MOBILE DESSERT

With the summer season upon us, it is a great time to start thinking about cold desserts, such as our ice cream and affogato bar. With this addition to our espresso bar, all of your guests get to choose from a menu of Affogato’s, Cold Brew Floats, and just straight up ice cream. We carry delicious ice cream flavors of Vanilla, Chocolate, Mint Chip, and Cookie Butter. Just because our menu states affogato, cold brew float, and ice cream that doesn’t mean that they are only limited to those options, they can get creative and combine other drinks to make any iced beverage a float. We’ve seen Matcha Floats, Mocha Latte Floats, Chocolate Milk Floats, and so much more. Not only do people mix and match the floats, but your guests can also mix and match the ice cream options, as well. They can get Mint Chip and Vanilla, Cookie Butter and Chocolate, Vanilla and Chocolate, or just a kamikaze of all the options, then put any float option you’d like over that ice cream mixture. The options are almost endless to our ice cream dessert bar.

If ice cream isn’t what you’re looking for, then we have freshly baked artisan pastries, as well. These pastries come in assortments of 50 count, 75ct, 100ct, 125ct, and 150ct with pastries such as the cheese danish, chocolate criossant, plain croissant, seasonal flavor scone, blueberry muffin, banana muffin, an artisan poptart, delicious galtette’s with a dollop of house-made whipped cream on top, and the ever-popular and decadent cinnamon roll.

For any time of the day, we've got the dessert or breakfast item for you. From Ice Cream to Pastries, pairing with coffee has never been more exciting and delicious. And dont forget, the 4th of July is coming up and if you need to up your coffee homebrew setup, then check out our online coffee store where we have all of the items that we recommend for sale with no confusion.

CONFERENCES & CONVENTIONS

Having coffee at a conference is a necessity. We find that we are the most busy booth at the entire conference because every person needs their coffee to stay alert for the numerous breakout rooms, as well as, a lot of people using fly-in from out of state, so the jet lag and time zone differences usually really affect people. Without their endless supply of coffee, they are going to not be able to concentrate on the reason they are there and Specialty Coffee brings that alertness and gratitude to a whole nother level.

With the constant bombardment of tired guests wanting their coffee all day long, you will need to have a catering company who has the experience with handling this type of rush. We found that normal coffee shops that do catering on the side, typically they try to infuse their coffee shop standards into a catering, which if you have been to a coffee shop and seen how long it takes to make one drink, then you will understand why that doesn’t work. We are coffee caterers who started as coffee caterers and have over 7 years of experience with our company in the catering industry. We have created excellent catering standards so that you get the most delicious coffee service, with the greatest care with extremely minimal wait times. This means that your guests wont have to wait long in line so they can get back to their breakout rooms where they can be focused on the conference.

Not only do we use excellent standards that keep our drinks tasting the best and the wait times only seconds per drinks, but we also use the finest specialty grade coffee around and best ingredients, so that you know that your conference will be known for quality. We have heard guests still talking about how much they enjoyed our coffee even years later, so you know that your conference will be talked about for a long time afterwards.

COFFEE: SUR COFFEE ROASTERS

Today we just got access to a new coffee roasting company that we are proud to start offering called Sur Coffee. This coffee roastery is located in San Diego, San Clemente, and Huntington Beach (I guess they like the beach since all 3 locations are at the beach, lol). This company only works in Direct Trade, so that means that they are the ones who are directly connected to the farmers and that also means that they have visited each farm of every coffee that they serve to ensure that the best and highest quality of processes are happening at each farm. One thing about Direct Trade, that most people dont know about is that because they directly interact with every farm, they cut out the middlemen and can therefore pay the farmers a higher premium, so the farmers are able to afford better processes to make even better coffee.

We like to partner with Specialty Coffee roasters like Sur Coffee because, not only do they help the world grow better coffee, but they also roast great coffee beans for us to use and for you to drink. Some other coffee roasteries that have great beans that we enjoy using are Lion and Lamb Coffee, Portola Coffee, and Arcade Roasters. These 3 coffee roasters have been the main coffee providers that we have been using these last few years, but we also have many other companies that we work with; some local and some farther away (but mainly local).

