Better Buzz Coffee Roasters

We love great design and great branding, appreciate successful restaurants and chains, and go out of our way to try new coffee, tea, and pastry shops literally every week. So when we say that we aren’t fans of Better Buzz Coffee Roasters – a San Diego-based restaurant chain that opened four Orange County locations in rapid succession from late 2023 to late 2024 – the issue isn’t a lack of admiration for its hustle or style, but rather a sense that the chain is much better at generating buzz (and merch) than drinks or food.

If we had to specify what turned us off from the moment we entered Better Buzz’s Costa Mesa store, it would be the fact that the front door requires guests to walk past Instagram-ready signs and slogan-covered trucker hats, shirts, and mugs (“life’s better buzzed”) before they’ve even had a chance to try the drinks or food. There’s a reason museums have guests exit rather than enter through the gift shop – people buy merch after experiences they want to remember, not experiences the store wants to sell them.

Better Buzz feels like a Dunkin’ Donuts that wants to be the next Starbucks. Most of the drinks are coffees with milk, syrup, and ice, prepared fairly quickly without gourmet flavors or presentations – you won’t see spiraling whipped cream or latte art, nor will you taste either powerful or subtle third-wave coffee bean flavors. The ingredients of their “Best Drink Ever” are an Americano (a watered-down espresso) with vanilla cream, if the recipe and branding tell you anything.