Thanks so much for the heads up on Soro!! I went to Culinary Historians Talk today and it was right on my walk back and is super close to the train station!
On my first visit I had to try their Wilshire Fog as London Fogs are my favorite.
It was stunning. I like the one from Maison Matho a little better because you can make out a bit more of the Earl Grey. But they aren’t on my weekly rounds like Soto can be!
I can’t wait to get through the menu! It reminds me so much of Fence from my side of town. I miss them so!
Made it in for the afternoon today and wow it is packed. Though kind of not surprised. They just had great coverage this past week in eater and other local food media.
Long lines the entire time I was there. No pastries by the time I ordered and they were out of the rush drink. When all 4 are available, you can buy all 4 as a set for a discount.
Pretty interesting drinks! I would say the collection of signatures are closer in spirit to coffee mocktails, though even that’s a misnomer as 2 of 3 have tea bases (one soba cha and one hojicha). Cool combinations, like tasting the yuzu and bonito/kombu umami with my cold brew. Overall tasty and interesting drinks and was happy with all. Wouldn’t run here, but I think what they’re doing is really interesting and worth a shot if you can make it over. Also maybe after the crowds die down a bit.
I’m more of a pour over person and none looked available on offer (you can get an espresso of course). They had the equipment, but they were swamped on their normal menu so can understand it not being on the menu. Otherwise normal assortment of drinks on offer. The space itself looks awesome. In the meantime, I’ll be at yihui down the street for my pour over needs, lower crowds, and longer opening times (afternoon coffee drinker here haha).
Funny point: monolith was on offer for pour over at yihui though not at monolith itself
Edit 2: A fellow foodie told me they do serve pour overs so maybe just have to ask.
Vibes and decor are great. Never been at night. Don’t think they play live jazz or even spin vinyl. That curry fried rice was pretty tasty just wished there was more
Damn, this coffee tastes so strongly of lemongrass that I wondered if it was co-fermented with lemongrass. Amazing coffee. I like this producer, Glitch.
Sharing from the Atelier Q tasting at QUAT LA that was just running this Friday/saturday. I guess they’re not quite a coffee shop but close enough haha. Menu as follows:
The lineup is not only all gesha but I think they were quite a special selection. AJ, the host, led us through some of why that is while sharing knowledge about the coffee as well as the process. Our seating was not full which led to a more intimate time and allowed for participants to dive a little deeper, resulting in conversations that discussed coffee farms, the process of auctions, grading and more.
The coffees were all roasted in house. At this tasting they used their new ozik grinder which was low rpm while having a wide burr. Apparently these are all custom made? All drinks were pour over and very well crafted. I typically haven’t really thought much about gesha vs non-gesha but wow. These had such clarity and complexity. Very delicious. If there was ever a time for using the term fine coffee this might be it (is what I thought).
This tasting was much more in line with what you’d see in Tokyo or perhaps at one of endorffeines tasting. Whether you want to enjoy some amazing coffee or have deeper conversations with those in the business, I think this is a great venue and would recommend if it fits in your budget.
The next tasting is not scheduled but I believe they were thinking to offer them monthly. The first one sold out quickly. This second one sold out Friday but not for Saturday for some reason. From chatting afterward, I’d guess partly because it came together on shorter notice and partly from marketing issues.
I also separately visited Wynd after the tasting but wanted to break it out. Had the in-house roasted gesha and it came with a cool art paper cup. Excellent coffee.
As some know, the Wynd pop ups have generally been transitory as they get things figured out with their original Virgil location. I had the chance and asked: appears they will be their through end of April after which they’ll be back to focusing on the Virgil location along with another project. So for fellow Wynd lovers, we have time but we will need to enjoy it while it lasts.
It was $100/person. Coffees were amazing! Really excellent and for me worthwhile, though I could also see price making people think twice. Sadly, the Saturday seatings did not appear full but I think (and hope) that it’s more of a marketing issue. The first sold out quickly. I do wonder if price contributed but the first tasting was same price.
I think they could also do a better job of telling us why it’s special in the upfront marketing. I actually didn’t know why until I went. I just thought they were doing something cool and circumstances worked out for me.
Here is Mikava data sheet, literally competes at world class level. 2.5x the home brew cost seems reasonable. Especially when factoring tweaking cost. Extract my comment after seeing volume for each cup.
The price was fine with me despite not knowing this fact beforehand. I don’t think everyone who comes across this tasting will have your level of knowledge and so my point is they could do a better job of communicating value to entice fence-sitters.
@namstermonster It’s been a while since I asked but if I remember right it might have been something to do with permitting at the location? Sounded like it was related to the city. Their open period wasn’t that long and based on Google Maps street view the location is completely shuttered (and I would guess unused). I could have understood it wrong though.
In other news, Atelier Q at Quat just dropped another tasting on quite short notice: at 4 PM this Friday. https://www.kumquatcoffee.com/events $65/person. Not able to make this one but thought I’d share.
Have any of you coffee experts tried Lab Coffee & Roasters (on Western, near Beverly)? I have enjoyed what I’ve had there, but my coffee skills are weak. I’m curious to hear what more knowledgeable people think about their pour over offerings.
Yes, it’s been a while since they stopped. I’ve heard people asking at Maru Espresso Bar too. Unless they’ve changed the policy again, one can always ask for just the cream on the side… it’ll be like a pup cup for hoomans.
yeah i coulda sworn they made an instagram announcement or someone else did about how out of hand the trend got and that it wasn’t meant to be a universal thing
i loved how quick the baristas response was, they must get that all the time