The specific coffee beans that we look for are Single Origin coffee, and that just means that the coffee beans that we are using at any particular time are grown at one farm rather than in a blend where it is a blend of coffees from different countries and different farms. Another thing that we look for is that the beans are roasted light, so that all the natural and inherent flavors are brought out in the brew and lastly we only work with washed processed coffee. Washed processed coffee just means that after the coffee cherry is fully ripe (the beans grow inside of a cherry), they are then picked, then the cherry is removed, and the beans are washed of any cherry pulp stuck on it. After the beans are fully washed, then they are laid out to dry in the sun.

Finding excellent coffee roasters that provide specialty grade washed process coffee is one thing that we really enjoy doing so that we can support our local businesses and so that we have more of a variety of coffee to choose from to serve you all.

4th of July 2023

We are planning on launching our online store just in time for this years 4th of July celebration. We have done extensive research and curated a quality list of coffee equipment such as the Baratza Encore grinder, the Espro Bloom Pour Over vessel, the Espro Bloom coffee filters, the Brewista Artisan Variable Temperature Kettle, and the Brewista Ratio Scale. Each one of these items we have carefully tested and so you can rest assured that it has stood the Rugged Coffee approved test.

Our mission with our options was to cumulate a list of excellent brewing equipment for home brewers, but without the high price tag that the mainstream items go for. We tested several different items in each category, side by side, to come up with our approved list. We tried the Timemore Mirror scale, which is flashy in appearance, but very inaccurate in weight registration. We tried the Brewista Smart Scale, which was smaller in size but also slower in weight registration; accurate, but slow responsiveness. In the past, we have tried the Hario scales, but they break too easily, and the Acaia Pearl scales, which are excellent scales, but way too expensive and their recharge port damages very quickly. The Brewista Ratio scale was the one that we landed on because it is has a very quick weight response, it has a brew timer, it has a ratio calculator on it, and it also reads in ounces.

The pour over vessel that we landed on was decided through a blind test of each vessel we tested. We did this by creating the best brew recipe for each vessel, then we brewed one each vessel using that brew recipe that we created for it, then blindly tasted each one. The Espro Bloom stood the test and was the best by far on the counter. We chose the Brewista Artisan Variable Temperature Kettle because it was a beautiful looking kettle, it has the gooseneck shape that we are looking for, and it gets to the temperature we set it to, while holding that temperature for an hour.

All of our equipment is white in color, other than the Brewista Ratio Scale and the Espro Bloom because they didn’t offer the white color option. We are always looking for new and better equipment, so if you have any recommendations for us, then please do not hesitate to let us know in the comments section.

COFFEE FOR CORPORATE EVENTS

It’s a fact that people operate better at work when they are more alert, and when they feel they are cared for. What we are offering you is the ability to provide both those necessary aspects for your employees by bringing specialty coffee to them so they know they are cared for because you provided a delicious beverage that will make them more alert. 

Rugged Coffee is a Specialty Coffee Catering Company based in Southern California and we have been offering our services for businesses, conferences, and conventions since 2016. The reason specialty coffee is sought after today is because the quality in your cup is so much better than the drinks you get at the big chain stores, but specialty coffee has also gotten a bad reputation because of the snobby and elitist attitudes of the baristas. We pride ourselves in the unparalleled quality that we bring to each service and in the friendly and welcoming atmosphere we provide. A place you can be assured that each and every drink that is ordered is not only delicious, but also is met with smiling faces and great attitudes. We guarantee that your guests will leave our station smiling and drinking one of the best coffee drinks they’ve ever had.

Rugged Coffee specializes in creating great experiences using phenomenal coffee as the means to deliver those experiences. We use our coffee expertise and our 7 years of experience in the catering industry to bring you coffee that is incomparable in quality and taste with service that is efficient and caring. We not only bring excellent coffee beans, but we also bring top shelf espresso drinks, some of the best cold brewed coffee on the market, as well as, the best and most unique custom flavored latte’s. Flavors like the Samoa Girlscout Cookie latte, Lavender Honey Latte, Apple Pie latte, Chestnut Praline latte, and many more. Through our years of experience, we have found the most efficient way to serve excellent coffee so that guests aren’t waiting for their drink for long periods of time while our drink quality remains uncompromised. How do we do that you ask? We spend a lot of time in the preparation of the ingredients so that our Barista’s just have to focus on the measurements and making our guests feel great about their time spent with us. 

