Klatch Specialty Coffee Roaster: 5:30 am Cups in San Dimas

Klatch Coffee's San Dimas cafe opens at 5:30 am Monday through Friday and at 6:30 am on Saturday and Sunday, and it stays open until 8 pm every day, according to the company's own ordering site. That early start makes it a practical first stop for anyone driving through the San Gabriel Valley before sunrise. A rotating drip and a single-origin pour-over both cost $3.45, which is low for a roaster with a national competition record.

Klatch's history page dates the company to 1993, when Mike and Cindy Perry opened the first cafe in Rancho Cucamonga under the name Coffee Klatch. The San Dimas shop came next. The company's own story says that in 1997, just after Mike graduated from UC Riverside with a degree in biochemical engineering, Klatch opened a second shop in San Dimas. Cal Poly Pomona's alumni magazine adds the detail that matters for coffee fans: that second cafe is where the Perrys began roasting beans on a small scale.

Roasting has since outgrown the storefront and moved to a dedicated production facility in the Inland Empire, so the San Dimas cafe is now a place to drink the coffee rather than watch it roast. The family thread runs through the business. Heather Perry, now the company's CEO, won the U.S. Barista Championship in 2003 and again in 2007, and Klatch lists a World's Best Espresso title from 2007 and a Micro Roaster of the Year award from 2009 among its honors.

Klatch describes its sourcing as a direct trade model built on Mike Perry's trips to growing regions, where he selects lots from each harvest. On the cafe menu, that program shows up as the Bru Bar, a monthly selection of single origins and blends brewed to order as pour-overs. At $3.45 it costs the same as the daily drip, so there is no penalty for trying the hand-brewed option. Ask which coffee is on the Bru Bar this month; it changes, and the staff can usually describe how it tastes.

The drink with the most backstory is the Competition Cappuccino, listed at $4.40 and described as the espresso drink that helped define Klatch's reputation on the global stage. It is the order to choose if you want to taste what the barista championships were about: a small, balanced cup rather than a large milky one. The flat white, also $4.40, is served as a double shot in an 8-ounce cup and makes a good second round if you are sharing with a friend.

Klatch Coffee, at 806 W Arrow Hwy, Suite A, is a standalone cafe rather than one of the Klatch counters inside grocery stores, so the full menu is available. A regular latte is $5.25 and a cappuccino is $4.95. Iced cold brew runs $5.50. You can order at the counter or place a pickup order through the Klatch app and website, which is the smart move on weekday mornings when commuters stack up before 7 am.

Food goes beyond pastries. The avocado toast at $7.95 comes on rustic sourdough from Röckenwagner Bakery with Persian cucumbers and a sprinkle of sumac, and a butter croissant is $4.25. The menu notes that muffins are baked fresh in-house daily, which makes them the better bet than a packaged snack. If you only have a few minutes, a croissant and a Competition Cappuccino cost under $9 together and give you the essential Klatch experience.

Because the cafe opens at 5:30 am on weekdays, it serves early commuters long before most neighborhood coffee shops are awake. If you dislike waiting, place a pickup order through the app on the way, since app orders skip the counter queue. Weekend hours start an hour later, at 6:30 am, and the pace is slower, which makes Saturday the best time to sit with a pour-over instead of grabbing one through the app.

Evening is the hidden advantage. With an 8 pm close every day, Klatch is a rare specialty roaster cafe in the area where you can still get a properly made espresso after dinner. If you arrive to find a long line and you are short on time, skip the hand-brewed coffee, which takes longer, and order a drip or flat white instead. If San Dimas is out of your way, Klatch also runs a cafe on Huntington Drive in Pasadena with shorter hours.

Be honest about what you want from the visit. If you are here for the Klatch story, the Competition Cappuccino and a Bru Bar pour-over are the two orders that connect to it; a sweet seasonal latte can be had at any chain. Skip the large milky drinks if you want to judge the roasting, because milk and syrup hide the coffee. Seating is first come, so during a busy morning give up your table once you finish, and the staff will appreciate it.

Coffee here pairs well with the outdoors. Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park, with Puddingstone Reservoir, hiking trails and picnic areas, is a short drive away and makes a good morning walk after an early cup. In summer, Raging Waters Los Angeles, the large water park in San Dimas, is close by, which makes Klatch a convenient caffeine stop on the way in. Grab cold brew for the trip, since the $5.50 iced cup holds up better in the heat than a hot latte.

Hours listed on Klatch's official ordering site for this cafe are Monday to Friday 5:30 am to 8 pm and Saturday to Sunday 6:30 am to 8 pm. The address is 806 W Arrow Hwy, Suite A, San Dimas, CA 91773. Key prices are $3.45 for drip or Bru Bar pour-over, $4.40 for the Competition Cappuccino or flat white, $5.25 for a latte and $7.95 for avocado toast. Pickup orders can be placed ahead through the app.