Valley Java Organic Coffee & Tea House

The totally rude dude, must have been the owner, now that I’m reading about other people’s experiences. First time there, LAST time there. geesh… I know you have your «regulars» but there’s no need to be snotty to new patrons.

I can’t believe I have never given love to this place on Unilocal before. I have been coming here for years and it is certainly a neighborhood gem.
I’m obsessed with their green tea lattes because it is not fussy. Milk and matcha and no sweeteners. It is refreshing and healthy. Not bitter.

Lavender earl grey milk tea !!! SO GOOD!
Cute neighborhood coffee shops with tables to chat or work. They have a good coffee /​tea selection and pastries to eat! Plus the place is super clean.

This place is right off the beaten path and doesn’t stand out too much. You almost need to know it’s here if you wanted to stop by. After I park and start walking up to the front door I get a sense of tranquility. Nothing fancy or in your face, just a coffee shop that has organic coffee. I liked that feeling. Once I stepped inside I see all the art work on the walls and hear the jazz music playing in the background. I take my time making my way to the counter to order checking out all the cool things they offer off to the side. They have cups, teas, coffee, organic honey and a bunch of other cool things. As I was checking out thier menu I couldn’t help but notice that they focus on thier drinks and not so much on food. They had a few muffins and bagels but that was about it. They have a nice selection of coffee choices and smoothies and they also had a a selection of bottled beverages. They guy who took my order, which I think was the owner was nice and the lady who made the drinks was friendly as well. Once I received my coffee I took a seat and began to enjoy my americano. As I’m drinking my coffee I felt as though I could really taste a difference in the beans compared to other coffee shops. My drink has a very smooth and clean taste to it, not very acidic like some of the other coffee shops I’ve tried. I found myself wanting more as I was finishing my drink. I thought the price for my americano was about right and looking at the price of other drinks they didn’t sound too bad if they taste as good as what I had. This place is definitely a cool little place to try out of your in the area.

Really bad rude owner. The coffee was watery and my scone was dry. The prices on the menu are not what they really are, especially if you are a new customer. So if you are new, expect to be treated disrespectfully. I really don’t understand why this place gets so many good reviews. This place needs to be honest and direct about their pricing with their customers.

I was in the neighborhood looking for a nice little spot for coffee came up with some good reviews… Please read before you go there! This spot does not cater to new customers. First off there pricing may not reflect what you order. First all there drinks are only single shots 3.95 and 4.95 think Starbucks mini and Tall size.
The gentleman just asked what size I wanted so I pointed to the Grande (Starbucks) size and I also ordered a large drip. Total 10.75…WTH…his explanation your size comes with two shots of expresso and whip cream is extra 1.00…REALLY. This is all news to me. Please when a customers comes in telling you this is there first time there please explain your menu/​pricing BTW dark roast coffee not dark at all. I should have known as soon as it was going into my cup. I really wanted to like this place but the vague pricing and the mediocre coffee just does not cut it for me.

I dropped my car to get worked on so in had a walk a little while before I found a coffee shop that was open! I am always stoked to find any business promoting Organics! The tea selection is great and the coffee smells great! I’ve already had 3 cups so I’m sticking to tea today !! I’m gonna chill out sipping on my toasted rice numi tea! Great find!!!

Horrible. If you want mean, nasty people serving you, go here. I wanted to support a small business so decided to go here instead of starbucks. Went in to buy a cappuccino. When I pulled out my credit card the man told me of the 5 dollar minimum. I looked for cash but had none. He then yelled at me that it had already been made in those 5 seconds I was looking for cash. He then told me to leave. I don’t see how this place can stay in business treating people like that.

Amazing and friendly service! Plus my drink was absolutely delightful! I came in looking for a nice warm drink on a chilly day and the man (that I unfortunately did not get his name) was very inviting and helpful with making my decision. I found out there were endless options for sugar-​free syrups and after contemplating which sounded best, I settled on a sugar-​free salted caramel macchiato with almond milk. Beyond delicious and slightly guilt free, plus the coffee is all organic?! To say I’m happy with this place is justifiable

Cute place pretty good drinks and treats
Pros–
super cute inside
Good latte
Best scone I ever had in my life
Service can be nice and friendly
Cons–
No wifi
Not often but sometimes they are not friendly
Last time I got turned off cause they close at 5 but cleaned up entire place with chairs on tables at 4 so I felt weird and left
Overall I’d go back

My FIL has been in the hospital down the street for 3 weeks and we kept passing this place so one afternoon I decided to give it a try. I ordered a strawberry banana smoothie for my daughter and 3 of their ice blended drinks. The total came out to $ 27 for 4 drinks. The pricing on the board is completely off from what I was charged. An iced blended drink is shown to cost either $ 4.75 and $ 5.25 and a smoothie is listed as $ 4.95. I didn’t ask for anything extra on my drinks so when I was told the order was $ 27, I was completely confused by the math. it was probably off by $ 6 – 7. I think the gentleman read my confused face so I asked subtlety on why the price is different from the board above. The gentleman then told me that they’re double shots and if I wanted them to be single, there would be a 90 cent refund because the pricing was based on single shots… I was still confused by the total. Plus I never asked for double shots. He then proceeded to tell me that if I choose to have a single shot, it would mess the taste of the drink. At that point, I just lost my interest in my drink and just wanted to leave with my $ 27 drinks. The drinks were okay and I’m a coffee lover (not a Starbucks person but small business coffee lover like blue bottle, philz, etc)
I love to support small businesses but it’s difficult to when your anticipating a price that is listed but then caught off guard by overcharges without explanation. The receipt wasn’t even detailed. it was just the total from the credit card machine.
I may come back and try again. maybe for just house coffee.