We have worked with some top companies, such as, the Honda Center in Anaheim, Fox Racing in Irvine, Oakley in Foothill Ranch, Taylormade in Carlsbad, Hitachi Energy, Cabi Experience in Carson, the House of Blues in Downtown Disney, and many more.

BREWING COFFEE: ESPRO BLOOM POUR-OVER

Trying to find a great way to brew your morning coffee with the best pour-over equipment is hard to find with the never-ending amount of information online these days. So how do you remove the chaff and find the right info in the coffee industry? The best way is to follow us. We are constantly looking for the best ways to brew and make coffee, which means that we are never content with being just good enough. With that being said, we have recently been doing tons of research trying to find the best pour-over and finding the best brew method for that pour-over, which brought us to the Espro Bloom.

The Espro Bloom is a flat bottom pour-over, but instead of having a few holes on the bottom to slow the draw-through, this flat bottom pour-over has micro perforations along the entire bottom, similar to what you would see on the bottom of a portafilter basket. The shape of the vessel allows for the most even extraction possible, which is why we recommend this vessel as our top choice for the best tasting pour-over coffee. We will be offering this vessel on our website for sale within the next week or so and our pour-over method for this vessel is as follows. We hope you enjoy!

ESPRO BLOOM DRIPPER

• Coffee Dose: 24g

• Water Dose: 400g

• Grind Size: Medium/Fine

• Brew Time: 3:20 - 3:40

PROCEDURE:

1. Bloom: 

1. Start a timer and Pour 55g - 60g of hot water over the coffee grounds to fully saturate. 

2. Let it sit until the timer reads 40 seconds. 

2. Brew:

1. Pour water slowly in a spiral-like pour until you get to 150g. This should take about 20 seconds. 

2. Wait 20 seconds. 

3. When the timer reaches 1:20, then slowly start pouring up to 225g. This should take about 20 seconds. 

4. Wait 20 seconds. 

5. When the timer reaches 2:00, then slowly start pouring until the scale reads 300g. This should take about 20 seconds. 

6. Wait 20 seconds.

7. When the timer reaches 2:40, slowly start pouring the last pour up to 400g (+/- 3g). This should take about 20 seconds.

3. The Finish: 

1. Let the water seep through the ground bed until there are no more puddles of water remaining, then stop the timer. 

2. Carefully remove the Bloom Dripper from the server and throw the spent filter and grounds away. 

ICE CREAM, AFFOGATO'S, AND COLD BREW FLOAT'S

For these upcoming hot summer days, what is better than having an ice cream bar at your wedding or event serving really high-quality ice cream? Pairing our ice cream service with our espresso bar coffee catering, you get options that you wont get from just any ordinary ice cream caterer. We offer unique ice cream offerings, such as, the Affogato, which is our delicious espresso pulled directly into your ice cream, or a Cold Brew Float. Imagine drinking our amazing cold brew while indulging on some ice cream at the same time, well that’s what it’s like to have a cold brew float from us, having this decadent option is an option you cant pass up.

At the evening time, when people have been busy all day with conferences, work meetings, or even have been at your wedding all day, it can be a little tiring on the attendees, but with this option it’s a good way to get some dessert to your guests while getting them an energy jolt. We see people finding it so hard to put down that they end up eating their entire Affogato or Cold Brew Float within minutes and coming back to get more. Not only do we offer the options on the menu, like the Affogato or Cold Brew Float or just plain Ice Cream, but we can also get creative with the guests. If they want us to add a Signature Flavor to the Ice Cream, then we can absolutely do that for them or if they want ice cream in their mocha or their latte, we say, “lets do it!”. We are here to make your coffee dreams come true, the best way possible.

The Ice Cream options that we bring to each event is Vanilla, Chocolate, Cookie Butter, and Mint Chip. We can mix and match the options in your bowl or just give you that one ice cream flavor. Remember, the only limits we have are your imagination and quality.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CONFERENCES: COFFEE SERVICES

Conferences happen in Southern California quite often, especially in San Diego, Orange County, and the Inland Empire. Conferences usually last for several days and they are long and intensive leaving those that attend tired and spent, which is why its always a great idea to have delicious Specialty Coffee provided for those attending.

