Also, Ms Barista, be nice to your customers… helps keeps us from going to evil corporations like Starbucks for coffee.
To end, the coffee was just ok, could have been much stronger in my opinion.

I’m mixed on this review. I love a good mom and pop coffee shop but DAMN!!! these ladies are slow as shit.
My friend and I ordered the Peanut Butter Dream which was amazing but it took damn near 20 minutes to get it and at $ 4.50 for a medium, I probably wouldn’t return.

The drip coffee is great and easy to fill up on as your passing through or going around town in South Lake Tahoe.
However, stick with the coffee and skip the food. There are better places to eat around town and they obviously specialize in coffee first and food second. Almost as if it’s an afterthought.
One good sign is the cab drivers stop in here all the time. Truckers and cab drivers know the best places to get coffee and eat. I see them getting coffee all the time, but never eating. That has to be a sign.

I have had girlfriends break up with me because I spend too much time here! If you ever can’t find me look here, I will be on the couch with my laptop.

Their decaf Italian roast makes a great espresso and macchiato. I get it at Truckee Book & Bean.

I often come here to work on my laptop and the atmosphere couldn’t be more perfect. There is usually a seat available and the Wifi is FREE!
I love the staff (very friendly) but the drinks are PRICEY! I paid $ 4 for a small chai latte. I come to these local places to get away from Starbucks, but my drink would have been almost half the price. The food selection isn’t great but not bad (also pricey). All in all a good place to hang with good service. I just wish it were a little more affordable.
Oh! and the bathroom really really stinks! They should put an air freshener in there (hwy 50 location)

I usually try to go to the small coffee shops and sample their coffee beans and give a bit of business as I travel about. This place will make me this twice.
The staff moves a glacial speed. 4 people behind the bar and it took them seriously 15+ minutes to help the four customers in front of me.
The coffee was marginal at best and the hot chocolate seriously tasted like it was strained with a dirty dish towel.
Asking for my customary cold soy got a sneer from the woman at the bar as well. Sorry if not all of us can drink milk, lady!
A seriously terrible experience that will keep me going to Starbucks when I’m in the South Shore.

Ok guys, I don’t give a lots of 5 stars on Unilocal,but this place totally worth it!
Alpen Sierra Coffee Roasting Co in South Lake Tahoe (SLT) is the perfect café in SLT when you can’t ski and would like to stay inside in a warm, roomy and welcoming place.
We stopped by this place several times during out stay in SLT. Each time we stayed there for a couple of hours, enjoying their soup, smoothies, teas and muffins.
Soups:
They provide two different kinds of soups every day. We’ve tried their roasted veggies, tender pot roast with vegetables and their Broadway basil tomato bisque. All of them were very good. The roasted veggies though were a bit spicy for me (too much pepper).
Smoothies:
I’ve tried their 4 berries and their pear/​peach/​apricot smoothie. Both were good but I especially loved the pear/​peach/​apricot one!
Teas:
My significant other tried their Chai (which was too spicy unfortunately) and their licorice spice (which is much better!)
Muffins:
We only tried their blueberry one. They usually warm it for you. So good ;)
The place is kind of big and definitely never got crowded every time we stopped by. They’ve got large wooden table that can accommodate 2 – 6 people. Large enough to put your laptop and enjoy their free Wifi.
The staff is friendly and the prices are very good quality wise. The price range is definitely affordable.
I would definitely recommend Alpen Sierra Coffee Roasting Co. for people that need a place to relax after a nice day of ski in SLT or just to work on their laptop in a nice décor.
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Pros:
— Barely very crowded. Easy to find a nice table
— Nice and large table that are
— Free wifi
— You can stay here as long as you need
Cons:
— Their Chai is very spicy
Cedric’s secret advice:
— If you would like to come here to work with your laptop, locate the tables that have plugs close by. There is one close to the entrance, and another one close to the cash register
Cedric’s favorite option:
— If you like smoothies like me, tried their selection. They are not too sweet and the pear/​peach/​apricot is definitely a very good one!

The coffee can be OK, and they sometimes have decaf on brew if you need to avoid the caffeine. The pastries, really, are not very good. It’s not an ideal choice for breakfast, but it should be: the atmosphere is cozy and there is wifi. Could they improve the food offerings. The staff is very nice.

I liked this place as it was a bit more «local» than Starbucks. We ordered just a regular coffee (nothing fancy like latte or espresso) but I liked the choices they had there for drip coffee — regular, organic, decaf etc. I liked their medium roast Sumatran.
I tried blueberry and cranberry muffins and they were yummy! Not too sweet and not too big, but it was very fluffy and tasty. Friendly staff, inside had comfortable tables & chairs, and some papers to read as you sip your coffee. Really cute and nice place to stop by.

I love trying local coffee shops when I’m in new cities, so I definitely had to try Alpen Sierra Café and it was so good, I ended up coming here two days in a row! I had some type of caramel latte concoction and it was SOOOOOOO YUMMY!!! I also had a bagel with cream cheese and that was also very very good. The staff were very friendly and you could tell this was a go to spot in the morning before hitting the snow.
MUST TRY if you are in Tahoe. Definitely.

Had great hopes for this place. I love coffee. However, there were warning signs when I walked in that this would be a good place that has all sorts of little things wrong with it. The menus are printed and nowhere does it say what they ran out of, so you will often find yourself at the register asking for a bagel or something, and the girl will tell you it’s sold out. So you’re standing there frantically looking for something else to eat (note the pastry bin is only ¹⁄₃ full) and there are 6 people in line behind you in a crowded space.
The people working here were slow and get orders wrong. Once we came and had a lovely time when we didn’t need much service (self-​serve drip coffee and a pot of tea, which filled 4 cups of tea). Then we came in another time and had a hideous time ordering and getting our food order right, and the same pot of tea only filled 1.5 cups of tea. Consistency? A bit lacking.
The food is mediocre. The tea is good. The beans are okay. The people who work here could be a lot better. The little printed signs everywhere demanding you pay for your cup of coffee, that there are no refills, that they are short of $ 5 bills, that this costs this much… are a little irritating. Communication FAIL.