Higher Grounds Coffee

Outta the heat from the desert still 91 degrees up here but at 6000 elevation a lot better than the 117 at home. Anyways Cute spot in Idlywild, Good cold brew coffee comfortable spit to sit and relax or play chess. Didn’t try the baked goods but they looked ok.

Very friendly staff!
Awesome muffins!

Excellent coffee house! Prices are great, atmosphere is very chill inside and out, and the service is better than most bog name coffee houses. They open at 6am so I’ll be by in the morning for a coffee before I hike!

the food and coffee is good, I’ve been going there for awhile when i am on a local backpack or hiking trip. yet the staff greet you with attitude and a disposition of whatever and rarely a smile. so sad.

So bummed about my experience today! I just ordered a dirty London Fog and first paid over $ 6.25 for it… then when I asked for milk alternative they charged me an extra .80 for the almond milk (we’re now up to 7.05) which is fine, but… then they also charged me another .80 for the regular milk they had already steamed… NOT in my drink, but steamed in the pitcher (now we’re up to $ 7.85). Once I get my drink, it turns out to be a white-​mocha-​something-​or-​other that the barista proceeds to tell me is «their» seasonal special that they call a London Fog…(please note, this is NOT written anywhere in the establishment) and that if I want an actual London Fog it’s called something else and she can make it for ½ off… so that makes it another $ 4 to get what I ordered. As you can imagine I was NOT about to do that. One of the other baristas DID apologize but it wasn’t even the ones who served me and the other baristas really made the atmosphere awkward. All in all, super disappointed.

Great place for a cup of coffee. Try the cozy cabin it’s amazing. I always stop by when I’m up there.

Great little coffee shop. Stopped in while staying at the Idyllwild Inn. Great coffee, good selection of pastries (even gluten free muffins for those who are gf). Next time I read the specials board before I order though, because they had some really intriguing suggestions there.

I went in for coffee sunday and picked up muffin. Young woman helped out. All fine. But teen daughter went in with friends Saturday morning and dude was rude to them while welcoming to local boys. If you want a dose of cliché hautiness with your latte go here and maybe have a laugh about it. Or better yet find somewhere else that better represents the friendly town vibe. Maybe the coffee tea place across the intersection.

The coffee is wonderful here, but the workers are a bit on the «can’t be bothered» end of the spectrum. The shop is really cute, has nice seating options, is always a good temperature, and boasts free wifi (which is why I frequent the place when I’m in town).
The owners appear to have humanitarian objectives, which I find attractive in a small business.
Bottom line: come for coffee and treats. Ignore the staff. They have a good product; just don’t expect smily service.

The coffee was hot, people were friendly, and the wifi was free. I am an easy customer to please.

I’m still in love with this coffee place. Hit it when it opens and chillax with a latte. The clientele changes over the morning from early risers, tourists needing a coffee fix they can’t get in there room and bikers needing more thrills. This place has turned into my favorite stop by in the mountains.

Find me a place that is rustic, and made entirely out of wood, I will most definitely be there!
Long Line, but great atmosphere and interesting/​good coffee. Good place to go for the first time. Every server there looks like they can star in Twilight the movie. Very respectful staff, pet friendly, they have outside seating. Very crowded, so you might not get any work done but great social setting.
I was surprised when the menu offered Italian Macchiato only. This is the espresso version of a Caffe’ Macchiato.

Place is very cool but we ended up waiting awhile to order/​receive our drinks. Those who ordered after us, ended up getting there drinks before us. We thought it was very odd. Even the ladies before us didn’t get there’s for awhile.

Higher Grounds is my regular place when I visit Idyllwild. I come here on business retreats, and we always stop in to Higher Grounds to have low-​key meetings and to do a little writing (free WiFi is much appreciated). It’s usually a mix of locals and tourists. You’ll see friends running into each other here a lot, which gives it a nice small-​town feel. Then there will be tourists who ask the baristas all about the town and where to have dinner. I have to credit the baristas with how kind and patient they are. Every single one I’ve met has been just the nicest.
There is a lot of seating, with tables kept quite clean. The one rather off-​putting thing is an overhead fan that turns the lighting into a kind of a strobe light. It’s going to give someone an epileptic seizure one day, no joke. I try my best not to sit under it — it’s really distracting and unpleasant.
You can get all the standard espresso drinks, and they always have a few house specials: «Cozy Cabin,» «Mountain Lodge,» «Nutty Squirrel,» etc. The special drinks are always very, VERY sweet. It’s not cheap either. But to have such a cozy comfortable place with decent coffee is something I’m willing to pay extra for in a little mountain town.
I’ve never tried the pastries, so I can’t comment on those (They look fine — I’m just not interested in those kinds of pastries). They are baked by someone local, which is a nice touch.

Took almost 20 minutes to get my latte. No apology for the length of time. Locals that came in after me got served their drinks prior to me. One patron came in barefoot and then proceeded to put his feet on the coffee table. I saw people putting their drinks and food on the same table before he came in. Staff knew this guy and said nothing.
My latte was good (not great), leather seating was fantastic, and like the décor. Floor was pretty dirty. Won’t be back.

I recently went on a camping trip to Idyllwild. I heard about Higher Ground and I had a tough time finding it since the name isn’t posted outside. It just said Coffee Shop. (Or something like that).
But, once inside it was pretty cool. I ordered the Hockey Stick (or was it hockey puck…) and it was awesome. It’s basically a mocha with cayenne pepper. I asked for it to be medium heat and I loved every sip. I’m going to make this at home and get another one the next time I’m up in Idyllwild.
Great service, nice staff, terrific atmosphere.

Not bad!
I wasn’t expecting much from this cozy shop in Idyllwild — just needed some coffee after a morning hike with le fiancé. I got two shots of espresso over ice and he got a hot apple cider and blueberry muffin.
I was really pleasantly surprised! It’s a nice spot to post up for a while and people watch and the muffin was pretty good. Coffee wasn’t the best I’ve ever had but it wasn’t bad. Definitely worth a stop in if you’re walking around the downtown and need a pick me up.

Very good coffee, neat views and awesome patio to sit on! Downside? Extremely SLOOOOOW service and kinda pricey. But they’re better than Starbucks hands down! We’ll be back!

I loved this place! The coffee was the best! The vanilla latte was amazing. Skip the honey bee one, way to sweet. Unless you LOVE honey.
The Service was really good. Very nice employees. It had a very homey feeling, I wanted to sit and lounge with my bf but we had a hike to do. The inside is big and cozy, and they have a patio for a nice day.
They offer soy milk, can make any drink decaff, and they have a case of homemade muffins, etc. The lady who baked them was actually sitting at the coffee shop, she was nice. My Boyfriend had the blueberry muffin and loved it.
I’ll definitely be back here every time we go to idylwild.

Coffee had a weird taste & my friends coffee had spoiled milk in it… Service was meh! The guy was nice but my other friend complained of a weird spoiled taste in her espresso drink… but she got half & half, so the girl with the shaved head said that it’s not spoiled… Well, they had the half & half and the milk sitting out… we all noticed this upon further inspection & after tasting spoiled milk… There are better places for coffee… I recommend going somewhere else or making sure the milk isn’t sittting on the counter…
Btw…my friend was sick later that evening… Thumbs down.