Dark Nectar Roasting

I can only comment on their cold brew – it was really tasty. Bright and fruity, not roasty or burnt tasting. They served it on Nitrogen, the only drawback is that it wasn’t quite as creamy as the best cold brew from LA places like Verve, Groundworks, and Stumptown is.

Dark nectar is a real five star go to place for coffee in Templeton. We’re just talking about the coffee now, we’re just talking about the roasting now, and we’re just talking about good. If you are in Templeton this is the go to place for a wonderful cup of coffee

Purchased a vanilla latte for my dear wife. She thought it was really good.
Good coffee and their service may be a little lacking. I believe that they are more a roaster than a coffee house. I love seeing the roaster in the front window.
Recommend you come in and taste some… It is a local roaster and we all want to support local businesses.

I’m not sure what the good reviews are all about. This is a hole in the wall roaster. No real place to sit and actually have a coffee. A few stools and some small outdoor tables. I can’t comment on all the coffees but the espresso I had was bitter. Our other coffee not much better. Beware no bathrooms on site. The day we called they had no non fat milk. That was first thing in the morning. Looks like running out of stuff is a characteristic. Splenda in a shaker jar. (Cheap guys). I’m truly at a loss as how this place gets any good reviews. Ambiance 0.

Had dinner at Artisan in downtown Paso Robles a few months back. We finished up dinner with a french-​press coffee, and it was the best tasting coffee (with some cream and sugar) I ever had. It was a life changing moment. I now had an appreciation of good coffee. We inquired with our waiter, and the coffee beans were roasted by Dark Nectar. So the next morning we made the short trip to their storefront in Templeton. We spoke with the folks in the tiny store, and learned a lot about coffee. We ordered the vanilla latte, and I was blown away again by the flavors. Wow.
I bought a bag of the Templetucky beans to re-​create at home, but sadly I didn’t know the chemistry involved to make a great cup of coffee at the time.
Now, I have invested in the tools to make a great pour-​over or french press coffee. Thanks for opening my eyes to great coffee.

Small coffee shop. Apparently not prepared for Saturday morning as no almond milk or regular milk or any milk to make a latte. Disappointing!
Ordered regular coffee and only had half and half.
Also no cold brew as machine was at an event.
All these items were on their menu.
Not sure I would depend on them for a cup of coffee.

Dark Nectar has all the hallmarks of an appealing small town artisan roaster. The single origins packaged in simple brown hand-​lettered 12oz. packages, the no-​nonsense roasting and retail space located on a historic main street with easy parking and attractive views, the Saturday farmers market kiosk, the commitment to small batch daily roasting, the helpful staff, the fair prices — the works.
In a way, as a roaster it reminds me more of similar locations in Western Montana, Central Idaho, and Eastern Oregon than the boutique cult roasters in California spots like San Francisco or Oakland. The small town feel doesn’t compete with the world-​class taste of the coffee, and that makes a weekend trip to the Paso Robles area even more attractive than otherwise.
Start a Saturday of wine tasting and backroads adventuring with a coffee from Dark Nectar, a stop at the Templeton farmers market (excellent local produce, honey, seafood, and fresh fruit), possibly a Paso downtown tasting room before noon, lunch in town (or picnic purchase at Trader Joe’s in Templeton), then a Westside wine tour and tasting at a place like Tablas Creek (Adelaida Road) or Turley (Vineyard Drive). End up in Cambria at the coast for a sunset beach walk or meal at Robin’s. It’s all part of the equation. Get some beans for the road too! Nothing beats fresh beans in your morning pourover while watching the Big Sur sun rise from Nacimiento summit. Happy travels! Hope that you’ll enjoy your DNR pit-​stop as much as I did.

Great little roaster and espresso bar in Templeton. Their espresso blend performed well in my Rocket R58. Will pay ‘em a visit every time I’m driving thru the central coast. Cool people too.

I had high hopes for this place. The customer service was poor and the cappuccino was disappointing.

Yummy coffee drinks. Can tell they cater to the regular crowd. Prices are about the same as other coffee shops. A couple tables outside, but other than that, this seems more like a buy it and take it kind of place.

Paul! This guy… knows. his. coffee.
They roast the beans right in the storefront which makes the place smell like heaven. This is the only place that I get coffee anymore. By the cup for the office and by the bag for my home. They have such a variety of different beans, you can get a different bean with a different roast every time you go in there.
Also, they have started selling cookies and cupcakes, which officially makes this my favorite place in the world. Try the cold press coffee or an Americano.

Dark Nectar rocks! Though admittedly NOT a «coffee connoisseur», I must say that whenever I go to Templeton, I stop by and get an «Indian Mocha» over ice… I love anything with Indian (from India) spices, and this one is espresso, chocolate, whole milk, and a sprinkling of cinnamon and cardamom. It’s absolutely *heavenly*… it was on the board (menu) when I first started going there, but they took it off. HOWEVER, Paul or one of the other peeps will still make it for me when I stop by. LOVE IT!

Unfortunately my one visit here was on a new barista’s first day– she seemed totally overwhelmed and wasn’t able to answer questions about various blends, etc. I figured I’d take the safe option and get an iced coffee, and it was OK, but not great. Enjoyed sitting out front and watching the action on Main St, though.

