Jenna Forss | Editor of Arts & Entertainment
December 6, 2023
The normal scatter of cars in the parking lot off of Camino De Los Mares consisting of a mishmash of stores, restaurants, and the popular Handel’s ice cream franchise were put to shame on December 5. After circling the parking lot a few times, I finally stumbled on a spot on the exact opposite side of the parking lot. Even as I was striding past the Stater Brothers a good 100 yards away from the destination, nothing could hide the glaringly long line outside of the hot new coffee shop in town, Better Buzz.
Throughout the past week, Better Buzz employees have been training for their grand opening on December 6th. From Friday-Monday, Better Buzz kindly handed out any food or drinks made from their training to any passerby absolutely free of charge. Word soon spread, and eventually a noticeable number of SCHS students were proudly toting around to-go boxes or plastic cups bearing the bold black letters “Life’s Better Buzzed” with a twirling yellow bee.
I decided to claim my free items a day before opening. I came holding high hopes because of the raving reviews I heard from the students that have previously visited the Encinitas location.
I tried the Snickerdoodle Latte ordering half sweetness, but with one sip it tasted like someone pumped whatever unidentifiable syrup they used right into my mouth. I could not even muster finishing my drink that was unrecognizable as a coffee.
But then I tried my friend’s Buzzinga, a take on the Starbucks refresher, which was one redeeming part of the experience.
Food-wise the only item available on the menu was the turkey pesto sandwich, which was delicious but arguably over-priced for something that could be easily made at home.
Student reviews follow a similar pattern: senior Josiah Armstrong stated that the “latte I tried was too sweet, and the coffee by itself was too bitter.”
Junior Avery Kearl explained that, “I was disappointed after going to the Encinitas location, the pastries were dry and the coffee was not worth the high price.”
Despite the multiple negative experiences, I am willing to give Better Buzz the benefit of the doubt due to the training baristas and the busy crowd. I found some things I liked, but in my opinion there are better, cheaper local businesses that trump Better Buzz.
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