My most recent cappuccino would be very average compared to LA coffee shops: good espresso, decent milk, no latte art, and a ‘bla’ sort of tasting experience that leaves you much more focused on conversation and ambiance than actually noticing what you’re drinking. Of course I know I’m not the easiest coffee lover to please sometimes, but I honestly will order drinks here again from time to time. They don’t serve bad drinks by any stretch, just not anything to tell your friends about.

Admittedly I haven’t tried anything but scones from here, which are more to my liking than their drinks. But if that is any indication of their other pastries, I would recommend them for sure.

The environment outside is great. The seats wrap around their corner location with umberellas and a decent amount of space per seat. Inside is a little bit more cosy, yet still has a definitely positive vibe going for it.

This is a great place for casual date, or short meeting, or buying gifts (if you’re really bored). And although they have wireless internet – it can get busy at times, so ‘coffee campers’ should be considerate.

And yet, can coffee fall into the category of art? Coffee addicts who drink to feed a need for caffeine, sugar, or even socialization aren’t going to be invited to any upcoming exhibits, right? On the other hand, there aren’t any rules about what makes art art. It is simply creative expression.

Art is, according to Henry Kissinger, “man’s expression of his joy in labor.” It can be for work or play. It just has to be with passion. And if you visit my kitchen, you’ll find a passionate barista (even if only for 5 minutes before work!).

It might sound lame. That’s fine. This article probably wasn’t meant for you. But if you resonate with a desire to make all things amazing in your life – you’re in for a real surprise here.

You are a coffee artist the moment you start trying to make amazing coffee.

Making coffee at home is a brilliant place to liberate your creative prowess. You can create drip brew, french press, percolated coffee, siphoned coffee, mud coffee, espressos, cappuccinos, lattes, macchiatos: all within your own studio/kitchen. Each type of coffee can be refined in literally hundreds of methods. Each of those hundreds of methods can be further restyled with thousands of types of beans, roast levels, blends, and grind types. And this is all before sugar, milk, or flavors are added!

And what’s more – each cup of coffee you make is more than rare – it is the only that exists. You cannot perfectly copy it, and it starts diminishing immediately. It must be enjoyed by you or a friend straightaway. But that’s ok – because the moment you get the creative urge again, your canvas will already be cleared.

The daily coffee exhibit is in your house. It is sometimes public, sometimes private. Many times it will be a great show, and sometimes a complete flop. But every day it will be fun, inspiring, and most of all: rewarding.

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The Semi is the weekly school paper for Fuller Theological Seminary.

This post is probably final post for a while – as other work/responsibilities are pulling my financials strings. Writing for the paper and this blog has been great fun and I greatly appreciate all my [unfortunate coffee fanatic] readers!

The coffee is getting better. That’s the best I can say. I’ve had really bad experiences in the past, but my cappuccino today (and fresh brewed coffee) were a great step in the right direction. I learned they recently put their staff through barrista training again – so it’s obvious their trying to up their quality.

Their food is great. They make everything from scratch in their upstairs kitchen. I had a Bran Muffin that was great. They also serve Fosselman’s ice-cream, cheesecake, lots of delicious sandwiches, and more.

The views and seating on the bottom floor feel nice for meeting friends and sit-down food. My only complaint would be that the up-stairs seating (which somehow always beckons to me since it has better views & is more quiet) is somewhat uncomfortable & slightly awkward. Some of the seats are weirdly positioned, some low bar stools are bolted in place, there is a bench up there – it’s all a bit strange. Not bad, mind you – but just a little eclectic.

After my review, I was able to sneak aside one of the owners, Collette Richards, who filled me in on some of the crazy things they’ve went through over the last 20 years – including being in the middle of the 94 Riots, lines out the door just for their coffee, lines no-where to be seen, and everything in between.

Buster’s is one of those places that really tries hard to offer great things to their customers. I’d say their coffee isn’t the best in LA – but they’re moving in a great direction – growth. Any retail business has to change with the times, and I believe this place will be around a long time – and will only get better and better.

To start off, I should explain that this has mostly to do with a roasters purchasing process of coffee from the actual growers, and doesn’t have anything to do with the methods used to grow the coffee (like Organic vs Not Organic). Although the quality of coffee can and in many cases will be affected by this process, it’s meant more over to protect the coffee growers themselves.

Fair trade started unofficially in the 1940’s when churches in North America & Europe started purchasing items from Edna Ruth Byler, who sold items for women in poverty living in Puerto Rico. What she started later inspired the the organization ‘SELFHELP: Crafts of the world’ in Ohio, who changed their name to “Ten Thousand Villages,” Ten Thousand Villages is an Alternative Trade Organization (ATO) that offers both a higher price & more consistant sales by trading directly with the artisans.