We have catered at so many conferences in the past and we love serving at them. In our experience, people are constantly coming to us to get the coffee fuel they need to keep them going through out the day. The nonstop bombardment of people is so fun to serve and that ends up making our day fly by; time fly’s when you’re having fun.

We use some of the best coffee beans in Southern California for our coffee station, which is one reason why people keep coming back to us all day long during these conferences. Some beans that we use are Portola Coffee out of Costa Mesa, Lion and Lamb Coffee out of Costa Mesa, Arcade Coffee out of Riverside, Hidden House Coffee out of Santa Ana, Lamill Coffee out of Alhambra, and Golden State Coffee out of Placentia, just to name a few. We never cut corners when it comes to quality which is why we use only the best Specialty Coffee beans that are medium to light roasted.

Some of the places that we have served at for these conferences are the San Diego Convention Center, the Sheraton Hotel and Marina, Hilton San Diego Bayfront, the Manchester Gran Hyatt, the Westin Anaheim Resort, Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel, The DoubleTree Ontario, the Toyota Arena, and we cant wait to serve at many more. We have mastered the art of serving quickly with really high quality, which makes us perfect for conferences because their tired and exhausted attendees usually need the coffee quickly and they need it all day long.

TOYOTA ARENA ONTARIO

A local venue that we want to highlight is the Toyota Arena in Ontario California. This venue is a huge space built and owned by the City of Ontario, operated by ASM Global, can accommodate over 11,000 guests. The 225,000 square foot venue features 36 luxury suites located on two levels and a continuous concourse hosting a variety of concession and refreshment stands, merchandise kiosks, the VIP Club and other fan amenities.

Because of the large space this arena has they host over 125 events a year including sporting events (like hockey games), concerts, business functions and gatherings, and much more. This venue is located centrally in Southern California in the Inland Empire, Riverside County, so coming to this venue not only gives you a great space to go to, but also has almost endless activities to do while not at the arena. Locally you can visit the Ontario Mills and San Antonio Winery, but Los Angeles, Orange County, Big Bear and Palm Springs are just about an hour away so like we said, the activities are almost endless out here.

Great coffee to sip on is a necessity when having long events, early morning/ late evening events, or just getting something to help you amp up for the festivities. Delicious nonalcoholic beverages are a way for people that are not interested in getting drunk to enjoy being apart of the gathering. We have fun getting to serve at the Honda Center multiple times a year and really look forward to doing the same with the Toyota Arena, as well. Upcoming events include the hockey game of the Ontario Reign vs Henderson, the SCPA Championship Finals, Terry Ilous and the Vagabonds, Hot Wheel Monster Trucks Live, the Entrepreneurship Summit 2023, and a bunch more. Those are heavy hitting events coming up and we hope to see you there!

PHOTO CRED: ASMGLOBAL.COM

BREWING COFFEE: NOTNEUTRAL GINO DRIPPER

There are so many different types of manual brew pour over drippers out there and everyone wants the best. The truth be told, there is not a dripper that is held to be the best. There are certain ones that are more widely used in the Specialty Coffee industry, but that is just based on preference, ease of use, and price. We have been testing out many different manual drip pour over vessels and one that we tried and like is the NotNeutral Gino Dripper. This dripper is easy to use and tastes great, but the only downside is that it is made of glass that can be easily broken, if you’re not paying close attention to how you handle it.

Photo Cred: notneutral.com

The Gino Dripper is conical in shape and has a flat bottom with 3 holes in it. The flat bottom and conical shape really encourages even extraction as the water flows through the coffee bed because the flat bottom slows down the water from flowing through one side or the other, otherwise known as channeling. Below is the recipe for our brew on the Gino Dripper:

• Coffee Dose: 24g

• Water Dose: 400g

• Brew Time: 3:15 - 3:30

• Grind: Medium/ Coarse

PROCEDURE:

1. Bloom: 

1. Start a timer and Pour 55g - 60g of hot water over the coffee grounds to fully saturate. 

2. Let it sit until the timer reads 40 seconds. 

2. Brew:

1. Pour water slowly in a spiral-like pour until you get to 200g. This should take about 35 seconds. 

2. Wait 20 seconds. 

3. When the timer reaches 1:35, then slowly start pouring another 100g of hot water. This should take about 20 seconds. 

4. Wait 20 seconds. 

5. When the timer reaches 2:15, then slowly start pouring until the scale reads 395g (+/- 3g). This should take about 20 seconds. 

