About Us

The only way to make great coffee is to care about every step in the process and every person along the way. 

Jeff Clinard - Owner/Founder

Local, Artisan, and Awesome.

We are a specialty coffee roaster in South Orange County California.  We have four cafes in San Clemente, Dana Point, and Laguna Beach California.  Bear Coast was founded by Jeff in 2014 as a coffee pop-up in the front of a wine bar.  Since we've started at the pop-up we have served coffee to the World Surf League, we have sponsored little league teams, we developed our own customer-lead roasting program, and Jeff has even officiated a wedding of two regulars.   Bear Coast is fun.  And this fun is largely due to our intentionality behind what and how we serve.  

Here is the truth:

It would be easier to roast inexpensive coffees, use store-bought sugary syrups, use almond milks made in huge factories with preservatives and fillers, and hire minimal staff who's only goal is to keep the line moving and make sales.  All of that would be easier and definitely cost us less.  But we chose to do things better.

We make all sauces and flavorings in-house.  Including our lavender-infused caramel, nutmeg-accented vanilla, and dark chocolate ganache.  All of these sauces compliment the coffee rather than over-power it. We also make fresh Almond Milk every single day.  It contains just three ingredients. Almonds, water, and dates.

Most importantly we hire locals who care about the people coming into the cafe.  Our staff is hired based upon their empathy, work ethic, and personality.  And then we put them through thorough coffee training.  Skill can be trained, being awesome is innate.  You have it or you don't.  We hire awesome people.

Coffee brings us together and it has the potential to inspires us.  Our goal is to come alongside our community, serve them, and inspire them to enjoy life more fully.  This coffee company is how we do that.