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It’s a tale as old as time… A girl meets the love of her life, and they live happily ever after… Kidding, sort of. It all started in middle school with a Starbucks Frappuccino… Now, as an adult, I need four shots of espresso over ice before 10:00 a.m.. Talk about a transformation, or as others like to call it, a “concerning caffeine addiction”—but who asked them?! For me, coffee is one of the best parts of my day, unless it’s made horribly. Otherwise, it’s the start of something good.
My family has always been a “coffee family.” Our family parties end with a hot pot of coffee—even if it’s 11:00 p.m.. My dad would stop every Sunday before or after church, and on camping trips, I would wake up to a coffee percolator over the fire. We’d sit there in the middle of the woods with a fresh cup of coffee. Even now, I enjoy Saturday morning coffee with my parents when our schedules align. I actually owe my marriage to coffee, LOL. I was a barista for over six years and worked with my now best friend and sister-in-law, which led me to meet my husband!
All of this to say, for some reason, people trust me with their coffee. They ask about which syrups and milk to use, what machine they should buy, where to go, and what to order. Lucky for them, I love giving my opinion—especially on coffee! I’m definitely not a coffee connoisseur or professional, but I’ve been addicted long enough to have some say in what’s worth your time and what’s not. So, here are some gems local to us (if you’re in SoCal): Enchanted, Coffee Code, Café FC, Stereoscope, Bodhi Leaf, The Mugs, Urth Caffé, Verve, Play Coffee, Blue Bottle, Community Goods, Coffee Dose… The list is quite long, so let’s start with those close by:
Café FC drinks by Kelly Z. on Yelp
Café FC (Hacienda Heights) serves the CAFÉ FC SIG, a latte made with raw cow’s milk. Look, I’m not here to debate whether that’s “safe” or not; all I know is that it’s delicious and I’ve never gotten sick. They offer the option to substitute the raw milk for a different kind of milk if you’re not the adventurous type or if you’d prefer not to spend time in the bathroom after one sip. The base of this drink is a vanilla latte topped with the best cold foam and finished with a hearty sprinkle of cinnamon—10/10. Do you ever go to sleep thinking about the coffee you’re going to drink in the morning, or are you normal? The Café FC SIG is what dreams are made of! LOL. I highly recommend this small, new, family-owned-and-operated coffee shop.
Coffee Dose fall-themed drinks by Allysha on Yelp
Coffee Dose (Costa Mesa/Irvine/Buena Park) is a super cute pink café with a hint of sassiness, and in some opinions, crassness. The “not your grandma’s coffee,” “if you don’t have a sense of humor, maybe try Starbucks,” and “anti-b* serum” stickers might offend some people, but I appreciate that they’re not bending to the easily offended crowd—if you don’t like it, don’t go. They have relatively simple coffee drinks but get creative with their matcha and teas. I liked the “Thicky Thicc,” an iced Americano topped with thick vanilla sweet cream; I’d rate it 8/10, but their iced vanilla latte was a 9/10. Regardless, this place is a fun and Instagrammable visit every time. Just don’t take your grandma or your priest there. I could blab on and on about coffee or write a book of recommendations or wish lists. I haven’t even scratched the surface of the hundreds of coffee shops I’m still dying to try, like Maru Coffee, the Alchemist, Damo, Alta, and Camel Coffee. Although the thought of driving to LA and finding parking is enough of a reason to keep me from going, I think the furthest coffee shop on my list is Nitro Bar in Rhode Island, so that would require getting on a plane. But that still sounds less complicated than finding parking in L.A..
I can picture it already… you’re thinking, “What’s wrong with her? It’s just bean juice.” But it’s not! Coffee has gone through an incredible journey before even reaching your cup. It’s picked, washed, dried, roasted, shipped, and then crafted into a beverage to enjoy. Coffee is an experience, whether alone or with someone else. For some, coffee is that first stop in the morning before work, before dropping a loved one off at the airport, the “let’s pile in the car and get a coffee” during a family gathering, or the first stop before your weekly retail therapy at Target. Coffee is there when you need it for studying and cramming for tests, working from home, first dates, breakups, meeting with friends, making new friends… the list is endless. A lot of conversations and memories are made around a cup of Joe.
The next time you stop and get a coffee (or anything for that matter), take a look around, sit and enjoy the environment, get off your phone, and see it through a different lens. Romanticize the small details in your day, even if it’s just popping a Keurig pod in the machine, using a cute mug, and frothing up some overly processed creamer—I promise your day will look a little brighter. Find magic in the mundane, in the ordinary, in the routine. Despite what people say, the world really is a beautiful place when you look hard enough.
So, here’s to you, magic bean juice! No wonder you get your own National Day in September—you deserve it!
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