Sequoia Cafe officially opened Aug. 20 in Jewel Plumber Cobb Hall, offering a variety of drinks, snacks, food and other items that fit students’ personal tastes.
Students are welcomed into a cozy atmosphere with outdoor seating available where people can sit and enjoy their items overlooking the grassy area outside the adjacent student housing building. The staff at the cafe were hospitable and welcoming, and the lines moved quickly and efficiently with little to no wait times.
One of the hit items the Sequoia Cafe offers is matcha frappes, which consists of a few key ingredients such as matcha powder, milk and sugar blended with ice. Customers can also include a whipped cream topping for a sweet boost.
The matcha frappe has a very creamy yet refreshing flavor and is a must-have menu item at the new cafe. It has a bright green look that is signature to matcha beverages and the blended texture creates a delightful drink. The creaminess of the whipped cream on top mixes beautifully with the drink as well.
The green tea flavor deliciously sits right in the middle of not too sweet and not too bitter. Requesting to line the cup with caramel sauce will give the frappe a little bit more of sweetness that fuses well with the earthy flavor profile of matcha.
“I really like their matcha latte, and I’m not the biggest matcha fan, but I do like it from there,” said third-year cinema and television arts major Sophia Carlos.
The iced chai latte was another delicious menu item at the cafe. This tea based beverage contains ice, black tea, spices, sweetener and milk. The drink was smooth and an affordable option for those looking for a kick of flavor on a budget. It’s sweet taste helps to soothe you and cool you off and the flavors mix really well together. Although the matcha frappe was more of a hit, this drink is still a solid pick for an alternative tea that is sweet, refreshing and tasty.
The caramel macchiato that the cafe offers is yet another amazing choice and can be made hot or cold with ingredients such as espresso, vanilla syrup, milk and most importantly, caramel. The drink came out piping hot and it was sweet and fulfilling.
The caramel flavoring of the drink mixes well with this espresso, making it sweeter and taste less bitter. The warmness of this drink during the cold of the coming fall mornings is really felt as you take sips.
While this is another great choice, the matcha frappe and iced chai may have this one beat, but if someone wants something to wake them up in the morning to start their day, this is definitely the pick.
Shift supervisor at the Sequoia Cafe, Guadalupe Martinez, said that the vanilla and matcha flavored drinks, as well as horchata cold brew lattes the menu offers, rank as the cafe’s three most frequently ordered flavors in her experience.
The vanilla frappe is a safe and solid drink choice that consists of vanilla bean powder or syrup, ice, milk, a crème base and whipped cream on top. It has a very basic look and taste so there will be no surprises when it comes to the kind of flavor to expect.
Martinez expressed that one of her favorite items to order is not even on the menu, but rather her go-to order is a double espresso with caramel and 2% milk.
“We don’t just have drinks. We also have food items. We have flatbreads. We have paninis,” Martinez said. “They’re pretty good. I would recommend the pesto panini. It’s pretty popular, runs out pretty fast.”
The cafe offers several flatbread pizzas, including the mixed veggie flatbread with bell peppers, mushrooms, onions, mozzarella cheese and marinara sauce. Immediately when taking a bite of this flatbread, there are a ton of bell peppers and not a lot of the onions and mushrooms, which is disappointing as it doesn’t give the flatbread a balanced flavor.
In actuality, it felt more like a bell pepper flatbread rather than a mixed veggie flatbread. Even so, it still has a variety of flavors that go well together with the cheese being nice and melty and the marinara having a nice rich tomato flavor.
The pesto chicken panini, recommended by Martinez, contains chicken, mozzarella, tomato, and pesto. This panini is a great choice for pesto lovers, and the flavors of the panini blend well with the chicken, which was juicy and delicious.
The pesto is a nice touch for a panini as it adds that natural herb flavor and freshness to the panini that it greatly needs to balance the meat and cheese. This panini is highly recommended for a quick and filling bite during a busy day and it’s no coincidence that it’s one of their most popular food items.
Whether it’s drinks, snacks or food, Sequoia Cafe has a variety of items for everyone’s tastebuds. For what it offers to Titans, the cafe is a great place to visit for a bite to eat or place to chill between classes. With its variety of options and dedicated staff, Sequoia Cafe is a very welcoming and delicious option to satisfy anyone’s taste buds at CSUF.