coffee – our favorite fruit
where to – coffee shop, at home brewing + masha's go-tos
coffee’s a fruit?!
you were today years old when you realized that the coffee bean is a fruit… well technically, the beans are the processed and roasted seeds from a coffee cherry (fruit!)... just another nugget of knowledge i learned attending the ever-informative counter culture coffee’s tastings at ten. every friday at 10am counter culture coffee opens up their training facilities across the country (la, ny, chicago, charleston, etc.) to the public for a free coffee tasting! my friend masha is their regional account manager and i go monthly to sip what they’re pouring and learn a thing or two about my favorite drink (...besides wine ofc). after all, coffee’s the first thing most of us consume every single day. and let me tell you, i truly loveee coffee – the ritual of making it, the aroma, the comforting warmth while your brain slowly returns to life with each sip…
coffee with masha:
masha zanozina – la-based coffee educator, counter culture coffee la’s regional account manager + sales rep, usa brewers cup head judge and soon-to-be judge for world coffee competitions, and she somehow made time to fill us in on all her coffee go-tos:
at home coffee brew method? “hario v60 pour over”
at home coffee bean? “mostly anything from counter culture coffee or the finest competition leftovers”
at home milk? “i like my coffee black”
at home coffee tip? “lower down the temperature of your water. most home brewers use boiling water for their coffee, which can over extract it. you want your water to be around 205f when you start brewing (it will eventually cool down even more), if your kettle doesn't have a thermometer in it, boil your water and take the lid off for 30-60 sec to cool it down to appropriate temperature before making your coffee.”
at home coffee vessel? “i love my east fork x diaspora handless yellow mug and drink from it every day”
la coffee shop? “kumquat dtla”
coffee shop order? “espresso”
non la coffee shop? “play coffee in orange”
anything else? “remember there is quality and there is preference. the best cup of coffee for you can be very different from the best cup of coffee for someone else. instead of chasing for perfection, try to have fun exploring, be open, learn and enjoy the process.”
where to – coffee shop in la:
everywhere i travel, whether it’s for a night, a week, an hour away or a 12 hour flight, i always always (always) spend time looking up where i want to have coffee. getting to experience a city’s coffee shop is usually the first touchpoint + impression, and really says a lot about the place and the people who gather there. i’d gladly order an oat cappuccino + pastry out every day if i could, but i’m practicing self control :/ that said, i still dabble and here are my go-to coffee shops on la’s eastside. oh and don’t sleep on the pastries at any of these establishments. my favorite of them all is canyon coffee <3 i walk through echo park lake to post up at sceney (but a lovely-sceney!) canyon for a capp (bonus points for not charging for non dairy milk!) + one of sasha’s seasonal pastries.
go-to coffee shops in la: canyon coffee, picnic coffee, cafe tropical, good friend, eightfold, cafecito organico, stereoscope, laveta, maru, heavy water, kumquat
+ la cafes with amazing coffee: sqirl, all time, botanica, cafe telegrama, clark street, doubting thomas, courage bagels, highly likely,
at home brewing:
i channel mad scientist when making coffee at home: experimenting with different brew methods, beans, grind size, ratios, temperature, vessels… since i’m not spending all my moneys on coffee out everyday (sigh), i want my coffee to taste as good as possible at home. and i’ve tried it all: french press, chemex, moccamaster. they’re all good in their own way, but right now i’m hyperfixated on my cute little moka pot, for an espresso feel without buying the whole $$$ espresso machine getup. i grind my beans espresso-fine and use a handheld frother for the full effect to give me a quasi-latte. i’ve also been trying to cut back my caffeine so i’ve been dabbling with half-caff(eine) beans by either marrying + mixing my full caffeine and decaf beans together, or buying half-caff bags already mixed, like joe’s half moon beans + counter culture’s even keel. it ends up tasting like the real (full caff) thing, and i still get a little jolt without alllll the adrenaline. plus, a lot of coffee shops can also do a half-caff cappuccino, my favorite being canyon’s of course.
UPDATE i’m an at home espresso girlie now:
circling back to update you all that i was just gifted an ascaso uno espresso machine and it’s safe to say i have a crush on an appliance. hoping this little beauty helps curb my spending and teaches me a barista skill or two. thank you to the many youtube tutorials and my coffee friends (masha at counter culture coffee, serom and jessie + matt), who also have an ascaso and have answered my many basic questions. i clearly have yet to master the foam art, but come on over for a shot of espresso and i’ll be accepting nice medium roast whole beans to grind up (using my fellow opus) for any / all occasions. + use promo code daniellegadams for a discount at espresso parts.
want to up your coffee game:
try a local coffee cupping class. no, not the acupuncture cupping with purple bruised moon phases on your back (though i lowkey love those too). cupping is a way to taste (or literally slurp), and compare the flavor and quality of a given coffee. at counter culture, referencing a flavor wheel (similar to the wine flavor wheel) helps to put some words to what you’re actually tasting.
la openings + happenings:
kushiba - izakaya opening weds april 3rd in echo park
fleurs et sel - bakery in west adams just opened with a mean cookie but beware of lines
caffe cavolo - rumor has it that last word hospitality (found oyster, barra santos, etc) is opening a new cafe in filipinotown / westlake-ish down the line
wonderwerk marinara release party at silverlake wine - thurs april 4th 5-8pm with big pours, pizza, spaghetti + special guests
little fish happy hour - fridays 5-8pm with hh food specials + drinks by dada
leaving records 15 year anni showcase - tues april 9th at the regent theater - all genre music performance by my favorite indie music label
now playing:
bodyguard by beyoncé
queen b’s biggest bop on her new country-ish album
Oh how do I love thee coffee! Delicious!!
inviting myself to the next CCC tasting at 10 😏