Trouble Coffee and Coconut Club is a funky Sunset cubbyhole of a coffeehouse located on the same block as our Sunday brunch choice: Outerlands. The cafe that Giulietta Carrelli founded in 2007 may have been irreverent and sported an in-your-face motto – “Build your own damn house” – but the baristas behind the tiny bar were friendly, the coffee was good, and the toast was memorable.

The tiny space only holds a few seats that overlooks action at the refurbished, label-less espresso machine.

For a coffee company that’s so overtly problematic, Trouble is easy to like.

Shelves display odd bric-a-brac, including worn skateboards, a beat-up boombox and an old Trouble box.

Trouble started with coffee that Andrew Barnett roasted at Ecco Caffe in Santa Rosa. After all, “Drinking local trouble coffee sustains our skills and our city.” However, they switched from Ecco over a year ago.

My Gibraltar ($3) could have ranked higher on the artistry scale, but the double-shot drink delivered a thin layer of frothy foam, balanced milk sweetness and a smooth sip.

Trouble’s menu offers only two eating options: whole coconuts ($4) and toast ($2/$2.50).

Why coconuts? “a coconut {cocos nucifera} provides a nutritious source of
meat, juice, milk, and oil that has fed and
nourished populations around the world for generations.”

Why toast? They didn’t say, but when white bread’s thick sliced, toasted, liberally slathered with butter and dusted with cinnamon, it tastes really damn good.