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A Central Valley-born coffee shop is launching its first Sacramento-area store this fall.
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Rare Earth Coffee, originally from Clovis, is coming to Rancho Cordova. The coffee shop’s 2348 Sunrise Blvd. location will open on Sept. 25.
Rare Earth is best known for air-roasting its coffee beans, which removes the bitterness from the coffee, according to the company. Air roasting means the coffee beans are suspended in a hot air stream as opposed to conventional drum roasting where beans can become scorched when they sit against the cylinder walls, according to Coffeetec..
The new coffee house’s owner, Daniel Herrera, who also manages the company’s Los Banos location, said the air-roasting process gives its coffee beverages a smoother taste.
The coffee shop also serves a variety of other drinks, including matcha, iced teas, smoothies, chai, refreshers and specialty energy drinks.
Herrera said Rare Earth was looking to expand and while he was eyeing a new location in the Central Valley, a potential location in the Sacramento area grabbed his attention.
“Sacramento became a hot target as a natural growth area,” Herrera said. “So once something appeared out of nowhere, overnight, it was an amazing opportunity to snag and run with it.”
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Herrera never imagined he would own a coffee shop, he said. While it was his personal passion, his main career was teaching history to middle schoolers and moonlighting as a barista for Dutch Bros.
While visiting his best friend, Herrera said he was impressed by the variety of coffee shops in Santa Cruz. He was inspired to bring the same drink scene to the Central Valley, so he set up shop with a Rare Earth Coffee in Los Banos.
This year, he left teaching to open the Rancho Cordova coffee shop.
The brand was founded in 2014 by Ernie and Trevor Bea as Rare Earth Roastery. The Clovis roastery closed in 2025, but its retail brand, Rare Earth Coffee, continued in the Los Banos location and in Lemoore.
Rare Earth Coffee and its drive-thru is giving away free small drinks during is Sept. 25 soft opening. The grand opening is Oct. 3, when it will give away free tote bags to customers who buy a large drink.
While operating hours are to be determined, Rare Earth Coffee is typically open from 5 a.m. to 8 pm. Monday-Friday and 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
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