Have you ever scrolled through your phone to admire photos of lattes you’ve ordered just to relive the memory? If yes, then we share that same heart-warming nostalgia of going back to the little café that played jazzy music where we sipped on café lattes and read our favorite books. However, if this is completely unrelatable but still appealing, then read on! Here’s a list of notable coffee shops and lattes that are worth your while and will hopefully show up in a saved album on your phone.
1. Urth Caffe
Known for serving coffee roasted from organically-grown coffee beans, Urth Caffe is one of the most renowned cafes in southern California. They offer light, medium, and dark roast coffee, lattes, and an assortment of teas. As for latte’s, my favorites include their Spanish Lattes, Honey Vanilla Lattes, and Matcha Green Tea Lattes. The price ranges from three to six dollars depending on the size you order.
2. CoffeeCode
Located in Buena Park and down the street from Knotts Berry Farm, CoffeeCode is well known for their lattes and waffles. I especially enjoyed the vanilla latte I ordered, though I found myself peeking over at my friend’s mocha latte as well. The aromas and flavor of all their café lattes were surprisingly bold and concentrated. Lattes at CoffeeCode were priced from five to about seven dollars.
Photo credit: Iryna Kulyk
3. MonkeyCup and Grace Street Coffee
MonkeyCup and Grace Street Coffee are both coffee shops located in Manhattan, New York. However, if you do find yourself in the Big City, be sure to try out these unconventional lattes. During my most recent trip to New York, I was pleasantly surprised to stumble across these two coffee shops, where I ordered a Monkey Latte and a Rose Latte. Not only were the lattes artistically crafted, but both exhibited their own unique flavors. The Monkey Latte was made with dark roast coffee beans and had a robust bittersweet taste. Meanwhile, the Rose Latte had a subtler floral flavor.
4. Coffee Tomo
Coffee Tomo, located close to UC Irvine, is a small coffee shop that specializes in hand drip coffees. Most of the coffees and drinks are influenced by traditional practices in Korea, China, and Japan. The vanilla and Tomo lattes we ordered were also very concentrated (good for an alert work session). Priced from three to five dollars, Coffee Tomo offered an affordable, and enjoyable cup of joe.
Photo credit: Iryna Kulyk