3. The Finish: 

1. Let the water seep through the ground bed until there are no more puddles of water remaining, then stop the timer. 

2. Carefully remove the Gino Dripper from the server and throw the spent filter and grounds away. 

We like this dripper because it creates a good cup and because it is easy to repeat the result. It is definitely one of our favorites, but not the favorite of Rugged Coffee, we’ll rate this a 7 out of 10. As we keep posting different recipes for different drippers, we’ll let you know which one we like the best.

DOUBLETREE HOTEL ONTARIO

As a caterer, we get to travel and move around because we are not held down to one location, which means that each day is a new day with new views and new guests to serve. The venue that we are excited about serving at is the beautiful DoubleTree Hotel by Hilton in Ontario, California. Ontario is home to the Toyota Arena, the Ontario International Airport, and tons of amazing restaurants and wineries, so there is so much to do in this city. The hotel itself has so much to offer, from the room service to the relaxing resort style pool and jacuzzi to the extravagant ballroom; beauty and class runs through each aspect.

Things that you need to consider when choosing a venue to host your wedding, conference, or corporate event at is what sort of staff help do they provide you, how much electricity do you get to draw, if they have private options for meals, and then if there is plenty to do outside of the hotel for after the event is over (especially if this is a several day event). Ontario has plenty to do, from a concert at the Toyota Arena to the mall at the Ontario Mills, your guests will be happy with the plethora of things to do around town.

Coffee catering is what we are good at, getting delicious coffee into the hands of your guests without the long wait that they might be used to at a Specialty Coffee shop. Our quality is uncompromising, so we use our 7+ years of experience in the coffee catering industry to provide your guests with coffee that is unparalleled in quality, with speed of service that is remarkably surprising, and with the attention to the customer's needs and guest experience that can be rivaled by none.

ARTISAN PASTRIES CATERING

Pastries and Coffee is the morning pair that wakes us up which is why we have gone to such great lengths to get the best pastries around to pair with our amazing coffee.

The pastries we use are artisan, small batch baked pastries that are sourced locally in SoCal out of the Inland Empire (Riverside area) called Eastbrew Cafe. We offer pastries such as, the ever famous gooey Cinnamon Roll, a seasonal fruit Galette, Blueberry Muffins that are to die for, Banana Muffins that melt in your mouth, Seasonal Flavored Scones, Chocolate Chip Cookies, and poptarts that bring back the nostalgia of when you were a child. The seasonal flavors or fruits used in these pastries are always rotating with such pastries like the mixed berry galette, the pumpkin muffin, lemon raspberry poptart, cranberry scone, and an amazing peppermint cinnamon roll (christmas seasoned). The bakery we use goes to great lengths to provide us with the best pastries around and once you taste them, there will be no question about it.

To pair with our amazing pastries, we have got to use the best coffee, so we like to provide coffee from local roasters in the SoCal area, such as, Portola Coffee Roasters, Lion and Lamb Coffee, Hidden House Coffee, Arcade Coffee, Lamill Coffee, and a few others. Acquiring good coffee beans is only part of the equation, you’ve got to know the science behind brewing in order to make those good beans taste good too. We’ve been in the Specialty Coffee industry for over 15 years now and have studied coffee extraction during those years, so one could say that we know how to brew coffee and espresso to make it unparalleled in quality.

With coffee this good and pastries this delicious, how can you go wrong? Let us know how we can make your next conference, event, or wedding one that people will be talking about for months ahead.

