Mother Tongue Coffee
Mother Tongue Coffee — photo 2
Mother Tongue Coffee — photo 3
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Mother Tongue Coffee — photo 5

Mother Tongue Coffee

308 41st St, Oakland, CA

★★★★★4.6(161 Google reviews)

Crema's Take

Mother Tongue Coffee feels like the kind of Oakland neighborhood spot where you can linger for hours, whether you're stealing a rare quiet morning with your partner, settling in with your laptop, or catching up with friends—the vibe is genuinely cool and the outdoor seating catches that perfect sun. They're clearly espresso-focused and creative with their signature drinks, though fair warning that their matcha latte skews more milk-forward than matcha-forward if you're a purist. Fair heads-up that the staff can be a bit inconsistent (some genuinely sweet folks, others less so), but when they're on, this place nails that third-space energy with thoughtful hours, good music levels, and enough breathing room to actually enjoy your coffee.

What to expect

ParkingSignature drinksMatcha & teaSlow sitSpecialty drinksMeetingsPour overOutdoor seatingEspresso focusedTraditional drinksLaptop friendly

Google Reviews

Dezarae Bettencourt
★★★★★2 months ago

Okay one person here is a huge sweetie but the other one has me so mad I’m thinking of approaching them and asking what their problem is lol. Big septum piercing long flowy skirt and walking a little dog around. They pointed at my drink with a disgusted look on their face as if to say “please don’t talk to me”. I proceeded to ask what the WiFi was and they pointed at a tiny sign, rolled their eyes and proceeded to look out the window. I barely spoke. I was beginning to think they were mute until I saw them speaking to the other employee and other customers. Mind you this is my first impression of this place. Drink was great. Atmosphere great. Other employee great. Giving two stars just because of the sourness that was the cherry on top to an already terrible day.

Dominik Muro
★★★★★2 months ago

My fiancé and I came here for a rare morning coffee date, a perfect pause in our busy lives as parents. Parking was easy and free just around the corner. We grabbed a sunny table outside, soaking in the morning light and each other’s company, while sipping lattes topped with delightful foam art. Warm, bright, and full of life, the Mother Tongue was inviting and cheerful, with wonderfully friendly staff. It was a lovely, and simple, a great and sweet experience.

heyla johnson
★★★★3 months ago

the vibe is very cool here! for $8 i do expect a matcha latte to taste more of matcha than milk & syrup but maybe thats a me problem… might be back for cocktails or coffee! definitely not matcha tho lol

Happy Footprints
★★★★★4 months ago

A great neighborhood third space that's open decent hours, 7am-7pm. Great vibe, music not too loud and still good for work and friends catch-up.

Carla Claure
★★★★5 months ago

Extremely rude barista! Didn’t even sip the drink because of bad vibes. Don’t work in customer service if you can’t check your drama at the door. Customers joyously ordering coffee shouldn’t be met with condescending remarks, scoffs, grimaces and gross behavior. It’s such a shame because the place looks nice, but the staff sucks, so they ruin the entire experience. Apparently, I’m not the only one who’s received bad customer service after reading many other reviews on here and on yelp. Yikes!

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