The best in Los Angeles

A recently published LA Weekly Blog published a “definitive list of the ten best coffee shops in L.A., period”… that is, according to them. We at Con Ciencia Coffee couldn’t disagree more. This in no way means that Con Ciencia Coffee believes the list produced by LA Weekly is inaccurate. Instead, Con Ciencia Coffee believes that special considerations and distinctions should be made when ranking coffee companies. For that reason Con Ciencia Coffee will rank what it believes to be the better coffee companies in Los Angeles.  Unlike the aforementioned list published in LA Weekly, these rankings are not “definitive”; we recognize that this decision is highly subjective.

The coffee scene in Los Angeles is evolving ever so quickly so consider this a chronological snapshot.  Recognizing the ever-changing quality of the LA coffee industry, Con Ciencia Coffee will not make extensive arguments on behalf of anyone on our lists, instead we will invite coffee consumers to visit these shops for themselves.  We will rank the top three in each of the following categories: “Coffee Shops”, which consists of coffee companies that roast their own beans; “Roaster”, which compares the quality of various coffee companies that roast coffee; and “Coffee Bars”, which are coffee companies that do not roast their own coffee (and therefore offer coffee roasted elsewhere).  When considering Coffee Shops, we considered uniqueness, ambiance, menu offering and quality of the product served.  We ranked the top three Roasters based on the consistent quality of their offering without considering their particular retail operation. Coffee Bars were judged on the basis of being distinctive regardless of the coffee roaster that they offer. Before we commence Con Ciencia Coffee would like to extend warm holiday wishes to the entire coffee community, especially coffee consumers at large.  So, here we go: Coffee Shops

1.      Intelligentsia Coffee

Their arrival in Los Angeles in 2006 was revolutionary; it was the birth of the coffee renaissance that Los Angeles is currently under. Intelligentsia Coffee (or “Intelli” to coffee aficionados) remains the most reliable coffee shop for great coffee and a great ambiance to enjoy it in. Their baristas aren’t always friendly but this is overcome by their professionalism in coffee preparation.

www.intelligentsiacoffee.com

2.      Tierra Mia Coffee

Beyond being the only Latino player in the Los Angeles coffee scene, Tierra Mia Coffee prevails over many of its shortcomings and earns this spot by being the only third wave coffee shop brave enough to combine quality coffee with a signature menu.

www.tierramiacoffee.com 

3.      Handsome Coffee

Sure their coffee shop isn’t open to the public but those brave souls that have ventured to the corner of 6^th and Mateo have found a coffee speak-easy whose baristas and coffee are amongst the best in all of Los Angeles.

www.handsomecoffee.com

Coffee Roasters

1.      Handsome Coffee

Handsome Coffee steals this spot from Intelligentsia because it’s run by three Intelli alums and has the advantage of roasting in small batches.

www.handsomecoffee.com

2.      Intelligentsia Coffee

Intelligentsia Coffee is probably the only coffee roaster in the U.S. able to roast in large batches while consistently producing high quality coffee.

www.intelligentsiacoffee.com

3.      Cafecito Organico

Cafecito Organico is found in numerous coffee shops in Los Angeles for a reason: they are a very deserving roaster with wide-appeal.

www.cafecitoorganico.com

Coffee Bars

1.      Café Demitasse

Cafe Demitasse is new in Los Angeles and is characterized by its distinct location in the heart of Little Tokyo, upscale interior and especially by its innovative recipe.  We recommend the “Icy Minty Cubano”.

www.cafedemitasse.com

2.      Spring for Coffee

This shop’s location is its biggest advantage because there isn’t any other quality coffee bar found anywhere near it in Downtown Los Angeles.

www.springforcoffee.com

3.      Fix Coffee

Residents of Echo Park are fortunate to have a quality coffee house in their backyard-- literally.  Fix Coffee is hidden away inside a residential area in the Echo Park area.  It also offers very unique coffee recipes courtesy of an unspoken menu; all you have to do is ask.

www.fixcoffee.com

The Etymology of a Barista

   By definition a Barista is a "bartender". In the coffee industry, a barista is a person that tends a coffee bar and unlike a bartender that tends to a bar that serves alcohol, mainly at night, a coffee barista has the duty of serving coffee, mostly in the morning. A barista is very much like a bartender in that he tends a bar, but how far do the parallels go?

