My Winter Break Matcha Mission (A Review of 5 Cafes I Visited in SoCal)
By RJ Edrolin
With not much to do over Winter Break, I made it my mission to go through my saved ‘cafes’ Tik Tok folder and actually try out some of those bookmarked cafes. Below is a review of 5 cafes throughout SoCal that I tried and if I would recommend it or not.
File Systems of Coffee - Melrose Ave, Los Angeles (20 minute drive from USC)
This cafe just recently opened and is stylized as minimalistic and software-style decorated. The cafe had a good amount of seating, both inside and outside. I ordered their JBS Matcha Latte and Ham & Cheese Croissant. The JBS Matcha Latte uses Japanese Black Sugar which adds a bit of a malty flavor to the matcha.
Overall Review: I highly recommend going to try their JBS Matcha Latte, it’s definitely on the top of my list of favorite matcha places in LA. As for their pastries, I would skip the Ham & Cheese Croissant. If you’re looking for somewhere to do work at, this cafe has limited desks and seating but if you’re looking to hang out, there’s definitely space!
Rating: 4/5
Brew Story - Huntington Beach (40 minute drive from USC)
This cafe also just recently opened and is stylized as minimalistic. There was already a line outside of the door upon arriving so my expectations were pretty high from the get-go. I got their seasonal Lavender Butterfly Pea Matcha Latte, but I know this cafe is infamous for its Tiramisu Latte and Banana Cream Matcha Latte. I also got their avocado toast to snack on.
Overall Review: The matcha was delicious, and I highly recommend checking out this cafe. I wasn’t a big fan of their avocado toast, though, so I would skip that. If you’re looking for somewhere to do work, there is a good amount of indoor seating, however, the cafe gets pretty loud because of the foot traffic. If you’re looking for somewhere to hang out I would recommend getting your drink here and driving down a few minutes to the beach!
Rating: 5/5
Highly Likely - West Adams, Los Angeles (10 minute drive from USC)
This cafe is located pretty close to campus, and is actually a combination between a wine bar and cafe. I ordered their Matcha latte with a pump of Lavender Honey syrup.
Overall Review: Their matcha was a bit on the watery side but I did order off-menu, so I would probably come back to try their house Kokomo Matcha or other drinks. There is a lot of seating so I would recommend this place both to do work at and hang out with friends!
Rating: 3/5
Lovesong Coffee - San Diego (2 hour drive from USC)
Located in the North Park area of San Diego, Lovesong is an open-cafe with a good amount of foot traffic. I got their ‘Bodhi Boy’ (Lavender, Vanilla, Ceremonial Matcha + Milk) drink.
Overall Review: Their matcha was pretty good – not the best I’ve ever had, but not awful either. There is limited seating in this cafe, but if you manage to grab a spot, you can sit alongside the sidewalk and take all of North Park in! You can also explore the neighborhood itself, which is known to be hipster, which means there’s a lot of other coffee spots and interesting shops to explore!
Rating: 4/5
KOZY Coffee - Isla Vista, California (2 hour drive)
I made the trip up to Santa Barbara (about a 2-2.5hr drive from LA) to visit my friend at UCSB. While walking around, I spotted this cafe which my friend said was fairly new but pretty busy. The cafe had a good amount of indoor and outdoor seating and there was a bit of line when I got there. I ended up getting their iced Honey Lavender Vanilla Latte (but there were a good amount of matcha options! My friend go their matcha and he highly recommends it.)
Overall Review: This latte was delicious and just what I needed before a walk on the beach. Their vanilla syrup is homemade, and they use honey from a local business (Santa Barbara Honey Hives). I really liked how they used local/homemade ingredients.
Rating: 4/5
Although I’m a frequent Peet’s Coffee visitor, branching out these new cafes was an extremely fun way to spend my Winter Break. I not only got to try out some new drinks, but I also got to explore various neighborhoods in SoCal and have some recommendations in handy if friends ever ask!