I was on a early morning run up the coast for business when I stopped for gas in Atascadero, jumping on Unilocal at 5:30AM hoping for artisan coffee to fuel my drive. I found 5 Stars and Dark Nectar as the destination in Templeton. No hours displayed, I rolled by the tiny storefront on Main Street to find nothing but «darkness» at Dark Nectar. At 5:45AM, I couldn’t rightly criticize an artisan for not waking with the roosters. .. so on I pushed to Salinas for my 10AM meeting, thinking I’d drop back by on the way south.
OK, I didn’t expect much when I walked into Dark Nectar in Templeton. Sure, I held secret hopes deep inside my heart, always the romantic, wishing the world saw beauty instead of greed as it’s operating principle, but as always, I had an open palate. To my surprise everything looked right as I entered what looked to be a late 19^th century building. I was greeted with smiles and hellos from the two young guns that looked more like baristas than patrons, with friendly customers crowding around a small coffee bar.
Turns out the two youngsters were indeed the owners, and turned out to be coffee connoisseurs extraordinaire! I tried a shot of espresso, awesome, and purchased a bag of single origin «India» for my home French Press. The cup I just finished as I write this review, was one of the best cups of coffee I have enjoyed. .. ever. Keep in mind, I live in Santa Barbara, grew up in LA, have lived in SF, NYC, done business in Italy, mom was a gourmet cook and my wife and I are educated foodies. The cup I just had was amazing.
This place is outstanding, with tremendously nuanced and flavorful beans. The owners are great guys. Anyone drinking coffee must consider switching to Dark Nectar as their morning brew. I did.

Here is the sort of place you want to roast and brew your coffee. The roaster is so invested in doing it perfectly that he said «I wish I could taste each one to make sure it was my best!» How about that for dedication? We love to go in and get the coffee here although it is available at Roost as well. Just so nice to see the roaster. I buy their beans to grind at home. Rich good coffee.

Nice little coffee place. Cute bar to sit at and enjoy a delicious cup of whatever you want. I had a café au lait. Also bought some medium roast beans.
Very sweet and laid back baristas. Went there this last Sunday but didn’t know they weren’t typically open on Sundays. I guess they were for a group of bike riders. The guy told us to take a complimentary cup of coffee since he wasn’t able to make specialty drinks. I thought this was so sweet. I wish they were open Sundays cause I’d just get their coffee and take it to breakfast since most of the restaurants around here seem to serve Folgersesque coffee.

Perhaps you don’t know me…
Sherpas often stop me to ask for directions… Obama wrote me in… Dr. Phil routinely looks to me for advice… encouraged to speak during movies… among the few allowed to run with scissors… the most astonishing man in the world.
I don’t always drink coffee, but when I do, I prefer Dark Nectar.
(See you there)

You all know that I don’t drink Coffee but will purchase it for when Thomas Jefferson comes home. I went to the Cambria Farmers Market on Friday and Dark Nectar had a tent. This coffee was delicious so much so that when Christopher a*k*a Thomas Jefferson is here in December I will be purchasing some for him.
Complimentary smooth blends that I can imagine, would suit well with a decadent dessert after a meal… or a nice Pot for when company is over.
I liked their Guatamala and Templetucky cool thing is they will ship and the price at the Farmers Market was $ 10.00 per 14oz bag. If you have a chance check them out and do yourself a favor. If you have gifts to purchase for that Coffee Lover that you know call this place up and order some. You will not be sorry.
Respectfully Reviewed

Closed Sundays! I wish the hours had been listed on Unilocal.I tried to edit the business info to say closed Sundays, but it only seems to allow you to *add* hours; I’m not sure what the Mon-​Sat hours are, but I definitely know it’s closed sunday.
So bummed out, saw their business card on the bulletin board at Lolo’s in Morro Bay, and made it a point to go by Templeton for a good local roaster experience, but was bummed to find that the entire town is shut down on Sundays.
Sorry Unilocalers, I had to give a star review and am not willing to rate a place down that I didn’t get to try.

I am always looking for local coffee roasting companies. I found this one by pure coincidence. My cousin recommended that my wife and I dine at Mc Phee’s in Templeton, CA where we were on a recent vacation and wine tasting in Paso Robles. The dinner was superb but I never expected to have my senses further stimulated after an excellent meal by the after dinner coffee. I was so taken by the flavor and aroma that I asked the waitress about it. She indicated that the roaster was next door and operated out a a building occupied by a hair salon.
I went there the very next day to discover who was behind the brew. I met the two most friendly, passionate and generous owners/​roasters! They took full advantage of the local expertise (the local vintners) to create some of the most interesting coffee blends. I learned more about how to marry roasting techniques to the variety of bean than I ever knew.
Their café is a humble hole in the wall, but the best coffee you will find since Deidrich sold out to Starbucks, left southern California and moved to Sandpoint, Idaho!
I would encourage anyone visiting the area to balance their wine-​tasting activities with a visit to Dark Nectar. I wish these owners the best of success in this endeavor.