   In Los Angeles, there has been two heavily documented renaissances amongst baristas and bartenders over the last 5 years. The etymology of Baristas and Bartenders continue to grow but in opposite directions. Bartenders are pushing the limits of component ingredients, developing recipes that equate to the same scientific approach a Barista executes when brewing a cup of coffee. Conversely, Baristas, unlike bartenders, are adamant about creating a culture of less, serving less coffee with less ingredients. In the process the coffee industry hopes to emulate the eminence of a culinary art, but will we ever see the coffee industry and baristas show the valiant an Iron Chef possesses when he tops a Filet Mignon with mushrooms?

   A bartender is an iconic figure synonymous with the joyous threads of nightlife and the drowning pessimism of sorrow. It's been said that a bartender serves the cause of, and solution to all of life's problems, alcohol. If so then a Barista elucidates the path of optimism. Con Ciencia Coffee believes that Baristas can create creative ways of tenderly drawing customers towards artisan coffee by imitating the same approach bartenders have taken when preparing mixed drinks.

Coaxing thoughts.

     Most people can remember having one or a few jobs that consisted of completing mundane tasks in a pre-determined amount of time. This is the type of job, where your role was determined long before your hiring and where your success is gauged by your ability to perform these tasks in a timely fashion, with as little friction as possible to the existing structure of pre-assumed "productivity'. In a similar fashion, seasoned coffee shop employees and baristas like me have been known to attempt designing various training manuals that characterize the exemplary barista and/or coffee shop employee in terms of quality and/or productivity, sort of reducing the role of a barista into a series of programmed executions, if you will. Many of these manuals are made easily available online and others come with a hefty monetary premium from self-proclaimed “coffee professionals”. Con Ciencia Coffee, however, believes that the most interesting and marvelous parts of the coffee industry aren’t found in any manuals.
     A modern barista is asked to memorize count-less drink recipes, manage various coffees and their roast dates, and execute coffee preparation techniques that require have a smaller margin of error than the production of modern flight vessels. They are asked to dial and hone espressos that require monitoring and adjusting barometric pressures, water pressures, water temperatures, TDI readings, and room temperatures, coaxing the coffee to yield its essence in a one ounce shot. A barista performs all of these almost-scientific tasks and techniques and fulfills other responsibilities, while managing to remain sociable to the individual needs of customers.  In essence a barista exercises his/her mind constantly but few coffee shops inspire baristas to further their own intellectual abilities. Few coffee shops celebrate a baristas ability to think freely and creatively in determining a shops overall efficiency and productivity beyond devising creative ways of completing pre-determined tasks in a timely fashion.
     While Con Ciencia Coffee’s identity is a work in progress it intends on innovating within the coffee industry because Con Ciencia Coffee believes that coffee consumers have inalienable and indeterminate rights that should not be compromised. Con Ciencia Coffee believes that best way to engage customers’ palates is by inspiring creativity and innovative thought within the industry. Subscribe to this blog and visit www.concienciacoffee.com to remain informed as details to Con Ciencia Coffee’s innovative plight start to become available more frequently. Thank you for tuning in to www.concienciacoffee.com.

No consumer left behind.

 It goes without much saying that coffee can be prepared with a little bit of science, but what does coffee with a conscience really mean? For decades emerging coffee markets have built altruistic relationships with coffee producing nations at various levels that have advanced the quality of the coffee industry in general. Coffee can be conscionable but how much of it trickles down to coffee consumers at large?
  In the US, the coffee industry is growing and simultaneously evolving. Coffee consumers are now faced with a plethora of coffee shops that serve coffees in various qualities, prepared in a multitude of ways. Early in 2011 many industry analysts forecasted the price of commodity coffee to grow exponentially. In the recent months the price of commodity coffee has shown a significant decline in price increase and in some cases the prices of sourcing coffee has dropped. Going into the year many coffee shops and coffee chains made the usual price adjustments sharing some of the rising costs with consumers. It is yet to be seen if coffee will have a conscience and have the audacity of forwarding price declines to coffee consumers at large as well?
  Coffee can have a Conscience for all; farmers, producers, exporters, roasters, baristas and lastly and most importantly the resilient coffee consumers whose appetite for coffee has been unscathed even in a ghastly economy. Coffee with a conscience is the idea behind Con Ciencia Coffee. It is also an idea that will evolve so stay tuned to www.concienciacoffee.com for more news as Con Ciencia Coffee continues to develop its own identity. 

