Fall in Love With Coffee All Over Again: Where to Roast Your Bean

Michael Bishop

To say that coffee consumption has changed dramatically in the US these past ten years would be an understatement. Los Angeles deservedly figures in on the list of the fast-growing obsession for quality bean. Serious coffee houses/bars/labs have exploded in LA in the past five years, beginning with Intelligentsia Café. One of the reasons that coffee has evolved so much in the past five years here is that customers are willing to try new and unusual variations, and this demand drives an evolving and expanding scene that redefines a love of coffee that borders on addiction.

One of the points of this article is not just to list a “best of” but to name places that have changed the way we think about the beverage. Coffee is a broad term now (if you did not know) and has been recoded by coffee specialists. For example, Blue Bottle serves espresso by the ounce of milk, which replaces the cappuccino or latte designation. You must also learn the new language or renewed language, such as the other meaning of “brew” – that is, a cup of coffee. Many places call themselves brew bars for coffee bars.

The trend of coffee bars have never been so complex as now. In order to produce the perfect blend, many coffee bars offering two, three, even five different extraction methods, which are ways to pass hot water through some ground coffee beans in order to obtain the perfect blend of freshness, flavor and balance. Specialty extraction methods use – the Aero, pour-over, siphon, Clover, Clever, or the revered espresso machine Strada, to name the most popular. These methods demand specialized training for professional baristas, and aficionados believe that it’s well worth it.

The LA coffee scene is not just about the brew, but also about the vibe. Many new shops have opened, many established players continue to evolve, and both new and old coffee houses are redefining the way we drink and experience coffee. So, if you want to fall in love with coffee again, step away from the mass-market brands and explore the following locations:

brū’s
Brū’s single-origin double espresso and an amazing Danish made with fresh strawberry jam. The café’s name suggests “brew” spelled phonetically. Brew also means, besides beer, a mug or cup of coffee. The owner’s serious attention to language also shows in her attention to some local artists, whose works suspend on the white walls while you wait for a pour-over coffee made from a single-origin coffee. This modern coffee house opened in 2011 and was one of the first of its kind to serve honest, clean specialty coffees not for the masses. They also serve the best Danish in town, made by Short Cake.
1866 North Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90027  | 323-664-7500

Blu Bottle Coffee  (formally Handsome Coffee Roasters)
Situated in the heart of the Arts District, Handsome Coffee Roasters is now Blue Bottle Coffee and maintains a no nonsense purity to its coffee message. Like some other purists, they have recoded the signs of coffee language. For example, instead of drinks formerly known as macchiatos, cappuccinos and lattes, these are now espresso drinks with milk by the ounce. The vibe is pure coffee, coffee, coffee offset by its white tile minimalism. Order a pour-over coffee and a crisp dark chocolate cookie.
582 Mateo St., Los Angeles, CA 90013 | 213-621-4194

Coffee Commissary
Coffee Commissary serves up serious coffee with a highly stylized space. Here they pull some of the best single-origin espresso pulled on a Strada. Beans are from Portland’s Coava Coffee Roasters, San Francisco’s Sightglass Coffee Roasters, and Seattle’s Victrola Coffee Roasters. And it shares its address with the unique butcher shop Lindy & Grundy. Order a perfect latte and sit outside.
801 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90046 | 323-782-1465
6087 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028 | 323-664-8633

Demitasse
Where the coffee nerds go for pure, clean single origin brew. Go by the official menu and Demitasse has one of the most diverse extraction methods in town; add to that the samples and one-offs sometimes brewed up behind the bar, and you are tapping into the obscure world of serious coffee. Professional baristas always know what is best now.
135 S. San Pedro St., Little Tokyo, CA 90012 | 213-613-9300
1149 Third Street, Santa Monica, CA 90403 | 310-260-6308

Intelligentsia
An Intelligentsia latte and a Goodbites raw super-food truffle. One of the earliest pioneers based out of Chicago, Intelligentsia local coffee houses maintain a crisp, professional operation. The baristas have mastered the art of the cool and easy demeanor while focused on a pour-over method or other extraction. They are also probably the hippest places to get pure, clean coffee or great espresso at three locations in LA County, yet each reflects its own atmospheric pressure while preserving its unique locale.
3922 West Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90029 | 323-663-6173
1331 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA 90291 | 310-399-1233

LAMill
Besides a dynamic range of specialty coffees, try their Ethiopian, sweet and complex. They also serve a full food and wine/beer menu. Order a cup of single origin with your spicy Asian flatiron steak salad. This is another unique space, part diner, part urban space in LA, that focuses on specialized coffee brews.
1636 Silver Lake Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026 | 323-663-4441

Paper or Plastik Café
When at Paper or Plastik Café, order a single origin coffee and a slice of chocolate caramel cake from Cake Monkey (and two baguettes to go).
They serve and roast single origin, eco-friendly beans and have sourced from third wave coffee roasters including Intelligentsia, Handsome Roasters (now Blue Bottle), and Coava. Here is your chance to check out what is arguably the most uniquely designed coffee house/restaurant in LA. The owners designed this space, and their eye for detail and judgment in taste shows in the coffee and food.
5722 West Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90019 | 323-935-0268

Stumptown
One espresso, two espressos at Stumptown. Here you can watch a giant, clear tube suck beans up into a roaster while you wait for your brew. This coffee house is fully staffed by experts who love and live coffee. Try an ice coffee, single-origin coffee, or espresso. They have the most singular and unique espresso in the city for sure, bright and vibrant, not oily and heavy. Now offering public tastings at noon on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
806 S Santa Fe, Los Angeles, CA 90021 | 347-414-7802

Urth Caffé
Make sure that you visit Urth Caffé for their decadent Spanish coffee. This coffee house is also known for its comfort food, the kind Angelenos understand (with something for everyone) such as burritos and fruit pies. Never pretentious, always welcoming, Urth Caffé has been serving fair trade, organic, and single origin coffees before it was popular. For those who are not purist coffee drinkers, try the matcha and Moroccan mint lattes.
8565 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood, CA 90069 | 310-659-0628
267 S. Beverly Dr., Beverly Hills, CA 90212 | 310-205-9311
2327 Main St., Santa Monica, CA 90405 | 310-3147040
452 S. Hewitt St., Losa Angeles, CA 90013 | 213-797-4534