Elijah Bleu’s House of Coffee

Excellent single made drip coffee… mmm Blue Bottle. The yogurt granola and berries were perfect. Great ambience and service. I’ll definitely be coming back.

CLOSED. Out of business, done, over, kaput.

Stopped in here this past weekend and got me a Cup of my Favorite Joe, a Red EYE… Hot, Strong and very tasty, my wife got a Latte that she said was THE BOMB,
Cool, Hippie, Bluesy, Great energy Place… Cool staff that knew what they were doing and made us feel very welcome!
Great Coffee Shop to rest the feet and kick it while shopping the great shops in Truckee ! Its on my Radar for a Regular stop while in Truckee.
Great Stuff!

Well, if you read my review of Blue Bottle, you know I am no fan of theirs. But, that has more to do with their attitude than their product.
Fortunately, Elijah Bleu’s does a good job of their end of the coffee business. They have a nice big espresso machine and they know how to use it. Their cappuccino is top notch and would even stand out in Seattle.
The rest of the menu is fine, though we only tried breakfast. One note: they love to heap stuff of the cereal, like walnuts and cranberries. So, if you prefer your oatmeal on the plain side, remember to tell them so.
Adding to the pleasure is a friendly, competent staff, and some delightful painting os pigs on the walls, including the bathroom.
Summary: Want real coffee in Truckee? This is the place to go.

I’m not sure why people complain about the prices here. We bought 2 Pellegrinos (one of which the barista made into an Italian soda), a double ristretto shot, and an Americano for just over $ 7. That is *cheap*.
For the coffee geeks: the espresso was made with Blue Bottle’s Hayes Valley blend, grinder was a Mazzer commercial, Reg Barber tamper, bottomless portafilter on a vintage La Marzocco, and Nuova Point porcelain. Excellent for a small town, and better than most coffee shops in the Bay Area.

This is my new favorite away from home coffee shop! Great atmosphere, organic coffee, and they even have gluten free treats. I will be coming back here!

Really like this coffee spot.
Kick back staff… good coffee (using Blue Bottle beans!). What more do you want?
4 stars for product quality and staff attitude.

Yummy hot chocolate! And a warm, eclectic spot to get outta the snow .huge chocolate chip, walnut cookies that melt in your mouth! and huge moist homemade brownies! WE WILL BE BACK!

This place is far and beyond the most amazing establishment in Truckee. It’s so cozy and welcoming, funky and full of personality. Everyone who works there is friendly and down to talk if you’re by yourself. This is a place with soul!
Also, the food is DAMN GOOD. I can’t resist the daily salad. It’s $ 6 for a half-​order but it’s totally filling, and comes with cornbread! You could even share it and still feel satisfied. They’ve always got some fresh, ooey-​gooey pastry of pure fantasticality (lately it was the Apple Bread Pudding and MAN was it heavenly).
Best of all… the drinks are AMAZING. I don’t even LIKE coffee and I am now craving their vanilla latte. They use real ground-​up vanilla beans, and you can taste the difference. Their chai latte is both cheaper and better than anything Starbucks could ever pump out. I just got my boyfriend, who’s a local, a $ 25 gift card (you get a free drink w/​the gift card!) for the holidays but I’m secretly hoping he’ll forget about it so I can use it. :)

There are four types of people in Truckee: true locals, seasonal (ski or sun), weekenders and tourists. Personally, I happen to be a weekender with deep roots in Truckee, so I know there are several good non-​chain coffee shops in town.
Elijah Bleu was ‘cool’ at first glance and very different from any other restaurant or coffee shop in the area. I was intrigued and we ended up eating breakfast here one morning. Of the groups above, Elijah Bleu will most appeal to the Bay Area tourist masses since they use Blue Bottle Coffee beans, which is one of San Francisco’s hot properties.
They are clearly going for a southern look and feel (a couple Mardi Gras beads, juju this and voodoo that), but it doesn’t quite all come together for me. I guess I just wish they committed to the theme and served beignets. Now that would be exciting.
Seating is a little bit odd with narrow couches and high stools at common tables. The bathroom was out of order and this is in the part of town where you pay for parking, so that is a minor hassle.
Our breakfast sandwiches, The Big Easy Biscuit, had nice flavor, but the biscuits crumbled as you ate. Very messy indeed. My preference was the ham and swiss over the bacon and chedder. Our kids enjoyed the sides of bacon and they have some milk and juice options in addition to prepared drinks.
Even though they do the natural and organic and locally sourced thing, this place still didn’t rise above an interesting experience for me. It didn’t feel like I was in Truckee. Back to my old haunts.

You need good coffee beans to make a great latte and they’ve got ‘em. Blue Bottle baby! Or should I say Bleu Bottle, when in Elijah Bleu’s House? Which has more than a wiff of a NOLA Voodoo vibe.
Sandwich was pretty OK. I liked the bread pudding too. But I loved my latte. A must stop for coffee lovers on the north shore of Lake Tahoe.