Photo Cred: Eastbrew Cafe

SHERATON HOTEL & MARINA, SAN DIEGO

San Diego is such a beautiful city and has some of the most amazing and elaborate hotels, so it only makes sense that the city hosts many conferences. Conferences are in abundance in San Diego at some of the nicest hotels and we've offered our coffee catering services at many of them. We’ve served at the Manchester Grand Hyatt, the Marriot Marquis Hotel, Costa De Luna in Carlsbad, and we are going to be serving at our next conference in San Diego at the Sheraton Hotel and Marina serving the Apollo GraphQL Summit. This summit is going to be packed with 2,000 people looking for some delicious coffee in between conference rooms.

Whenever we serve at a conference we serve with class and with confidence while we get pummeled by the caffeine deprived people who are in attendance. These conferences usually mean that there are organized parties afterward where the guests get to stay up the majority of the night and sometime even until the early morning which means that they are in desperate need for good coffee and when it is free for them, they can't get enough.

Our main goal is to serve delicious coffee the fastest way possible. In order to ensure quality is kept, we have to watch the espresso shot times, and weigh the coffee and the water. With coffee caterers, this ends up being too much work to uphold so they typically through quality to the side and just concentrate on the speed of service, but with us it’s different. We have specific serving standards that help us keep the coffee quality high while serving with speed, at the same time. What a delight to get to experience, that the company putting the conference on and having the after-party's cares that much about you that they offer Specialty Coffee for the Conference you're at. That's next level right there.

MOBILE TEA SERVICE

Quality is a Specialty of ours, whether it’s coffee, syrups, the water we use, the equipment we use, or the tea leaves that we use. Rishi tea is one of the best companies to get qualitt tea leaves from, so that is who we use for our tea. Currently, we make 2 different types of Signature Flavors with the tea and those are our Chai Latte and Matcha Latte, but we are always experimenting with more.

Our Chai Latte is made from the Black tea and spice mixture that is blended and mixed by the Rishi tea company, then we add our own spices, sugar, honey, and vanilla to get us that amazing spicy taste that we all love in our Chai Latte.

Our Matcha Latte is made from a high quality matcha tea (which is finely ground sencha tea), then we add that to a simple syrup to make it an east and consistent delicious addition to a latte. You can add espresso to it if you would like to just taste the tea on its own, its up to you how you enjoy your drinks.

Apart from the tea itself, we use all high quality organic whole milk to complete the tea latte creation or, for the dairy sensitive folks, we do offer the best on the market the Califia Oat Milk. Creating the perfect drink is hard and takes someone with the knowledge of the craft and passion for what they are making to deliver something so good. Everything that Rugged Coffee does is in the name if quality, from the ingredients we use to the ingredients we create to the customer experiences we give to the planning process to our setup all the way down to the teardown after we are all done serving. Everything is done with quality in mind.

ANAHEIM CONVENTION CENTER

Serving at convention centers all over the Southern California region is one of our favorite things to do. From the San Diego Convention Center to the Anaheim Convention Center in Orange County to the Riverside area with the Ontario Convention Center and the Riverside Convention Center, we serve at them all. Serving at Conferences and Conventions is great because while there is a whole lot of people there and it is busy all of the time, the guests are always so happy and fun to be around.

Serving at a convention or a conference means that we need to serve excellent coffee in a speedy fashion, which is no problem for us. We have mastered our craft so well that using systems that we have created (not automated systems), we are able to help our Barista’s utilize their skills to their maximum potential. Serving coffee is not only a scientific and tedious task, but it’s also a job that we are able to have fun with and that comes in the form of serving your guests with conversations and smiles.

With these larger events, we will come the day prior to set up our station (or stations). The reason we come the day before is because we want to make sure that we have enough electricity provided us and if there are any issues with the space we are allotted, then we can figure that out then and not trying to put out fires on the day of. We take this much care in every aspect of our services, from the set up to the stock of supplies to the drinks we serve, we are professional in every way. Bringing a coffee caterer to your convention is one thing, but bringing coffee with class, now that is where you get noticed and that is what you really want to do especially at a convention.

We can bring the class, service, quality, and professionalism that you are looking for because that is what we do best.

COFFEE IN NEWPORT

Serving out in Newport Beach is one of the nicest places we go to. Newport is full of beautiful scenery’s, amazing food, gorgeous beaches, and some of the best venues in Southern California to host weddings, corporate events, conferences, and conventions. Here are a couple of venues that we would recommend in Newport Beach.