This demand for fair trading started becoming important to buyers of coffee in 1988 when prices saw a rapid decent. A movement of people (unofficially called “Max Havelaar”) started demanding coffee to have some sort of labeling to show that coffee growers were paid fairly. Later (10 years later!) we start seeing little “Fair Trade Certified” stickers on roasted coffee packages. These stickers, though, cost money – since the certification process takes time and energy for coffee growers, brokers, and roasters.

There. Now that 1/2 of you have moved on to see what other articles there are here that have less abbreviations (ABRs from here on) and more actual fun content, I’ll answer my friends original question about Direct Trade.

Direct Trade, in a nutshell, means that a coffee roaster buys directly from the grower. At it’s heart, it has the same desire for fairness as Fair Trade, but without the standardization & strict rules. Roasters will sometimes actually visit the growers and have direct relationships. In some cases roasters will make much stronger commitments to the growers: paying higher rates than for “Fair Trade” coffee, encouraging farmers to have sustainable social practices, and more. It is all uncertified by outside party, however, but many roasters will openly publish their commitments to consumers.

But (and that’s a big “butt”) since all consumers are, as you know, lazy, Direct Trade won’t work if 1) roasters don’t publicize what their own standards are, and 2) consumers just buy no matter where the coffee came from, which they tend to do, as long as the package has “sometime something TRADE something something bla bla bla.”

Friend: Just ask. It’s that simple.

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The Semi is the weekly school paper for Fuller Theological Seminary. Please let me know what you think, and what topics you’d be interested in for future articles. I love suggestions!

http://www.transfairusa.org/
http://www.fair-trade-hub.com/index.html
Intelligentsia’s Direct Trade Policy: http://www.directtradecoffee.com/

My cappuccino was surprisingly decent. Espresso tasted ok, milk good temperature, an attempt at latte art: it all seemed as if the barrista was at least trying to make a good drink.

My coffee-cake muffin was really nice. It’s not make in-house, but really fresh and very tasty.

If you’re looking for a place to work: use laptop, read a book, or even have an outdoor smoke – this is your place. Silverlake Coffee has lots of seating, free Wi-Fi, and electric plugs everywhere (even outside). It seems like they’ve really thought through a good environment designed for study/work.

Silverlake Coffee is not artsy. There aren’t weird rugs & old couches (Bourgeois Pig, if you please). There wasn’t an architect involved in the layout (cough cough – LAMill – cough cough). It’s just a coffee shop. It’s as if someone bought a book called “How to Start a Successful Coffee Shop in 12 Easy Steps and Make Money In the Process,” and then followed all 12 steps. The ironic thing though is that this is Silverlake – where artists & hipsters abound.

I’d have to say that I would recommend it for certain things: decent coffee, decent work environment, decent everything. Not bad, not amazing, but just decent. But I love amazing. And that’s why I’m not here very often.

Their coffee drinks are consistently very good. I usually order the double macchiato here, which uses their own roasted LAMILL espresso beans. Beyond all the standard espresso drinks, they serve chemex coffee, siphon brewed coffee, clover coffee, and a myriad of weird “exotic” type custom made drinks. They were the first coffee shop to serve a drink called the Coffee and a Cigarette, which is what attracted me to begin with (now discontinued due to high price of lab testing for FDA approval, but definitely worth remembering).

Their food, like their drinks, are expensive – but great. Their pastries aren’t amazing, and servers are clear to customers that they’re not a bakery. However full plates are extremely good. Owner Craig Min explained to me that Providence chef Michael Cimarusti has helped with their menu (which actually makes the food prices seem reasonable)

The polished and beautiful shop is great for meetings, hanging out, spending money, etc. If you bring a laptop or book – you’ll just have to be flexible because it just doesn’t feel like that sort of place. This is what the name implies it is: a coffee boutique.

In everything from the design of Lamill, to the waiters/waitresses outfits & attitudes, to the adverts in the front of the building saying “Not opening near you, or on every other block” – it is obvious that coffee is supposed to be experienced at LAMILL. It’s a unique place where you see, smell, drink, and talk about coffee.

At Zephyr, if you ask if their coffee is fresher than 30 minutes, you may be satisfied enough to get by. It’s never been super tasty for me, but might be worth the caffeine in a pinch. I ordered a macchiato this morning just to re-test and I’d most definitely not recommend you doing the same. Maybe Tea’s are the way to go here.

Food isn’t bad though. They seem to have fairly fresh bagels, muffins, etc. The service is super friendly, although sometimes slow in my experience.

