Blue Bottle Coffee

The neighborhood of Blue Bottle, formerly Handsome Coffee, is almost non-existant. There are warehouses with dusty lots on almost all sides, but there is a good amount of nice street art in the neighborhood, giving it the feeling of being lived in a little. The couple of restaurants on Industrial Blvd nearly blend into their settings, but Blue Bottle's sleek lines and crisp blue sign set it apart from its surroundings. The store front is a face to put to the many bags of beans that are freshly roasted and sent to coffee bars all around Los Angeles: a flagship store for the region that would bring many smaller stores in the future.

I think the fear will always be that the new game in town will become the old. That Blue Bottle will add more and more to their coffee till it's a blend of ice and sugar with coffee somewhere mixed in, but their business model of creating a roastery and then expanding, really puts priority in the freshness of the coffee so it wouldn't make sense to do anything but present it in the best way possible. That being said I was curious to try their take on New Orleans-style coffee. Chicory is typically added to mask the flavor of bitter coffee, but their New Orleans coffee wasn't overly sweet so it tasted like a creamy, smokey version of a normal iced coffee.

The baristas were a little awkward in their upselling, but seemed happy to answer any questions about beans, brew method or the menu. Their bar sat centered with high stools around the back in a traditional bar-styled counter. At the window there is another bar-style seating and there is table for those that want to face each other and talk, but the space doesn't seem to be about sitting for several hours and studying. Moreso it's designed for the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee and not much longer.

Behind the counter, bar, trophies and thick window is an industrial-sized Probat roaster, set in its own room for temperature and humidity control. This is the purpose of the Blue Bottle location and it's wonderful. I'm looking forward to their new location on Abbott Kinney because it will be solely a cafe space and I know they will make it right.

Atmosphere: Pristine Airy
Beans: In-house
Price: $$
582 Mateo St. Los Angeles, CA 90013 Google Map
http://bluebottlecoffee.com/