The Renaissance Newport Beach Hotel is known for their elegant yet unique settings, you couldn’t choose a better place to host such an important day. There are a total of 16 events rooms with a maximum capacity of 800 guests which makes it a perfect venue for all sizes. Inside or outside, the settings are simply magical. The Bay Laurel Ballroom features a show-stopping crystal chandelier. The courtyard features natural elements lit up by delicate twinkling lights. The Gondola is picture perfect for an intimate ceremony. No matter what you choose, you cant go wrong.

The Pacific Club hosts a wide range of wedding sizes, ranging from the most intimate celebrations to weddings of up to 200 guests. Couples can enjoy an outdoor ceremony in plain view of the gorgeous reflective lake, under the shade of the surrounding trees. Afterward, nine reception setup options are available for festivities. Couples can take their guests to a grand ballroom with floor-to-ceiling windows and a sophisticated atmosphere for a memorable reception. These windows feature ivory drapery, while the cream-colored, neutral walls allow for a variety of color schemes and event designs. When accented with uplighting and a couple’s choice of décor, this room looks like something out of a fairy tale.

St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church - The Church has two venues available for wedding ceremonies. The Main Sanctuary is unique with a lofted glass ceiling and is home to a 5,000+ pipe organ. The pipes create a magnificent backdrop for the wedding ceremony. The Main Sanctuary can hold a wedding of just about any size, able to seat up to 1,270 guests. The second venue, Grace Chapel, though smaller and more intimate, seats up to 180 guests. The backdrop of Grace Chapel is a beautiful stained glass piece, of Jesus blessing a young couple. The campus of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church has several wonderful spots for wedding party pictures as well as for a first look or reveal for the couple. Included in the price of wedding are two rooms in which the wedding party can relax and make final preparations for the ceremony.

Really, no matter where you go, you will find that Newport is the most magical and beautiful places to get married or host any sort of event at.

SAN DIEGO CONVENTION CENTER

Serving at the San Diego Convention Center is an event space that caterer’s only dream about. This place has it all, from electrical power to space as far as the eye can see, to staff that is extremely helpful to delicious food to eat while there.

Our experience there was for a convention called Distributech and we were serving out of the Hitachi Energy booth and the ABB booth. Hitachi Energy and ABB were two companies that were extremely easy to work with and planned for everything. Reliable companies for sure, but let’s talk about what was on our menu.

For this convention, we brought a few of our favorite’s. We got to serve our delicious Chai Latte, Mocha, and Caramel Latte out of the Hitachi Energy booth while we served our Vanilla Latte, Mocha, and Caramel Latte out of the ABB booth. Not only did we diversify our menu for each station with Signature Flavors, but we also changed it up by serving different coffee in each booth. Both coffee varietals that we served were roasted from a local roaster in Costa Mesa called Portola Coffee, while we served the La Cinta from Colombia in the Hitachi Energy booth and we served the Thunguri from Kenya in the ABB booth. We always like to serve Single Origin coffee out of our bar, whether it’s through espresso, brewed coffee, or cold brew. Not only do we serve Single Origin coffee in all of our processes, but we like to serve the same coffee varietal in all those processes, as well, that way you get to try the same coffee 3 different ways if you want to. The Decaf coffee that we served was roasted from another local roaster called Lion and Lamb coffee. The Decaf was a coffee from Honduras and tasted like caramel and guava.

We can’t wait until we get to serve at the San Diego Convention Center again!

COFFEE AND DESSERT

Celebration at each wedding or event is a must and that is why each wedding has things like sparklers, cakes, champagne, drinks, and delicious food. Coffee service is another part of the celebration that is on the rise in popularity, and we offer some of the best coffee you can get from a catering company or even any coffee company in general in Southern California.

Desserts are another big-ticket item that people have to have at their wedding, event, conference or gathering, so that is why we sought out the best quality for desserts to offer. As one of our upgraded options, we offer delicious and freshly baked artisan pastries from a local baker called Eastbrew Cafe. These pastries are some of the best that we have ever tried with options like Banana Muffins, Blueberry Muffins, Chocolate Chips Cookies, Seasonal Scones (sometimes pumpkin flavored, sometimes cherry flavored, and more), along with danishes, and one that is rarely seen at coffee shops or bakery’s - the Cinnamon Roll. Not only do we offer pastries as an option, but we also offer Affogato’s and Ice Cream. Who doesn’t like two great things coming together like Ice Cream and Espresso? What about a Cold Brew Float?

