Dark Horse Coffee Roasters

We really appreciated finding this place while in town. Best accolade I can add: we stayed two nights in Truckee, and went to Dark Horse three times. I really appreciate that they have Coconut milk as an option. Service was really friendly. Their cold brew is really good too. Baked goods were also top notch. Overall, the place os also well designed with good seating options. My daughter wished they had a little more selection for non coffee drinks, maybe some better juice options or other cold drinks. Other than that, no complaints!

Great stop for great coffee. A bit hard to find, it’s beneath the building with the entrance off the back. Lots of interesting books to look at and ample seating. Worth a stop.

This shop is so hipster it’s kind of painful, BUT — I can’t deny that it is unique, spacious, filled with beautiful art, and the coffee is bomb.
It’s located down the road from the downtown strip towards the bridge. You’re welcomed by a cute blue «half» barn door. We got an iced mocha with coconut (score for them having coconut!) and it was startlingly smooth and tasty without feeling too sweet. Yum!
Check out the restroom while you’re here, too — I loved seeing all of the unique art on the walls and shelves.
We didn’t stay long but I didn’t see a whole lot of seating, some towards the register and a small table in the corner, but who needs to sit inside when you can mosey on over to the bridge and watch the water flow by. We were lucky to catch the snow capped mountains in the distance during early May!

I was excited to see a new ‘craft’ coffee spot in North Tahoe so we decided to stop by and try it. Again, since I live in a place where craft coffee is at my fingertips, I have pretty high standards for my coffee (I’m a coffee snob). This place was mediocre and I prefer the coffee at the coffee shop just a few blocks away over here.

Ok, so you walk in, and there are flyers of the cool, underground in Truckee. Big tables, couches, and awesome, like really awesome staff. And the coffee mmmmmm mm. Yah, I just found a favorite.

I first saw the sign for this shop roughly two years ago. It’s location is off Donner Pass Road, but within walking distance. In fact, it’s nice to get a cup and walk to the bridge hovering over the Truckee River and watch it roar.
This location is beautiful. It’s very well thought out for being in a basement. There are comfy couches, vinyl to spin and books for your reading pleasure. The coffee bar is neat and not over crowded with junk. The coffee bean roaster is out in the open and cool to look at. It’s a very warm and friendly place and the coffee is delicious.
My wife ordered a decaf mocha with a pump of vanilla. It was light and fluffy and tasted excellent!
There are small mason jars with coffee beans for your senses to examine of their offerings. I ordered their lightest roast in the Kenya. It was fragrant and delicate. It tasted citrusy with a slight sour bitter palate, but was hugely satisfying. It has to be had black if you’re a true coffee aficionado.
The staff was pretty cool too. They’re super mellow, attentive and easy on the eyes.
Dark Horse Coffee is a true coffee shop doing it right.
Thanks for reading my review.
–Gabe

So happy to stumble upon this place on our trip to Tahoe. Great coffee and great space. Loved the on site roasting and the super friendly staff. And the biggest plus of all… dogs are welcome inside! If you invite my dog in and serve me some fresh roasted coffee I’m a happy lady. Adding this to a regular stop on our future Tahoe trips.

My favorite coffee shop in the area!!! Staffs are very nice and the atmosphere is relaxing. Love to be back!

Living in San Francisco for over five years, unfortunately (fortunately?) turned me into a coffee snob. I can firmly say that the beans that Drew provides along with the attention to detail in drink prep set this establishment above any craft coffee I’ve enjoyed in the city.
If I hadn’t already moved to Truckee, I would consider a move just for proximity to Dark Horse.

This place! Coffee roasted in house. Cute bottom basement room but strangely with TONS of light from the many windows.
Spacious and full of books and tables. Knowledgable staff when it comes to coffee. My cappuccino was actually a cappuccino, not a frothy monstrosity.
I could have easily sat there all day and read. I hope to in the future!
Free wi-​fi, cute faux fireplace, and plenty of tables for reading and writing.
The good: great coffee, awesome shop.
The bad: couldn’t find a thing! Didn’t try the food, so can’t comment.

Ambiance: A+ hipster mountain town. Intriguing table books, cozy, several couches and corners to read. Great music selection.
Coffee: solid A.
Ever so slightly slower service, in that the baristas are operating on the schedule of those who have mellowed their life into the mountains, and not the hustle of a morning espresso in Manhattan.
If this was in the mission of SF, my home neighborhood full of dozens of great coffee shops, I’d go here instead.

