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Silbia Lee opened her appropriately named Bia Coffee along a rapidly changing stretch of Koreatown's 6th Street in March. Aptly named not just because of her name, but because Silbia (or Sylvia) is Latin for forest or park. The connection lies in Bia Coffee's specialty: floral drinks. Bia serves up a whole host of flower-infused items—from a lavender cake, and lavender appleade, to a blueberryade, to a vanilla latte. The idea comes from Silbia's own personal history, Moses Choi, who helped Lee open the shop, tells LAist. Silbia worked for years in South Korea as a florist, then moved to Seattle to work in coffee. When she moved to Los Angeles last year, her past lives merged.
The Bia Rose Latte is the drink to order, however. Organic rose petals are left to steep for three days in a cane sugar and water base. The finished syrup is then added to milk and Klatch Coffee espresso, and topped with an edible rose petal and a dusting of rose powder.
Iced rose latte. (Photo by Oren Peleg/LAist)
For the coming months, the iced version of the rose latte makes for a summer luxury. The rose flavor itself is a fragrant after-note to the creaminess of the milk and the nuttiness of the coffee. What's more, the rose draws out a certain chocolate taste from the coffee, adding a new layer to an already well-balanced drink.
Bia Coffee is located at 3907 W. 6th Street in Koreatown.