Let me tell you wsup, first time here and the guy at the counter seems to be the owner. I’m looking at their array of tea pots and he’s greeting everyone by name. Knowing your customers is always a good thing! Got a blended almond milk green tea and it was amazing. Definitely will be coming here more often!

I came in here on a locals recommendation and I was beyond disappointed and even more so irked. I ordered a Honey Jasmine Milk Tea which reads for 3.95 on the board. I got it iced after they told me anything can be ordered iced, but they failed to tell me the price jumps to 5.25 for it to be iced. The owner said that it’s more expensive to make it iced and related it to ordering a vodka versus a vodka on the rocks. I slightly tried to attest to no avail. 5.25 for an iced tea is insane! No starbucks would ever try to up the price by 1.30 for ice. You generally are saving them money on iced because you get less product because the ice takes a generous portion of the cup. I had come here to get wifi and was told no WiFi until after two because the parking lot isn’t big enough and they don’t want people staying too long in the busy morning hours. This was at 1030am, and there were three locals hunkered down with full newspapers… Personally I don’t see the difference. Thank heavens for HotSpots on the cell phone. I stayed to use the space while I drank my overpriced ice tea.
The place has a cool ambience and some great products, they just need to work on their customer service and not trying to nickel and dime people with hidden costs. Sad it turned out this way :(

Loved my iced mocha! Loved how friendly the owner was! Loved the all-​organic options, and the quaintness of the small coffee shop atmosphere.
One of the first things the owner said after my question «What do you use as chocolate in your mochas? Syrup? Powder?» was:
«We’re not Starbucks! We use real chocolate. Everything’s organic!» This was stated in a friendly yet prominent way of course. But I loved it.
I asked if they could make my drink not-​so-​sweet. He said, «Of course. But, I know how sweet I like mine. I don’t know how you like yours.»
Touché, my friend.
End result: My mocha was made perfectly to my taste. Not too sweet, had a good coffee flavor, and wasn’t too milky. They even asked me to make sure I liked my drink before walking away in case it wasn’t quite right. Very attentive!
I didn’t love the heat indoors (no air conditioning?), so I sat outside. It was a hot day for Castro Valley, granted. The porch area was small — maybe 3 tables and a small bar-​style rim with a few chairs — and I had enough room to setup my laptop. No outlets to plug into, but not a problem for me.
Will definitely return!

For the reviewers that complain about the price for the coffee… are the same people that probably get the second rate milk concoctions at Starbucks (which used to be a standard — now over commercialized flavored milk drinks) and pay just about the same price — And those that looks for wifi… really? Sign up for LTE with AT&T — bam!

It’s my first time here and I came based on other reviews. The location is convenient to get to, but the parking is a bit limited. There are only a handful of parking spots right out front, but there is street parking. I ordered an iced mocha and a bagel with cream cheese. The mocha wasn’t too sweet, which is perfect! Maybe they don’t have cream cheese, or they didn’t hear me, because I received a buttered bagel, which is fine, it just wasn’t what I expected, of course. The customers all seem like regulars and are very welcoming. The staff is also very nice! They brought my food and drink to me because I’m sitting with my baby, not sure if they always do that, but I appreciated it. The music is upbeat and not too loud, my daughter definitely enjoy dancing to it.
They sell coffee beans and I do plan on purchasing some. They also sell local honey, a variety of teas, and mugs, French presses, etc. I definitely recommend checking this place out! The ONLY reason I’m down 1 star is because I paid $ 10 (with $ 1.25 tip) for a medium iced mocha and a buttered bagel… Definitely a little pricey.

Cheap, cheap, cheap, my experience with Vince has been disturbing.
I went into valley java and bought 3 cups of coffee I took 3 packs of raw sugar so my friend could fix it the way he wanted, Vince looked at me like I was stealing, about 2 weeks later I went back in bought 2 cups of coffee and Vince said I will mix it let me do it back here, I replied why, Vince states I don’t waste anything, I then looked at him as being cheap, my friend owns a business right around the corner and he could not believe it.
I didn’t have enough sense to stay away, so I wentback for 3 pastries for me and my friends and he overcharged me 25 cents for each pastry, that is cheap cheap, cheap.

Best coffee shop in Castro Valley. Super clean place (including outside seating area). Organic house coffees! A very cozy place to get your morning boost.
Update after trying the coffee: house coffee wasn’t great, watered down.

I have been coming here since I was a wee little one, and it will always hold a place in my heart of really great memories of picking up juice and bagels with my mom before our drive to church on Sunday Mornings.
Upon moving back into the area, I stopped in with my sister recently to get a quick breakfast and some coffee. And the place hasn’t changed a bit. (in a good way!) As soon as I walked in, that familiar warm welcome of toasted bagels and coffee surrounded me. And the beautiful couple who run the place, were just as sweet as I has remembered. And they remembered us too, after many many years.
We ordered two sesame bagels with cream cheese and some coffee and everything was perfect. We always loved this place because instead of a cream cheese shmear, they use basically a thick slice of cream cheese. And out favorite part ever since we were kids was the center of the bagel because there would be cream cheese in the hole of the bagel.
All in all, not only in support of small local businesses, this place is truly a gem of Castro Valley and we are very lucky to have them here.

The gentleman who works here (probably the owner) is so friendly! I have only purchased lattes and drip coffee, and I prefer Peet’s for its flavors. However, the atmosphere at Valley Java is really nice, quaint, clean, and local. I will return whenever I am able.
Yesterday I bought a $ 14.00 hunk of honeycomb which they carry on the shelf with assorted teas and mugs. My family really enjoyed trying real honeycomb for the first time.