Café de Leche. Los Angeles, CA.
The life of a touring musician is not always properly balanced. 14 hours of driving. 6 hours of sleep. 30 minutes onstage. That is mathematically incorrect for my weary, post-adolescent body. Needless to say, we consume a lot of coffee on tour. I should say though, we don’t drink it solely for the pick-me-up. We enjoy a fine coffee experience and are always searching for the best “third wave” spots. Café de Leche is top-notch. In addition to the usual lattes and americanos (which are well done and priced comparably to other fancy coffee shops), they have plenty of their own unique creations to enjoy. But most importantly, you feel like a regular right away at Café de Leche. None of this tense scrutiny that usually comes with stepping into a coffee shop, as though you’ve just walked in on someone’s private silent coffee conference and you are an elephant, or worse, a disheveled musician with a large backpack and rattling keys (this is me). No, Café de Leche is nothing but warmth and friendliness and great coffee. Thank goodness. Cause this elephant needs her cup of joe.
Price: Comparable to any third wave coffee shop.
Health: Let that whole milk flow.
Speed: Definitely not slow. But I hope when you’re there in a time of leisure.