The tea drinks are tasty here. They some interesting combinations and flavors to try out. I really liked the lemonade and mate iced tea. Yum.
Also, this place is cozy. It’s a perfect place to come read a book or have a coffe date.

Good iced green with lemonade, enormous cookies and brownies. Blue bottle coffee.

Frown: They do NOT have sugar free vanilla (doh!)
However…the vanilla they DO have is made from Sugar in the Raw… and they make it on site. Meh… okay…you’re reelin’ me back in.
Kudos: They use many Earth-​friendly products. However, the coffee lids, while compostable, are extremely brittle. I broke like 4 just trying to get one to stay ON (grrrrrrRRRRrrrrr…stay ON you m**thereffing piece of sh*t!). Kind of defeats the purpose of «less waste» if you have to go through four to get one to stay. I’m just sayin’…
The coffee itself was splendid. Rich and decadent. No bitterness whatsoever. No sour aftertaste. I WILL be returning again soon.

Bought a mocha and coffee a little before closing. Little annoyances: out of towels in bathroom, out of half and half in canister, out of coffee and didn’t tell me when I ordered.
The mocha tasted like hot cocoa powder was used. I don’t know this because I wasn’t watching, but blech.
The coffee was Awful though. It tasted like greasy, nasty, used dish water was used to make it. It was freshly made too because they had run out.

** Their website lists incorrect hours. The correct hours are Mon-​Fri 6 – 5, Sat/​Sun 7 – 6
Even though «New Orleans style iced coffee» is listed on the menu, they usually don’t serve it in the Winter. I finally got some when the weather warmed up: it’s OK, with a hint of chicory flavor, but not all that great. Their blended drinks are also not available during the winter.
They use Blue Bottle espresso, and it’s as good as what you get at the Mint St location in SF (See my photo). They use a bottomless portafilter to maintain quality control. They also pull only ristretto (short) shots, so you get the best part of the extraction. The decaf espresso appears to be dialed-​in. The Macchiato was great (see photo). However, because it’s ristretto, you get a very tiny amount. The macchiato at Truckee Book & Bean down the street is almost as good, but you get about triple the amount.
They use Sereno Organic Chai mix: it’s sweeter.
There are a few other downsides:
— They don’t serve decaf drip coffee. They only have decaf espresso, so they can make a Caffè Americano. However, the whole idea of Blue Bottle drip coffee is that you are supposed to get it made to order, drip style.
— I tried 3 pastry items, and they all sucked: the scone, the corn muffin, and the chocolate cookie. It’s as if they were all stale by design.
— There is no free parking. Don’t park in the lot next door, or you’ll get towed. You are stuck having to cough up money for the pay machine. Thank you Truckee.
— The biscuits are terrible, as if they are made with wallpaper paste. They’re not as good as the biscuits you get at Brenda’s French Soul Food in San Francisco, and not even as good as the biscuits at Popeye’s. This is supposed to be a New Orleans inspired place, so what gives? The biscuits at Art’s Coffee House in Incline Village are ten times better.
— The Cajun BLT with chipotle mayonnaise was very mediocre, and way overpriced at $ 9.50. I think I was overcharged by $ 1: I ordered it on wheat, and I think they charged me $ 1 extra for a panini version.
— They do not have gibraltar glasses. So when I order a gibraltar, they can’t make it properly. It’s the signature off-​menu blue bottle drink — Hello!

Wow, Blue Bottle has gotten so popular it’s being served in Truckee now. I was surprised when I found Ritual Coffee Roasters in Roseville a while back. Guess people are demanding more than your standard sludge in a carafe, even in these parts. I dig the NoLa Voodoo art vibe and they make a decent iced chai. Just with their hours went into the night as they close when the slopes do so you can’t use this as an end of day or night hangout.

This is like a nice coffee shop in SF only better. First obviously it’s near the slopes, but that’s just the beginning. The atmosphere is very pleasant, with an odd-​yet-​charming southern theme (try the ice tea and the bread pudding). As noted in other reviews, the coffee (Blue Bottle) is outstanding.
Many of the ingredients are organic, and high-​quality. The food ranges from good to very good. I recommend the French Quarter salad. The people are very nice, and the service is speedy.
A great little café!

Best coffee in town. No super sweet Crapacinos here. They use Blue Bottle Coffee Company beans from Oakland.

Hands down best coffee in Truckee. Or even some of the best I’ve had ever. Nice baristas, always smiling. Totally worth going there. Large place and I assume they have WiFi I always see people nerding out on their laptops in there.
The reason this place doesn’t get 5 stars is because coffee costs 2.18 which prolly bugs me more then it should. I would be much happier paying 2.25 or of course 2.00. (which used to be the local going rate for a large cup of coffee)
The other thing that bugs me about this place is the Food menu. 2.75 for extra bacon or 9.00 dollars for a lettuce wrap with cucumbers tomatoes, avo??? comon 9.00! I know that the downtown gaper crowd wont mind paying for over priced veggies but gotta remember you operate in a ski town and that market is only available a couple months out of the year.
With all that said. Go there and try to coffee.