But in terms of location – Zephyr used to be an actual house. It has several rooms, free internet, outdoor and indoor seating, and the feel of a great place to study. Outside in the evenings though they serve Hookah, which I highly recommend.

If your a coffee snob, this isn’t the place to grill the baristas. But if you’re just looking for nice environment to hang or study – check out Zephyr’s & post your thoughts back here!

My barista’s overly whipped cappuccino won’t win next years SCAA Barista Championship, but it was fairly tasty non the less.

Scones are made IN-HOUSE every morning, and taste very fresh. They are not quite the big heavy type I’m typically fond of, but have fruit in the middle & a really nice texture.

The almost ‘diner’ type feel of inside seating, paired with music albums on wall, makes it feel more an ‘upbeat’ cafe. No internet (although you can sometimes steel from the library for quick emails), but Downbeat is a perfect place for a meeting, to study, or read a book, or just make the heavy Alvarado traffic jealous as you stare at them sipping a macchiato.

As for rating Chango’s review, I wasn’t impressed with their drinks at all. I was told about Chango from my friends (the owners) over at the amazing Cafe De Leche – a place that somewhat consistently serves great drinks. But Chango’s own drinks were a bummer, I thought.

The cappuccino was (to be polite) not enjoyable.

Their scones (the only food I ordered) are ok. Not worth $3something in my opinion. I’ve heard their sandwich type food is great. But why offer ‘ok’ scones, & ‘great’ sandwiches? Why not just offer sandwiches?

The ambiance though, is well – awesome. It’s hard to know what people look for in a coffee shop really. But I’d say this place would make most people happy. It has lots outdoor & indoor seating, free wifi, great music, a super friendly staff, etc. It just ‘feels’ like a great place.

Would I recommend it to friends though??

The phrase is really a cop out here – but valid none the less: it depends. It depends on if you like ‘great coffee.’ If you consider yourself a wannabe, fledgling, or serious coffee connoisseur – you’ll be super disappointed. The coffee just isn’t up to par yet. But if you just like caffeine and want a good place to meet friends or do work on your laptop – this place might be perfect.

And that brings me to my last point. The reason I haven’t been posting many reviews recently is because of this combination of rules I have: 1) don’t post places with bad coffee, & 2) visit a place at least 3 times before reviewing. The point of this blog isn’t to bash places, its to help visitors find great coffee shops, so in the last 5 months I’ve visited probably 15 or 20 new places that I didn’t really think visitors would be interested in. But when I visited Chango, read its reviews on Yelp ( with tons of random ridiculous reviews as always ), and remembered that my friends as Cafe De Leche like this place – I realized that visitors might want to make up their own mind.

From now on I’m planning on only visiting a place TWICE before reviewing, and posting no matter what. If the coffee is bad but ambiance is good – maybe that’s useful to someone.

Anyone have any thoughts?

I’ve written 38 coffee related articles & reviews over the past year, and the only consistent opinion I receive from followers is that no opinion is consistent! Cafe’s are simultaneously full of people that are satisfied & dissatisfied with the same drip brew. Customers will rave to friends about the great food, while those same friends avoid it like the plague. Everything from ambiance, noise, and parking, to barista experience, service level, and even lighting – all are subjective. People care about different things, and there’s no way to please everyone.

But coffee shops can please someone. My friend Michael Gilley has been secretly visiting Sabor Y Cultura, a coffee shop that he & I agreed has really bad coffee and tea. I was chatting with him recently and he even refused to admit that he was there again. Why does he like it? Because it is close to his apartment, it has Wi-Fi, & there is lots of seating (not many people are there!). He can tolerate some bad things because of the lots of other things he enjoys.

It is ok Gilley. You can go to that place all you want! We all have our secrets. I made instant coffee once last year and am only now admitting it. Wow, I feel better already.

The owners of an amazing coffee shop (called Cafe De Leche) frequent another shop (called Chango) that few coffee connoisseurs would ever approve. My twitter friend @TMESQ was upset that The Coffee Bean stopped serving Dark roast after 2pm. My friend Will Keeler loves Jones Coffee in Pasadena, until he outlives his 15-30 minute parking welcome; then he’s back the next day!

Just as with all things in life unessential – coffee is about what makes you happy. A taste of exquisite espresso, a moment to relax or connect, a place to sit outside. Those values are different for everyone, but for everyone they are also important. Maybe coffee is necessary. It is to me.

*Important note to editor:* This post was written in a moment of unselfish weakness! Please delete it all and post “Good Coffee IS the only thing that counts.”

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The Semi is the weekly school paper for Fuller Theological Seminary. Please let me know what you think, and what topics you’d be interested in for future articles. I love suggestions!