CC: Groundwork

'
What's does "CC" mean?

Subject: Groundwork
Location visited: Hollywood, CA
(1501 N. Cahuenga Boulevard)
Free WiFi ? : yes
Rating: 5+ [see key]


Walking around Hollywood was surprisingly calm, even the week before the Oscars. I guess being an east coaster, I kinda equate large metropolitan areas with raging torrents of focused people. Yet Hollywood showed me a lovely day of easy parking, serendipitous sidewalks and pleasant people.

To stretch my legs and enjoy a (hopefully) good cup of coffee, I stopped at a local Groundworks. The coffee establishment has numerous locations in the greater LA area and has a close to 20 year legacy, so when I got a recommendation to stop in I figured it a good opportunity.

The Hollywood location sits on the corner of N. Cahuenga and Sunset, a light brick building with lovely tan awnings and shiny outside seating. The inner cavity displayed a cafe of decent size with a good amount of seating, including a large viking-size banquet table complete with benches.

They roast their own coffee at Groundwork, and they seem to brew half of their offerings each day as there were 8 pump pots of coffee to choose from. I began pumping their Peru when it ran out after two pumps, but not wanting to just chuck it, I figured I'd give it a sample; it proved bright and very floral, with some hints of berry. Then I had their Brazil, a darker blend that held little distinction; just char and a moderate smooth texture. To note, they also had pour overs towards the back but they didn't seem to be used much. The espresso gave a good showing, as it was pulled short, had decent crema and had a lemony tang up front complimented with a good body and only a small bit of char on the end. The tea is free leaf.

After a good deal of leg stretching and coffee, I moseyed out onto the civil streets of Hollywood a refreshed man. My overall impression of Groundwork was of a decent cafe with a few minor areas to further streamline. If you're in town, treat yourself to some Groundwork.

CC: La Mill Coffee

*Update for May 27, 2013*

Subject: La Mill Coffee
Location: Baltimore, MD
Free WiFi ? : yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

Baltimore's inner harbor is a great destination that, for a long time, only seemed to be lacking a great coffee joint. Thankfully, the harbor is now home to the first east coast location to La Mill Coffee, a Los Angeles blockbuster receiving all too many accolades for great coffee and great service. Keeping with their illustrious reputation, LA Mill managed to find a home in the Four Seasons right in downtown.

Swinging by one lovely morning, I found the familiar La Mill sign not far from the hotel entrance. Walking in, I found a gorgeous open shared interior with the hotel tavern that was chock full of various seating, large windows and beautiful design. For my coffee, I ordered a pourover of a Guatemala and an espresso of their Bliss Espresso blend. The Guatemala pourover smacked of sugar cookie, sassafras, wheat, malt and nutmeg, proving sweet with a nice malty finish. The espresso, pulled short with a brown crema, tasted of herbs de Provence, cocoa, salt, milk, lemon rind, grapefruit and a little pepper.

As I had hoped and longed for, this expansion of a westerly gem retained all of its luster. If you're downtown or around the harbor, stop by the Four Seasons for a great cup of coffee at La Mill.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

*original post from February, 2009*
Subject: La Mill Coffee
Locations visited: Los Angeles, CA 
Free WiFi ? : yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

There is nothing like a nice warm respite in the warmer parts of the country in the dead of winter. But there is also nothing worse then getting there and finding it cold and rainy. Alas, my fate was somewhere between those two maxims in a recent trip to LA; warmish weather with spells of torrential rain. Fortunately I had some wonderful coffee prospects to keep my spirits soaring.

One particular gem I've had my eye on for some time was a ritzy establishment called La Mill Coffee. It had developed a reputation for taking the coffee experience to new heights, with table service, exquisitely-skilled baristas and higher end products.

Needless to say, I wasted no time in getting there. I arrived on a sunny morning, seeking parking on the crowded streets of Silver Lake. To my surprise, La Mill had it's own parking lot despite being on a crowded thoroughfare. Walking up to the front, the cafe stands out from the rest of the street with it's glaring red store front and beautiful windows. Inside the red continues into a well-decorated interior full of beautiful art, chandeliers and a large array of upscale dining areas.

The coffee is their own, consisting of four coffees that day. I decided to try their Nicaraguan, brewed on their Clover. I usually am not visually affected when I first sip coffee, but this one made my eyes roll into the back of my head and caused me to take a deep breath. This coffee tasted like a smooth light roast and had distinct flavors of toasted nut and chocolate. The espresso was pulled really short and demonstrated similar amazing-ness; smacks of honey, super velvety texture and light acidity. The teas were free leaf and La Mill also offers what looks like a decadent full menu.

On the whole, I left La Mill walking on air. I would say that this place needs to be a detour if you're visiting the area and a common hangout if you live nearby.

Mugged: Escazu Coffee

'

What does "Mugged" mean?


Subject: Escazu Coffee
Coffee Mugged: Costa Rican
Rating: 4+ [see key]


Only a handful of coffee roasters would I call "bewitching", mainly because if I have realized anything, it is that roasting coffee is not easy. But I would now have to say that I have found a coffee befitting of the label "bewitching" purely for namesake purposes.

Recently I was introduced to Escazu Coffee, a coffee roaster out of Long Beach that roasts coffee only from Costa Rica. The company name comes from a spot in Costa Rica apparently renowned for its witches (as escazu means witch) and since the owners have ties of sorts to the locale, they adopted a witch as their name and logo.

Their coffee comes from Naranjo, Costa Rica and consequently they only sell a single kind of coffee (a unique approach, as most roasters have at least three types). Compliments of Escazu, I was able to try out the coffee recently in the space of my own domicile. The beans were a tad oily but not so much that it looked defective. I sampled the coffee through drip, french press, and vacuum press. French pressed, the coffee tasted nutty with a nice caramely sweetness though a tad charred on the back end. Vacuum press provided a similar experience; caramely with some hints of earthiness. The drip on the other hand produced a slightly more noticeable char in the cup but still, a pretty decent experience.

Escazu's coffee proved sumptuous though not completely entrancing. What I can say is that of all the Costa Rican coffees I've sampled, Escazu takes the cake. Thus, if you're looking for a decent Costa Rican coffee to take home, give Escazu a try.