Taking a part in building that bridge.

Coffee is often referred to as the elixir of the gods. The definition of coffee and how it’s prepared is a topic of great debate.  For some, coffee is just hot water and instant-coffee to taste, but for parts of an emerging coffee culture, the so-called “coffee purists”, coffee is made with a little bit of science.  Drawing a bridge between coffee purists and your average consumer is often met with great resistance from both parts of the spectrum.

Consider the following:  A modern barista grinds 30 grams of coffee beans.  He/ she will flush the paper filter of his single cup brewer to reduce to the risk that his brew will take on the taste of paper. He/she settles only 29 grams firmly into the base of the brewer before the commencement of a gentle stream of 49 grams of hot water which through the virtues of human error becomes 50 grams of hot water.   In this case the hot water was heated to the critical temperature range of 201-205 degrees Fahrenheit.  He/ she allows the coffee grounds to absorb the 50 grams of hot water and bloom like a new sponge first introduced to moisture, bringing to life the coffee grounds whose individual surface areas has multiplied.  Once bloomed, the coffee grounds take on an additional stream of 150 grams of hot water before the barista gently stirs this muddle of water and coffee to ensure even brewing. Lastly, he/she pours the final 215 grams of hot water bringing the sum of hot water to 415 grams.  The final cup might hold 370 grams of brewed coffee, but rest assured that the barista calculated the loss of water into this entire process.  To this particular barista and many like him/her, this is coffee.   For the average consumer this should equate to the best cup of coffee they’ve ever had, and so the consumer is told every time he/she visits a different coffee shop with a different barista who is convinced their method is superior.  But how many baristas are conscious that such intricately prepared coffee is foreign to most consumers?  Furthermore how many baristas extend a hand in building the bridge between instant-coffee and precisely crafted artisan coffee and, furthermore, encourage instant-coffee consumers to visit the other side?

I myself was an instant-coffee consumer.  I also remember my own first drink of coffee prepared in the above-described fashion; my expectations were low because my instant-coffee was comforting and just fine.  My view completely changed upon taking that first drink.  Coffee would never be the same to me.  As a barista, this has been my quest: to lead consumers over that bridge and introduce the complexity of the distinct notes, flavors and science of coffee.  That is why I founded Con Ciencia Coffee and where I derived the name of my mission. “Ciencia” is the Spanish word meaning “science” and “conciencia” is conscience.  Con Ciencia Coffee: Coffee with a Conscience.

What is Con Ciencia Coffee?

It’s hard to believe that coffee ever had a humble beginning. Once largely consumed for its caffeine content, coffee has evolved into the world’s most consumed beverage. Once prepared with only hot water and ground coffee beans to taste, coffee is often pulled by machinery more costly than the average automobile, or with more gizmos and gadgets than those found in the most modern of science labs. Once enjoyed black, coffee is now combined with a plethora of ingredients ranging from ominous powdered creams to the finest of exotic sweeteners. In short Coffee has evolved into a beverage that exists in extreme sets.

Consider that when Google-ing ‘coffee’ the top two non definition results are Starbucks Coffee and Intelligentsia Coffee. Starbucks goes without explanation; they are the world’s largest coffee retailer. Intelligentsia Coffee however isn’t as synonymous with coffee as Starbucks and there’s a very good reason for that, they are known more as the pinnacle of quality in coffee.  One would never confuse Intelligentsia for Starbucks; it would be as bad as confusing a McDonald’s burger for an In-and-Out burger. It just doesn’t happen. “Coffee” is as far as the parallels go. Artisan coffee shops aren’t always welcoming of Starbucks goers as In-and-Out would be of a McDonald’s fan.  This is where Con Ciencia Coffee comes in.

In few words Con Ciencia Coffee exists because there’s an ever-lasting gap between Starbucks and artisan coffee shops like Intelligentsia. Con Ciencia Coffee serves as the bridge that will unite consumers of all things coffee: high quality, accessible to all. Please stay tuned to our website at www.concienciacoffee.com for more info. as Con Ciencia Coffee begins to form its own identity.