Upgrading the menu to have us serve Ice Cream, Affogato’s, and Pastries is not the only way to bring sweet decadence to your gathering, our Signature Flavored lattes are more than enough to do that on their own. With Flavors like Oreo Latte, Apple Pie Latte, PB&J Latte, Eggnog Latte, Samoa Latte (yes like the Girlscout cookie!), and the Tiramisu Latte. When you pair our Homemade Signature Flavors with the delicious coffee we use, you end up with a coffee or espresso drink like you've never had before. Rugged Coffee brings decadence and quality in everything we do, from Specialty Coffee to Signature Flavors, from Pastries to Cookies, and from Ice Cream to Affogato's.

BARTENDER

One thing that a ton of weddings and events look for are bartenders, but what do you do when a lot of your guests don’t drink or can’t have any alcohol? Coffee is a great alternative to alcohol and it doesn’t have to be an either/or choice, we like to work with the bartenders to make great alcoholic coffee drinks. An espresso martini is an amazing drink that will keep guests awake and in the party mood long into the night. Another drink that I see guests like to have is coffee or cold brew and Bailey’s. We are fun and like to make delicious coffee so that whatever drink that your guests want to make, you know it’s gonna taste good.

Drinks that are an alcohol alternative but still make you feel like you’re drinking a cocktail is a Mocktail. Mocktails are drinks that replicate cocktails, but instead of alcohol in the drink, it is replaced with coffee, such as, espressso or concentrated cold Brew. Some of our favorite mocktails are the Espresso Tonic, made with Tonic Water, simple syrup, and Espresso served over ice. Another favorite of ours is the Coffee Mule, made with Fever Tree Ginger Beer, concentrated cold brew, and lime juice that is served over ice. If you dont have guests that want cocktail replica’s or cocktails themselves, then that is where our Espresso Bar shines making espresso drinks down the board like Mocha’s, Lattes, Cappuccinos, and we even have Signature Flavored Latte’s that you as the host get to choose for us to carry.

If you’re going to have the cocktail bar alongside our Espresso Bar, then we’d recommend getting festive and having our Homemade Eggnog and mixing rum with it or you can get creative and add bourbon to your mocha, or there’s always the classic Espresso Martini. We like to have fun with our service and offerings, so if you’re guests have any other cocktail ideas that they want to mix with coffee, then we are always ready to help them make that drink spectacular.

VENUES: THE LANGHAM , HUNTINGTON, PASADENA HOTEL

Getting to serve at the Langham, Huntington Pasadena Hotel is such a delight. This hotel is luxurious, spacious, and has everything you need for a vacation stay or for company conferences. Their staff are all well experienced, happy people who love what they do, so you can be sure that you’re going to be getting the best service. The Langham hotel is tucked away in a secluded area of the really upscale part of Pasadena. This hotel is one of a kind from the food they prepare to the beautiful upscale rooms to the caterers they are able to recommend, this place is like no other.

Serving at this venue is one that we cherish. Since 2020 we’ve had the privilege of working with the Langham and their staff and we can tell you from firsthand experience that they know what they are doing and they do everything with class and professionalism. When serving there, we often spend several days there serving at conferences and company gatherings. Serving at conferences is our specialty, serving a massive number of guests within a short amount of time is the key, so we create standards and protocols to help us achieve that goal while never lowering our standard for the best coffee you’ve ever had.

We are able to deploy up to a total of 2 fully operational coffee carts with an espresso machine on each cart. Most of these conferences that we serve at, the guests there are so tired from the breakway sessions or the late nights the night before, that they need coffee to stay awake and with our carts we've served up to 2,000 cups of coffee in a 2 day period. Depending on the total hours and days of serving, we are definitely able to serve more than that, as well. Rugged Coffee is the conference coffee choice and preferred vendor of the Langham hotel, so we live up to the luxurious brand that we say we are.