I walked the six-block distance to Spring for Coffee just to get my afternoon caffeine fix, but it was worth it because I won't be able to find a better cup of coffee in Downtown. Sure there's Lot 44, whose melitta filter brews are respectable; then there's Groundwork Coffee in Arts District and nearby Little Tokyo that brew excellent budget coffees and espressos. But Spring for Coffee is reaching higher - to the art of brewing coffee. They've got a beautiful La Marzocco machine to pull shots and three distinct coffees from premier roasters brewed in a variety of "hand-crafted" ways. Think Chemex brewer, gold-filtered Melitta (for all intents and purposes virtually identical to a Clover machine), and French press. The wonderful thing about Spring for Coffee is the price: nothing is out of range for the afficionado. Think $2.50 - $3.00 for a cup of Intelligentsia made in a Chemex brewer! It's a wonderful deal, and definitely worth my lunchtime exercise.
Spring for Coffee intends to have three coffees from roasters such as Intelligentsia, Equator & La Mill(their current line up), and change seasonally every two or three months. In addition, they'll have two blends of espresso, as they do with Equator's Jaguar blend and a decaf (seriously, what's the point of decaf in espresso?).
The Equator Celebes Toraja Kelosi coffee was bright without being too acidic, velvety on the palate and a supreme cup to drink after lunch. The chemex brew of clean and free of any grit, unlike the gold filtered melitta brew that I had yesterday, which was the La Mill Ethiopia Sidamo. The Sidamo was darker, richer, though not overroasted. A terrific cup though the longer brewing time directly into the cup had the temperature of the coffee at a tad lower than I normally like.
Overall I was very impressed by SFC's commitment to coffee excellence, even in a small storefront in Downtown's Historic Core. If this place were just a block or two from my office, they would be taking all of my lunch money, but instead they'll just be a once or twice a week visit. Spring for Coffee also has pastries available from Rockenwagner bakery on the Westside. They're open early morning to 7PM on weekdays, 5PM on Saturdays, and 2PM on Sundays. They're also open for Artwalk from 5:30 to 9:30PM.
Spring for Coffee
548 South Spring St
Los Angeles, CA 90013
213-268-5775
2 comments:
Good photos to illustrate the Chemex process. I'm definitely overdue for a visit now that they're actually open. Thanks for the shout-out.
Thanks Josh. I went again and chatted with Archie for a while. It's a half-mile walk, which can get painful with dress shoes, but I'm building up the calluses to go every day (that sounds gross). The good coffee is worth it, I didn't write about the espresso drinks, but the traditional cappuccino (called trad cap at SFC) was superior to many I've had in the city, rivaling the best from Intelligentsia and La Mill.
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