hot cuppa

A new coffee place opened up in Little Tokyo/DTLA.


DEMITASSE
135 S. San Pedro St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012


Right next to the Weller Court Friendship Knot; former location of Piccomolo Gelato (conveniently located between the two J-Town Starbucks locations!). Fully renovated. It's a cozy corner space with a lot of natural light.


Demitasse's focus according to owner Bobak Roshan, coffee and chocolate pairings. Single-origin beans from Equator Coffee, brewed to order by single cup using either Clever Drip or siphon. Depends on what you order. Right now, it's the Ethiopian that's getting the siphon treatment. I had the Guatemalan, two days in a row done by Clever. A tiny cup of rich, dark coffee that kept me happy and a little wired for several hours. The chocolate is sourced from Compartes, a Los Angeles chocolatier. I instead had a cookie from Batch from Scratch--a new cookie company launched by recent Master Chef contestant Esther Kang.


The cookies were impressive. The coworkers and myself trying everything from the more traditional "double chocolate" to the more adventurous, "cardamom caramel macchiato" and my personal fave "Mayan chocolate" a spicy little treat packed with cayenne and chipotle. Yow!


If your coffee experience is mostly in the diner/$0.25 mug or instant coffee realm, you may experience some sticker shock. Do not be intimidated; this is a whole new world for you. If you wandered over from Starbucks, yes this may still be a little shocking for you. The $3 you will spend on a small cup. The time it takes to brew your order--quite long, bring a magazine to flip through. It may be difficult to go back to Pike's and blends.

Brewing station. Timers. Scales. 

Roshan prepares a few orders. Including my Guatemalan.

Days later I find myself back at Intelligentsia (Pasadena), paying over $8 for this coffee and cake tray. Delicious. Another Guatemalan but done in the pour-over method. Also employed by Blue Bottle as seen in a previous post. I don't mind this style at all but Roshan argues that it's often not done well and results in bitterness. I've had good luck so far with skilled brewers. 

I think I want one of those Clever drippers for the house. It works a little differently. The plastic thing is lined with a filter, pre-measured grounds and hot water steep within that. When time is up, place over cup and the hot coffee drains quickly through the bottom. Amazon lists at $20 or so but I think they can be had for $15 if you shop around.

Nerd out in the comments. Pretense encouraged here. Fave beans? Single origin? Brewing method? Cupping spoons?