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Tomorrow is National Coffee Day, which means it's time to get your craft brew on. (We mean single origin beans, not beer, by the way. You can save that for another day.) The coffee scene has really taken off here in Los Angeles, giving us something to really celebrate. Here are some of our favorite places to sip in the city.
Cognoscenti Coffee:Yeekai Lim has become a staple in L.A. coffee culture for his top notch pop-up espresso bar called Cognoscenti, which has held camp over at Proof Bakery in Atwater Village and most recently at the Normandie Hotel in Koreatown. Back in December, he opened up a brick-and-mortar location over in Culver City much to the excitement of third wave coffee enthusiasts, pouring brews from Ritual, Wrecking Ball, Counter Culture, and Phil and Sebastian Coffee Roasters. It's quite fitting that the location of the shop is on the ground level of the Clive Wilkinson Architects complex, since Lim used to work as an architect before he became a barista. For more info, visit www.popupcoffee.com.
Stumptown:In case you needed further evidence that the Arts District is the place to be in L.A., Stumptown roasters from Portland set up shop in the neighborhood just a few weeks ago next to the stellar bakery and sammie shop Bread Lounge. Their new facility will be located on Sante Fe Street and 7th Place, just steps from the oh-so-hot right now Bestia restaurant and Church & State. Their staff is as friendly as their Pacific Northwest roots would imply, but don't come in looking for a place to work; there's limited seating at this stand-up coffee bar, where the focus is on the roasting. You can check out their vitals here.
Handsome Roasters: The guys down at Handsome in the Arts District will forever be one of our faves. What once started out as an illegal pop-up coffee shop behind their roasting facility is now a full blown legit operation. Though there's no WiFi for working, there's plenty of good vibes at this coffee bar, whose emphasis is on finding the world's best beans and bringing them to your morning cup. (Selling Proof's salted chocolate chip cookies doesn't hurt their cause either.) They are known to host cuppings, classes, and events, so keep an eye out for that too. You can find out more info on their site.
LA Mill: This Silverlake coffee shop near the Reservoir has a dog friendly patio and really wonderful things to snack on. They were easily in on the early side of L.A.'s coffee revolution, but that doesn't mean things have fizzled out. They still are on the cutting edge when it comes to brewing methods, but aside from the steep prices, there's not a ton of snobbery. The restaurant/coffee bar has great community vibes and coffee too. You can find out more on their site.
G & B Coffee: We first fell for the cold brew from Kyle Glanville and Charles Babinski at their pop-up over at Sqirl over in Silverlake. Now they've gone solo, opening up two new shops: one at the revamped Grand Central Market and another called Go Get Em Tiger. At the DTLA location, they're still serving awesome cold brew, but there are also some other fun twists like lightly carbonated tea infused with citra hops and the rocket fuel of a milkshake that includes McConnel's ice cream and an f-ton of espresso. They also make their own almond milk from Fat Uncle almonds, which is worth sipping on its own. You can find out morehere.
