Coffee Collaborative

favorite coffee place on goleta. Wonderful latte flavors and a great vibe with interesting art on the wall :)

Love it! Local spot feeling. Helping the community and promoting local art and music. Art initiatives supported. Open mic night and a super amazing crew working their. By far one of my favorite coffee shops in all of Santa Barbara County (and I get around)

Pay $ 5 to watch an OUT OF THIS WORLD, middle-​aged non-​Asian man with a Vietnamese hat to make you a cup of «coffee…»
As a tourist from LA County, we were Unilocaling places to get a hot cup of coffee in the Loop of Isla Vista after eating at Freebirds. Our first choice was a place called «Caje,» but unfortunately the place was closed at that time. Looking at Unilocal reviews for Coffee Collab didn’t seem to bad. 4 stars? Sure, why not. We were in a rush to get coffee, so we did not bother too much about individual feedback about this place, which I definitely should have done.
We walked in and clearly ordered an almond latte and peppermint latte. Few minutes later.
Barista: «Here are your drinks!» *As I grab the cups* «What did you order again? Coconut?»
Me: «Uhhh no… almond latte and peppermint latte.»
Barista: «Oh»
Me: *I taste them* «Oh yeah it’s peppermint.»
Then I walked back to my table to taste my own drink of almond latte… Tasted nothing like almond latte. More like a tasteless, flat, blah coffee… As I was getting up to ask him to ask what he made, he was already out in the front yard to chat with his bohemian looking, free-​spirited looking friend.
Me: «Hey, I was wondering what you made for my drink. I ordered almond latte, but it doesn’t taste too much of almond.»
Barista: «Oh yeah, I made you a chocolate hazelnut.»
… Umm? Speechless for a sec, then I politely requested him to make an almond latte. He got up to walk back to the counter. As he was walking back, a couple of customers walked in as well. He took orders and seemed to forgot about my drink since he went outside again after he finished brewing coffees for those customers.
I went outside again to ask him for my drinks. Then he apologized and rushed back inside.
Few minutes later my coffee arrived. And the taste was a complete disappointment. Was I drinking a saturated almond syrup dissolved in hot water with a slight taste of coffee??? I was trying to be patient and understanding, but I was pretty dang upset by this time.
I’m never a person who complains to the workers for a horrible dish or drink and ask for a refund. But this was just… Too much! I got up with this cup of «coffee» to talk to this guy.
Me: «Hi. When I first ordered almond latte, you gave me chocolate hazelnut. I requested for the drink I wanted and you forgot about it. You apologized and brewed me an almond latte. But this doesn’t taste anything like how I wanted it to be. Could I ask you a refund for this?»
Barista: «This is how almond usually tastes like. It’s very sweet.» (He seemed so chill)
Me: «This is not my first time drinking an almond latte. I’m not too happy with this taste.»
Barista: «Oh man, you should have gotten hazelnut.»
Me: «No, I don’t want to drink anymore. Could I just get a refund?»
Barista: «Oh well. Then I could give you a refund. How about that?» (He asked me as if he was suggesting the refund. He still looked so chill and high lol)
Me: «Umm. Yes please.»
Then he gave me a refund for the two cups of coffee I ordered. I denied to take all and only got a refund of what I requested for after some moments of me explaining to him that I only asked for a refund of this one, not the other cup that I purchased. He still seemed confused but ended up keeping the half. I’m surprised that he even remembered how much it was…
. Now this is just a funny and weird story that I got out of Isla Vista.

I like the concept of this independent coffee shop, but my boyfriend and I both became sick while drinking our hot beverages. Not pleasant.
I enjoyed the taste of the Love Latte, but the Peanut Butter Cup was terrible: bitter and salty. It didn’t taste a thing like chocolate or real peanut butter.

Starbucks was closed, and there was a Coffee Collaborative sticker on the door. (Starbucks what are you doing… clean your door.)
Two stars for the cool atmosphere and the chess board. Reminds me of Muddy Waters in Santa Barbara but without the quality in the beverage.
I ordered a peanut butter something. I was tired and cold, really needed the warm embrace of what sounded to me like a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. Turns out I was fooled! It was warm but nasty, bitter with a vague hint of peanut. I drank it against my better judgement because I was cold. I felt sick about ½ an hour later. No further elaboration is necessary.
The atmosphere is cool though. I really dig the chess board, the furniture, the books.
No American Express here.

Love Coffee Colab! They have some amazing unique latte flavors, and I love all their drinks. I also love the interior, it’s very welcoming and great place to get some work done. Their outdoor seating is also great. Friendly service. Prices aren’t too bad, either!