The place is too hipster for me. And the barristas are not that friendly. Maybe that’s because I’m not one of the cool kids? Welcome to California. My coffee-​snob friend treated me to a capp here. At first sip, I thought my hair caught fire. It was too strong. I normally take my capp without sugar. I’ve had some really good ones where the coffee is not drowned with milk, and I could still taste the boldness of the coffee without having to ‘fix’ the flavor with sugar. Not here. I needed sugar, quite a bit of it, just so I could taste and enjoy the capp. It got better with every sip I took. Would I recommend? Sure, if you like your coffee to punch you in the face.

Just off the main drag, off a small side street in Truckee you’ll find a relatively non-​descript barn door bearing a teal and black sign that resembles a knight on the chessboard. Beyond that door, nestled snugly beneath the street, is one of the coolest coffee shops in our entire region. Welcome to Darkhorse Coffee!
Walking through the door the first thing you’ll see are bags on bags on bags of green coffee, alongside a roaster that produces small batches of delicious coffee. When you reach the register you’ll see a simple menu on the back wall with classic coffee beverages, and above you’ll find that days offerings for brewed coffee, which you can order in a variety of ways.
Now just to the right of the register you’ll find the pour over bar, my happy place! On the counter there are containers of each roasted variety they offer, allowing you to take in the aromas of each before making your selection. The bar is low enough so you can ask questions and talk to the barista, and watch your coffee being made.
I really appreciated how conversant the barista was both with regard to the coffee and to the business itself. You could tell she was proud of this business, the products they serve and what they’re bringing to the community.
Overall, it was a fantastic experience and one I look forward to having again. It’s kind of like a coffee cave, but where a cave would be stark and cold, this is warm and inviting. A place you would want to spend an hour or a few in!

Excellent coffee, place, and vibe.

5 stars for the actual coffee. They obviously know what they are doing. However, they could make more money if people like me had a place to sit… Why do all these awesome shops allow one not only one person to set up shop like it’s their office, but let them stay there and not order anything… NO COFFEES at the FOUR PERSON TABLES they take up. So my group that wanted coffee, snacks, followed by more awesome coffee… left while those huge tables generated no revenue for the shop. Bummer as this place has a sterling reputation.

Best coffee in the Truckee! Love this place.
Nice ambience, great people and good coffee.

San Francisco style coffee shop. Happy that we found this place, as others said, best coffee in town. Try frozen strudel, so good as a desert. Bring your laptop, free wifi is a bonus.

Not sure what it is about places that open from the alley, but I like them – always feels like you’ve uncovered a secret. No secret here, just a classic/​authentic coffee house literally on the other side of the tracks from the main commercial drag in Truckee. A bit iconoclastic and a big hit of idiosyncratic, they are many years and many dollars from being a slick coffee place. They roast their own coffee and it’s damn good – even good enough to please discerning Bay Area people who need a caffeine smack to get them on the road back home after a long skiing or biking weekend. Extra star: their tees and totes show an altered version of the classic Raymond Pettibon cover art from Sonic Youth’s «Goo».

This charming coffee shop kinda brings out my inner hippie.
The vibe is chill. Coffee is wonderful. Staff are super sweet.
The food selection is limited, but whatever. There are several types of strudel available, such as lemon (whaaaaa?). I tried the chocolate peanut butter strudel, which was ok. The cheese bagel sandwich with pesto smear was good, but they did get my order wrong – I requested cheddar, but wound up with Swiss, but no tragedy.
I really did love my latte, and the pretty latte art… The setting is terrific for relaxing with a cup of joe. They even have a library nook, for avid readers and those not addicted to kindle.
Street parking is available, so bring quarters or your credit card as the meters take those, too.

Ok. Best coffee in town hands down. Hey, I’ll go on a whim here and say is the best coffee I had in a long while. So good, that after finishing my latte, I got 1.5 lbs of coffee to take home with me! and got a free espresso shot too! *happy dance*
The barista is so lovely! She’s like this little red headed coffee fairy that floats around and takes her time to make you this bomb cup of coffee. She is radiant, positive and has this honest zen feel to her… Which is something that is needed in places where people come to get their daily fix… :p
Aside from the coffee, the place itself is awesome! Take your time exploring the unique art pieces, the little personal touches on the place…