10 Best Coffee Shops for Studying in Costa Mesa & Newport Beach CA
Peanut Butter and Jelly, Movies and Popcorn, Fish and Chips, these are all some of societies favorite cliches. Today we are adding another to this list, a college student’s favorite: Coffee shops and Studying.
There comes a time when the lines at Starbucks are too long, and the seats are too full. All you want to do is get caffeinated and get busy on that paper you have been putting off. To avoid these inconveniences, we have created the 10 Best Coffee shops for studying in Costa Mesa/Newport Beach (in no particular order).
1.) Alta Coffee Shop: Located on 31st Street on Newport Beach, Alta is just a 10 minute walk from the beach. Alta is a local coffee shop that is well known for its cozy coffee shop vibes. On any given day, you can spot many young students with headphones in, sipping on an iced chai latte, working away at their assignments. Mellow music is typically playing to help focus the mind. They have both indoor and outdoor seating and are open until 10 pm, which is great for those late night study sessions. Where as the atmosphere is ideal for studying most of the time, occasionally, it gets noisy and packed with a younger crowd in the later hours of the evening which can be a bit distracting.

2.) Kean Coffee: Kean Coffee is located on Irvine Avenue and 17th Street in Newport Beach. Near many local schools and businesses, this spot is always a popular one, but for obvious reasons. Not only is the coffee is not only brewed on site, but extremely scrumptious and fresh. The ambiance is also a major reason in what keeps the people there for hours. It is a smaller shop, but has many options for seating and working. Some prefer to work on laptops, others have been spotted reading the newspaper, or even a local artist who sketches coffee lovers on the daily. Kean doesn’t fail when it comes to quirkiness and is a great place to settle in for a long study session.

3.) KIT Coffee: KIT Coffee is located in the same shopping plaza as Kean Coffee but offers a completely different vibe. KIT Coffee sports a more structured and minimalist look that is great for an instagram aesthetic, but not the most comfortable for sitting for long hours on the wooden benches. If you do decide to bare with the uncomfortable seating, KIT, a sister company to Kean, is well known cold brews and lattes, made by the same company, will keep you caffeinated for hours.


4.) MoonGoat Coffee: MoonGoat is located between 19th Street and Victoria Street on Placentia Ave, only opened at the end of September of 2019, but is already one of the most talked about coffee shops on the list. MoonGoat is located near many industrial warehouses which means this place is huge! More space also means more seating; it is rare to not find a place to sit when arriving. MoonGoat’s coffee prices are also one to highlight, considering they are fairly new, their prices are on the lower side, but the coffee is still one of the best. They are also open from 7 am- 11 pm which is great for late night study sessions. The only downside is they have recently started up a karaoke night once a week on Tuesday’s at 7 pm, so it is best to avoid this spot at that time if you are trying to concentrate.

5.) Neat Coffee: Neat Coffee is located in a small neighborhood off of 19th street in Costa Mesa. This quaint shop is fairly new as well, but does not disappoint. Neat is a small unique coffee shop located in the lobby of a co working space called Wayfare. While the menu is very basic, it sports seasonal specialties to keep the menu fresh and exciting. Their most popular special is the Golden Latte made with Turmeric Almond Milk and Honey Cinnamon Syrup. The seating is very minimal, but it is typically very quiet and great for getting work done.


6.) Coffee Nature: Coffee Nature is located near John Wayne Airport on Bristol Street in Costa Mesa. They just recently relocated and revamped to a new building in the same shopping center as they were previously located. With the newly built coffee shop comes not only a larger area, but more seats, more charging outlets, and brighter lights; all great attributes to a great study spot. Coffee Nature has a great set up going for them, but it has also drawn in more crowds with their Instagram photo worthy painted wall and hanging swing. They also have delicious coffee that can be hand tailored by the baristas, and they even take the time to spell your name correctly on your cup (unlike Starbucks).


7.) Bad Coffee: Bad Coffee, located near a local community college and many high schools, is small but mighty in the coffee/ study game. There’s a stereotype of baristas, they intimidate guests with their stuck up hipster I’m-better-at-coffee-than-you attitude, but Bad Coffee explores beyond that stereotype by creating a more intimate experience for the customers and baristas with the seating design of the shop and the attitude of the baristas. This shop has mostly bar seating, which can be difficult to study at for long periods of time, but the connections made between barista and customers if worth the time spent.

8.) Coffee Dose: Coffee Dose is one of the more eccentric spots located in Costa Mesa just off of Newport Boulevard. This cafe offers guests lattes with attitude (their cups typically have sayings such as “anti bitch” and “fuck mornings”), a way to speak like a sailor with class, in a location fashioned in millennial pink. It shares its cafe with a hair salon, so size is their biggest flaw, but the coffee makes up for it greatly. The outside area is the most ideal place for studying as it has large amounts of natural light and that fresh California air.


9.) Common Room Roasters: Started by two Australians in 2016, Common Room Roasters has brought the coffee roasting sensation that swept Australia to Orange County. Just minutes from the beach, it’s located in an industrial zone whose occupants include businesses like Salt, RVCA, Hurley, and Vans, who are well known for their surf/ skate style brands, Common Room Roasters sports much of the same vibes. With a nice mixture of modern black walls, and lush greenery, Common Room Roasters is a great place to get some work done. Not only is it a coffee shop but also a work space for an ad agency, so the place was made for working and staying caffeinated. Since they also make all their coffee locally, it’s some of the freshest you can get.

10.) Daydream Surf Shop: Daydream Surf Shop is the epitome of Southern California: fancy coffee, chill atmosphere, and surf inspired decor. This unique coffee spot is located just minutes from the beach (also just one street away from Common Room Roasters) and is not only a coffee shop, but also a surf shop (hence the name). This spot is a great place to go hang out with fellow lovers of the water and waves, but also to dive deep into homework. They also offer coffee from many different roasters all across California and the baristas love to experiment with new concoctions. Currently, their seating options could use some work, but luckily they are in the process of growing their tables and chair arrangements. If you are lucky enough to snag the retro yellow couch, then you should have no problem being comfortable for hours.