Fantastic restaurant. They always make me feel sexy when I order coffee. Like «mmmh u made this shit just like you, hot and black.» You know? That kind of stuff

KR and I arrived to our aerial yoga class ½ an hour early on accident… So what better way to waste time than grabbing a quick cup of joe.
Unilocal led us to IV and our instincts led us to Coffee Collaborative (versus the other joints
on the street. Upon walking in was I awe of the relaxed vibe this shop immediately gives off. Plenty of seating. Random flyers on the wall. People playing chess. And a friendly barista.
Cold brews. Regular coffee. Create your own latte. Yerba Mate. Specialty drinks –those are you plentiful options!
I chose the Black Forest latte (chocolate cherry). It was decent, not anywhere close to a well crafted latte but drinkable. The foam on top (and latte art) could have used some work too.
If ever in the area will give this place another shot… maybe the barista was having an off day? Let’s hope so because I want to try (& hopefully love) the Lavender Latte.
3.5 stars

The workers must have access to the best bud in IV, because the guy working the counter was in a different world the night I was there.
As I approached the counter, the entire place was vacant and I couldn’t find an employee. After standing for two minutes at the counter, a man walked in from the tables outside after having a nice chat with another customer… turns out he was the employee working that night.
«Hey there, could I get a half decaf, half regular coffee?»
«Oh, I’m out of decaf right now.»
«All regular is fine then.»
«Hot or iced?»
«Hot please.»
It took a while, but finally he announced, «Your latte’s ready!» Being the only other person in the building, I assumed it was my coffee and he just misspoke. Sadly, it was my coffee, but cold. Not iced, but just old cold coffee.
Sadly, I was on my way to a concert that night so I couldn’t spare any more time, so i left into the cold night, cold coffee in hand.
Hate to say it, but I’ll gladly take my money to Starbucks from now on.

Best coffee shop in Isla Vista. Amazing atmosphere to just enjoy life, sip coffee or study.

The best vibe of any coffee shop I’ve been to. The owner knows his postmodern fiction. Highly recommend the Mexican mocha hot or an iced mocha. Try the kombucha, if you’re into that sort of thing. Music selection is always great, just wish their neighbors didn’t have to blast their music so loudly.

Definitely one of best coffee shops in IV in terms of pricing, location, quality of drinks and the over all energy of the place. All the baristas are warm and friendly and the owner Steve is one of the kindest and funniest people I’ve met in IV!
The art in there is awesome and their open mic, stand-​up nights are always poppin’, it certainly has a very unique energy relative to other places in IV and I’ve noticed how a lot of cool people gravitate towards this place and I’ve made some nice friends there!
Someone mentioned how they don’t have Wifi… umm, there have been several nights I’ve been there and I don’t buy anything and just use their Wifi for hours (and no one complains!). So yah, sweet place, definitely check it out if you’d like to surrounded by chill vibes while getting some work done!
(their mexican mocha is DELICIOUS! and they have some amazing teas!)

Love this place… Definitely suits the IV– beach feel … Really mellow and relaxed environment. Coffee is boomin, specialty roasted and organic. First choice when I need to study and for a cup o joe

I love this place. I like that I can always find a table with an outlet, and how it’s nice and roomy. The iced coffee is seriously amazing, and I also really enjoy their love latte. It’s pretty hipster, but for me that’s a welcome change compared to Starbucks. Sometimes they don’t get your order right the first time, but they are happy to fix it if you ask. It can also be a little smoky sometimes. I really enjoy this place though, overall.

Worst coffee ever. Or maybe the girl was too high… Regardless it was nasty coffee and a waste of $ 5

I feel this place isn’t always clean, but it’s such a cool spot. I bring friends from out of town when showing them Isla Vista simply because it has such great character… art from local artists, funky décor, usually decent music, and tea~! I’m not a coffee girl, so I avoid anything with caffeine. I like their herbal teas and tea lattes. The highlight of this place is the atmosphere for me, not necessarily the drinks. Cool place to study… sweet open mic-​nights as well.
** update: studying here at night is too loud because of Sam’s next door. makes me so sad! I wish they could turn their music down.

Just no. Every time I have gone, the drinks have been less than impressive. The preparation area behind the counter always looks really messy/​unsanitary. My barista who helped me out last time took 20 minutes to get my cappuccino out and when I got it, there was no foam, just some very milky espresso. There is no Wi-​Fi. They have some cool bands play sometimes, but going here would never be my first choice in IV. Caje or Crushcakes or even the coffee on campus is definitely better.

One of my favorite places to study in IV! Not much of a fan for flavored coffee anymore because the syrup is just way too much for me. But their black coffee is amazing!
Always good vibes here.

Nice local flavor, good drip coffee.

I’m a big fan of Coffee Collab. Much more home-​feeling than Starbucks, better lighting and location than Caje. I usually get the Nutella latte. I probably would have given four stars but I had a not-​so ideal situation happen just now.
It’s finals week, so me and my boyfriend decided to pop in and get something warm to drink. We walked in and the owner (I think? He said his «employees» in conversation) was there at the front. I asked for a Nutella latte and he stared at the syrups for a good minute or two before saying that they were out of hazelnut. No prob, ordered a cappuccino for myself and hot chocolate for my boyfriend. We paid, he took forever to swipe the card, then asked more than once what we had ordered. He literally just stood there and didn’t do anything but make conversation for awhile, before apologizing for being really drunk. Another employee swooped in, apologized and took over, so she was his saving grace.
Great cappuccino, but I still am not happy with the fact that the owner found it acceptable to come in drunk and non-​functional. I understand that this is Isla Vista, but if you’re going to be drunk on the job, at least try and mask it (I’ve done it before; it’s not that difficult). Highly unprofessional and disappointing.
This is the only time I’ve had this happen though. Other times my service has been average.
Delicious coffee with a great atmosphere, but the owner needs to step up his game.