546665 Thu Aug 07 21:34:23 -0700 2008 13 2 Los Angeles Area 0 3939917 Dearest LAhounds: I've just decided to drive down to LA tomorrow -- so, I don't have time for extensive homework on finding coffee houses to visit. I'm not looking for just any coffee but more along the lines of single origin, carefully roasted, and prepared. Ambiance, etc. are meaningless to me. I'm only interested in the coffee. I have Intelligentsia on my list. What other places should I visit? Thank you so much! Thu Aug 07 21:34:24 -0700 2008 34428 scarmoza 1 3939967 Here is a link to a few places. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/488346 One in particular is Choke, on Normal 50 feet east of Virgil, just get an espresso. Choke is about a mile from Intelligensia. Thu Aug 07 22:13:21 -0700 2008 3939917 11279 Burger Boy 1 3939978 Well I prefer Blue Bottle up north, the Kyoto vac. and the cold brew contraptions are so cool, but LA Mill on Silverlake Blvd. does have a good product with the Clover, Eva Solo and espresso all of which I've enjoyed plus others that I haven't tried. I like the chow that I had there but it is a bit pricey, Intelligencia on Sunset Blvd. from Chicago I believe is also good, I've only tried their Clover coffee so far. My favorite Espresso in the L.A. area is at Caffe Luxxe on Montana Ave. Eric or Erik is a master barista! Coffee Klatch in San Dimas usually makes wonderful Cappuccinos! Thu Aug 07 22:23:47 -0700 2008 3939917 10864 sel 2 3960955 Kyoto Vac? Tell me more. I have had syphon coffee in Kyoto at a little shop near the Westin Miyako. I didn't know this was a regional thing. Fri Aug 15 15:50:48 -0700 2008 3939978 13554 cls 1 3940997 Luxxe and La Mill are the best, and I've tried them all. Luxxe is all espresso, no drip. La Mill does the clover and other drip preps. Was not as impressed with Intelligensia. Fri Aug 08 10:09:19 -0700 2008 3939917 12141 Adsvino 2 4103630 I found rave reviews of Luxxe here and on other sites. I finally paid a visit and was totally underwhelmed. Frothy milk, watery flavor... Might as well go to Urth where you can at least sit outside and get some decent snacks. The quality of their coffee beans may or may not be great but the barristas aren't properly trained; I was handed a cappuccino within a couple of minutes after ordering. It's impossible to make one this quickly. This place seems like the Olive Garden of espresso drinks: it's good if you don't know any better. Tue Oct 14 11:16:14 -0700 2008 3940997 13238 estnyboer 1 3950355 Intelligentsia trains excellent baristas, who understand the foaming arts, but their beans are, though good, not spectacular. Groundworks is notable for being the best affordable nice coffee I know - good stuff for $7-$9 a pound. The Venice location has some people who know the arts, and some who don't; it's probably the best branch. La Mill is probably the best for single-origin purity. Unfortunately, for single-origin purity, LA is sufficiently far behind the wonders of SF's Blue Bottle, that, after a taste of Blue Bottle, and unable to find anything like that down here, I had to learn to roast my own coffee. Tue Aug 12 10:08:18 -0700 2008 3939917 14404 Thi N. 2 3959946 As it turned out: I had an excellent cup of Itzamna, Guatemala at Intelligentsia. It was the only coffee I had in L.A. that wasn't over roasted. Lovely notes of chocolate, red fruit, nutty, buttery. I tried Groundworks in the form of a double macchiato. Argh! Burnt beans and double sized espresso serving. Narsty. I also tried a couple of others that aren't worth mentioning. After all that was said about LA Mill, I so wanted to try it but just couldn't fit it in to the rest of my schedule. I'm saving it for my next visit when I might have more free-time. It would be so awesome if someone could comment about LA Mill's roasting style/quality. And thanks for sharing everyone! Fri Aug 15 09:56:32 -0700 2008 3950355 34428 scarmoza 3 3969068 You have to specify with groundworks - they often use this "Black Gold" or "Jet Fuel" stuff for their espresso drinks, which is super-mega-duper-roasted - (you can imagine Red-Bull-Snorting methed out roasters in the back, giving each other high fives and saying, "Hardcore, dude!") - but some of their varietals are probably roasted closer to your desires. As for how I'm roasting - I wrote an article about it for Chow.com. I'm not sure if permitted to post a link, per moderator policies, but I'm sure you can find it in about 5 seconds. It involves a $3 hot air popcorn popper, a burr grinder, and sweetmarias.com, which