Holsem Coffee

IN LOVE with this place. Had both the banana bread cold brew and lemon meringue cold brew and couldn’t have asked for more. Totally obsessed. Come to San Francisco, Holsem!!!

I visited Holsem Coffee two times when I was living in San Diego. A friend highly recommended this place, so when two of my out-​of-​town friends were visiting for the weekend, I took them here. During my first visit on a Sunday, the coffee shop was really crowded. However, when I went with one of my best friends during Fourth of July 2015 weekend, it was surprisingly empty and we actually were able to relax and enjoy our time there.
I got different drinks on both of my visits to Holsem Coffee. I liked the set-​up of the café – it was minimalistic and clean, yet contemporary and rustic at the same time. I just liked how there were flowers on each table (but it wasn’t overwhelming). It’s a great spot to study and hang out, as well as socialize with friends.
Parking here can be a problem sometimes, but I was fortunate on both of my visits that we didn’t have to park too far. The staff members were really friendly and helpful, especially during my first visit. Even when the coffee shop was crowed, it didn’t take us too long to get our drinks.
I would gladly return to Holsem if I’m ever in the San Diego area again. Here’s what we got:
«La Vie en Rose»: My friend loves cappuccinos and this is one of Holsem’s most famous drinks. It’s also one of the most picture worthy. This cappuccino consists of rosewater, rose petal, honey, cardamom and milk. I had a sip of my friend’s drink and it was light and delicious. I can’t handle strong coffee so I just had a sip, but I really did like the taste … especially the slight taste of the honey. I can see why this is one of the coffee shop’s signature drinks.
«Lavender»: Since I love chocolate, I opted for this drink, which consisted of dark chocolate, lavender confetti and milk. I just made sure almond/​soy milk was available as a substitute. I got this drink during my second visit to Holsem. I love dark chocolate so I welcomed the chocolaty taste, but since dark chocolate was being used, this concoction wasn’t overly sweet.
«Nutella»: During my first visit to Holsem, I decided to get the Nutella drink. I actually to enjoy the spread (though it will never be better than peanut butter), but I was craving it in liquid form. This drink featured dark chocolate and homemade hazelnut milk. What a creamy, satisfying blend! We had just finished a super savory breakfast, so this Nutella-​flavored drink hit the spot. I loved the subtle taste of hazelnut – it wasn’t overpowering – but enjoyed the dark chocolate taste as well.
«Espresso Shake»: This blend consists of four shots of espresso, vanilla gelato and milk, espresso grounds. If I ever want caffeine and some extra sugar, I definitely want to try this drink! I just have to make sure I can get it with soy/​almond milk, and I’ll be good to go. Definitely can’t wait to try Holsem’s vanilla gelato one day.
«The Woods»: I had seen photos of this drink, which includes pure maple syrup, nutmeg, sea salt, maple bitters and homemade hazelnut milk. It sounds really unique and I was curious to try it, but I stuck with my chocolate preference and tried some of the other menu options instead. I did wonder, though, how this blend was because of the sea salt. Some salty-​sweet drinks I have tried in the past were an ultimate fail, but I do want to give this option from Holsem a chance. If I’m ever craving that sweet-​salty taste, this is the first drink I would try.
«Mocha»: This mocha is made with valrhona chocolate. Mochas are usually my go-​to when it comes to coffee shops, so it’s sort of surprising that I didn’t try the one from Holsem yet. But, I wanted to try some of the other menu options first … I’m sure I’ll get around to this option the next time I’m in San Diego.

I had high hopes for this place, but I found it to be overpriced and meh.
I ordered the classic latte with their homemade hazelnut milk and honey. They didn’t list the price on the menu that their homemade choices for milk cost more, so unbeknownst to me, my drink came out to roughly $ 6… A little steep, but hey, I decided to give it a try since the milk was homemade and all, so it has to be good right? Wrong. The texture of my latte was too thick and gritty from the hazelnut. It tasted like a watered down coffee smoothie. Not my cup of tea, err, coffee.
I can see the appeal of this place since they are a hip, trendy coffee shop that tries to offer a unique spin on coffee, but I personally found the menu over-​the-​top with odd combinations of flavor. I think I’ll stick with Calabria or Subterranean next time.

As a college student, the main reason for coming to a coffee shop is to get work done. As far as Holsem goes, it is CRAMPED. Tables are small and it is often crowded; there are almost no power outlets too. That said, the décor is amazingly hipster and unique.
The drinks are downright weird since they make some pretty strange combinations. The employees are really nice though. Parking can be a hassle, but there is usually street parking a block away or the $ 1/​hour parking structure down the street.

I really like the honeycomb, its a nice cup of coffee with a little twist with the spiced honey.
However, last time I had the lavender mocha and I wasn’t a fan. There are lots of tables, but even on a Wednesday there was only a couple open when I arrived

Probably the best coffee menu I’ve seen. They make their own almond and hazelnut milk which is an A+ in my book.
I ordered The Woods (espresso, hazelnut milk, maple syrup, maple bitters, other stuff i cant remember) which was super tasty — can’t wait to come back and try another drink from their menu.