is pretty much the greatest coffee resource of all time. Perhaps we ought to start a thread about it in general topics... Tue Aug 19 09:29:54 -0700 2008 3959946 14404 Thi N. 2 3959966 PS- Thi N.: I'd love to hear more about what and how you're roasting! Fri Aug 15 10:03:41 -0700 2008 3950355 34428 scarmoza 1 3961430 Another place to check out is Cafe Corsa on S Figueroa & 23rd Ave (look for the building with the Salad Farm and Wing Stop...the cafe is tucked in back of the courtyard. It's a one man show there, Great espresso and Clover coffees. He sources beans from three different roasters, striving to get the best of whats available. Fri Aug 15 19:58:29 -0700 2008 3939917 218861 rhino876 2 3961569 Am I the only one that doesn't understand what this post is about? What is "3rd wave" ? A special way of brewing or a special type of process? Someone please explain this to me. Fri Aug 15 21:34:25 -0700 2008 3961430 10854 SIMIHOUND 3 3961728 My guess is the the 3rd wave is the rebirth of coffee as an artisanal craft, like back in the 60's with Pete's Coffee. Roasting is considered a crucial aspect of the flavor as does origin of beans. Coffee has been elevated to the standard of wine, with much of the language describing the flavors similar to something you'd see in wine spectator. You even have Kenneth Davids (www.coffeereview.com) as the self proclaimed "robert parker" of coffee with his 100 point system. But more than anything it's the new or "rediscovered" brewing methods such as clover, chemex, eva solo, siphon, and french press that's giving coffee drinkers new ways to experience coffee. Also, espresso drinks aren't about hazelnut/vanilla/caramel flavors but about the crafting of the drink much like a cocktail (hence the US/World Barista Championships). My vote for "3rd wave" is Funnel Mill, Intelligentsia, and La Mill. Coffee Klatch is one I have to try, but it's a bit far for me. I've had Blue Bottle up in SF and it's very good. I've yet to try places like Stumptown and Ninth St Espresso, but they're not in LA. I wonder how much the regular public will embrace this but considering the discontent with Starbucks it's possible. But the popularity of mcdonald's iced coffee tells me they're not. btw, I found this link to coffeegeek.com, which, along with coffeereview, is one of the best resources for coffee on the internet: http://coffeegeek.com/opinions/bgafiles/04-02-2005 Sat Aug 16 00:47:24 -0700 2008 3961569 68907 risottoman 3 3962134 I can't stand the term "3rd Wave" but when I posted this I must have been feeling a sparsity of common terms used to describe the movement towards better coffee. Journalists have used "3rd Wave" and I took from them due to lack of a better label. What I mean though by "3rd Wave" is coffee that is very carefully selected often by means of qualification into the "Cup of Excellence" program or buy individual procurement through the coffee producers. Everything about the coffee is important to the trade: it's terroir, how/when it's picked, how it's packaged and delivered, etc. One thing that I can't stress enough though is how it's roasted once it get's here. This to me really makes the cut on who is really a part of the "3rd Wave". I know of roasters here in the bay area that go the distance of buying quality beans but then burn them in the roasting process so that all that is tasted is charred coffee beans that taste like all other charred coffee beans. When good beans are medium roasted (one big hint that they have been over roasted is that they won't be shiny), there are often so many things that can also be tasted in the coffee. Coffee isn't just coffee. It can have a whole array of flavors (without ever being flavored unnaturally). How the coffee is stored, ground, prepared, and served is also of high importance in this new movement. I know the wholesale people at Ritual won't let their beans sit on any store shelf for more then a week. That sort of quality control is constantly being checked. As far as the grind goes, they grind according to when the beans will be used, and how it will be prepared. Water temperature is always 200 degrees F (+or- 5 degrees). And then there's the preparation.... It's really heavy coffee geekery and the majority of the US likely won't be as interested but it's really not about catering to everyone. People who don't really care can have their brewed whatever-coffee at McDonalds or Starbucks. This is isn't for the masses, they've already got theirs. Sat Aug 16 09:11:12 -0700 2008 3961569 34428 scarmoza