This relatively new coffee shop is located in the popular north park area of San Diego on University Ave. Parking is extremely hard to find as this is a main street but there is a parking garage nearby. The great thing about this coffee shop is the nightime late hours. Many craft coffee shops close so soon, before 7pm so it is hard to get good coffee at night. The small shop takes on a contemporary minimalistic design. The bar area is neat, uncluttered, and clean. There were not many tables set up so seating may be hard to find if this shop gets busy. The menu is simple and easy to read. I especially like the fact that the menu includes a description of ingriedients in the drink beneath the drink name. This makes ordering the drink much more simpler and ensures that the customer gets the drink he or she wants without any surprises. The menu includes food items such as sandwiches and porridge too so students can spend a large part of the day here.
I stuck with the drink menu on this occasion as the shop is catered towards coffee. I had «the woods» and «l’orange.» Both drinks came out in small paper cups, about 8 ounces in size. I didn’t mind the paper cups as it is convenient if I wanted to leave before finishing. The size of the drinks are very small though which is a major disappointment. I am used to getting larger sized drinks from craft coffee shops for the same price. The taste of both coffees were just ok. The maple syrup in «the woods» drink really stood out and overpowered all the other flavors in the drink. There is a minimal bitter coffee taste as well. I felt the flavors were not balanced enough and the maple syrup did not really blend in with the drink. It felt like i was drinking coffee with maple syrup, a sweet taste followed by a slightly bitter ending. «L’orange» is a unique drink as I never tasted this type of drink anywhere else. There is definitely an orange peel taste in the drink. But again, this drink failed to impress me. This drink tasted more bitter than «the woods» but the bitterness was not offensive to me. I just did not feel any balance to this drink as well. The strong flavors I noted was orange peel and the bitterness from the coffee.
5 stars customer service
5 stars nightime hours
2 stars for the drink flavor
2 stars for the location
2 stars for the price and drink size
Overall a solid 3 star place in my opinion.

LOVE LOVE LOVE this place! It’s definitely worth all the parking woes when knowing that you’re about to get such quality coffee!
After a busy morning involving wedding venue viewing, my fiancé and I wanted to refuel with caffeine. A simple Unilocal search led us to Holsem and after a few seconds of browsing, I was determined to try one of their many unique cold brews! Now before I go any further, I am a sucker for a good cold brew. I usually start my mornings with homemade cold brew (whether it’s hot or cold outside) so needless to say, I was very excited for this!
When walking into the place, you are greeted with friendly hellos from the baristas as well as the inviting smell of coffee. Yep, you’re at the right place. If you love a good cold brew, fear not — they have a wonderful selection to cater to any tastes. My personal favorites are Colada cold brew (cream of coconut, evaporated cane sugar with a generous amount of toasted coconut on the rim) and Nutella (dark chocolate + housemade hazelnut milk)…oh, so good!!! It is essentially dessert in cold brew form!

There are so many coffee shops in North Park, like at least one every block. It’s not easy to sustain a caffeine business in this neighborhood. Okay, back to Holsem. Their dripped coffee is really good, nothing like Starbucks but if that’s what you want, just go across the street and there is a big one.
Industrial, minimalism interior. not sure if it’s a good study place though.

Great, minimalist décor. Pet friendly. Interesting coffee! The batistas were friendly! I really like the vibe here and now wish I was hanging out for a bit instead of getting it to go!
I ordered the lavender mocha and it was delightful as expected!

Had the La Vie en Rose cappuccino, and it was amazing.
Presentation: Beautiful, with rose petals and a pretty leaf design on the top. The coffee also smelled amazing (like roses!).
Taste: This was good quality, mellow coffee. You can taste the rose despite the pretty overwhelming flavor of coffee, which I think is impressive.
Atmosphere: Hipster. The menu is so pretty and minimalistic. The walls are all white, with some brick accents. There are some nice wooden benches and tables, as well as standard 2 and 4 seater tables. The music was nice; I heard some AWOLNATION, The Neighbourhood, and Panic! At the Disco. Not too noisy, typical coffeeshop volume.
Service: The baristas kept my little sister entertained– we had a guess-​off over how much milk they use on a typical day, with the barista as the judge. My cousin received a coffee in a dine-​in cup and asked for a to-​go cup instead, and they happily obliged.
Great place to chill or just pick up a fancy coffee. I’ll definitely come back here if I’m ever in the area.

Holsem Coffee! Really trendy space. Modern looking interior. A lot of hipsters (Me!) roll through cause obviously it’s in North Park. Haha. Came here and had the lavender mocha with almond mik. I don’t really like lavender but I figure I try it since the 3 people in front of us ordered it too. Must be good, right? Well, it was pretty good. I don’t know if I’d get it again; just because I’m not the biggest of lavender and there’s other drinks I wanna try.
But overall real chill place to get your coffee fix.

Love the cappuccinos here! The rose and the orange one are soooooOOOOOOooo good. This is my favorite coffee in San Diego. One thing I’ll say is the nutella cold brew was disappointing. It just tasted like hot chocolate. The banana bread cold brew was pretty good. It tastes EXACTLY like banana bread.
The lighting here makes it a pretty good study spot. The chairs are a little uncomfortable and the outlets are sparse but the coffee definitely makes up for it.
If you check in on Unilocal you get a 10% discount.

Holsem is another «hip» coffee shop. The interior is beautiful and simple. It’s pretty spacious, but I feel as if it could use more indoor seating. Luckily, there is outdoor seating, as well.
I got the green tea latte, because if you know me by now via Unilocal or in real life, I’m a matcha fiend. There was a heart for latte art, but I sipped it out of eagerness and destroyed the image. It was delicious! My boyfriend got the Zaki coffee, but I think he would’ve preferred another black coffee.
I think it’s cool how they also serve brew here – that’s pretty new for a coffee shop. I’d definitely come back for more green tea, as well as that lavender drink and «la vie en rose» drink.

Cute and clean little coffee shop that is a great addition to University Ave.
It’s also great because the Starbucks next door happens to have the worst service I have ever encountered, every single time, and they so happen to have really helpful and friendly service.
They also have really yummy options like a banana bread latte or ginger snap latte and many more. They make their own almond, banana, and hazelnut milk. I got a chance to try them all and they are really good!
The inside is fairly quiet while busy bees have their noses in their laptops and books. Thankfully you can still chat and no one seemed to mind it too much.

So I came here once and it was too crowded. The seating is abysmal to say the least. But I heard amazing things about the coffee. Milk infused with banana or Nutella? I had to try again. And alas, now I am back. So here’s the deal:
The seating still sucks. There just isn’t enough. It’s a big enough space to have twice as much. A random bench that people literally sit on with their laptops on their laps does not cut it. The three seats outside do not help either.
But enough about that. The coffee? Awesome! The Nutella cold brew doesn’t just have shavings of chocolate on top, but chunks. The actual liquid in the cup is a chocolate brown, not coffee. So while it may not be for coffee purists, this is truly a dessert in a cup. And I can’t drink enough. The banana bread is equally amazing, with hints of cinnamon and honey rounding out the banana-​coffee taste. In addition to coffee, Holsem lists that they are carrying beer and wine soon. While it’s not quite the ideal space for drinking, I’ll be interested to see what they do with it.
In conclusion–
Ambience– Meh
Would I go here all the time? No
If I want a dessertish coffee? Best place ever
Check it out.

ok, I am reviewing 2 separate visits. You’d think, what a crazy person to keep coming back for Holsem within a month right?
I did try the colada cold brew: it tasted very coconuty but the coffee flavor was rather strange to me. For cold brew, my favorite is still the hazelnut.
Taking a fellow elite’s rec on the espresso shake, I ordered this this time.

Okay, not until after I ordered this I realized it was 4 espresso shots mixed in a vanilla ice cream. Whaaaaat?! This is literally an milkshake spiked with espresso. You know what, I was wowed! The coffee is so good in the ice cream. It is $ 6, so I ended up sharing it, also because I did not want to be wired from all that caffeine.
My summary of Holsem so far: not all the coffee is agreeable to my palate unfortunately, but I did definitely find 2 that I like: hazelnut cold brew and espresso shake!

I’ve been to a good number of coffee shops in North Park and this place definitely has its own distinct vibe. I would say that places like Twiggs and Lestats have a pretty normal crowd while this place has people that are more on the «trendy» (whatever that means) spectrum. The coffee shop really has a clean and crisp vibe and when I was there I felt like the people there tried to seem the same way. Either way, I found it interesting and still liked it.
As for a study spot, it was really crowded when I went. They have some tables but it can get full fast. Fast internet. Nice staff. Limited number of outlets. I got a nutella cold press and I wish there was more nutella in there. All in all, this is a cool place to check out.

I love coffee, so after seeing the creative menu, I stopped by. My bf got the colado cold brew and I got the woods. The colado was delicious! It was topped off with some coconut flakes and you can really taste the coconut! I was surprised that the cold brew wasn’t bitter, like most of cold brews I’ve tried. The woods was very nutty, with their homemade hazelnut milk and nutmeg.
I’ll definitely be back to try their banana bread cold brew! Which sounds amazing, because who doesn’t like banana bread!

Holsem’s matcha lattes get better and better. Let’s also give props to the heavenly cappuccino l’orange.
It’s the best coffee shop to hang out at any time of day, whether to work or to socialize.
Doesn’t hurt that the staff is ridiculously good-​looking, either.
Let’s bump those four stars up to five, shall we?