Soak Up the Sun at These Orange County Cafés

These specialty-coffee shops are worth braving the notorious Los Angeles traffic.

BY EMILY JOY MENESES
BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE

Featured photo by Sinjin Thomas

My first barista job was in Old Town Orange—a quaint, slow-moving part of Orange County, Calif. When I made the move to Los Angeles, I began to miss the neighborly, leisurely vibe that tends to pervade O.C. shops.

Working as a barista in the O.C., it was easy to learn everyone’s name. Day after day, you’d see the same folks. Nobody was ever in a rush, and there was always time for conversation. Today, I’m revisiting my time in this sun-filled part of California, sharing four coffee shops in Orange County worth visiting.

Hopper & Burr

The best thing about Hopper & Burr is that they never overcomplicate things. Since they opened their Santa Ana café nearly a decade ago, the coffeehouse has been focused on one thing: making really good coffee. Owner Truman Severson has carved a formidable place for himself in the coffee world, having worked with the likes of Caffe Luxxe, Intelligentsia, Portola Coffee Lab, and more.

Hopper & Burr has a simple, wood-filled interior. It’s the perfect environment for quietly enjoying a solo cup or catching up with a friend. While the shop offers creative drinks like Truman’s Campfire Cappuccino, infused with vanillin, maple, and hickory smoked salt, you also can’t go wrong with a simple shot of espresso.

Thank You Coffee

Thank You Coffee made waves when they first opened in Los Angeles’ Chinatown. Now the shop founded by L.A. local Jonathan Yang has found a second home in Anaheim. The café’s menu is strongly inspired by Jonathan’s family’s roots in Hong Kong, featuring items like the Five Spice Latte, infused with a house blend of various spices, including Sichuan peppercorn. Other noteworthy items worth trying are the pandan matcha and cardamom-infused espresso tonic.

Brot Coffee

Located in the city of Orange, Brot Coffee has quickly become a community favorite. Owner Adrian Contreras shares that he has been immersed in the coffee world since 1998. His menu features house-roasted coffees from Guatemala, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, and more. While the shop can get busy, it still has a friendly, hometown feel—it’s the Orange County vibe that locals know and love.

Kei Coffee House

Kei Concepts, the innovative culinary group behind the popular Vietnamese eatery Nep Cafe, announced the opening of Kei Coffee House this past July. The shop, which is located in Westminster, is meant to be an immersive coffee experience, blending coffee trends from the West with traditions from Asia and Southeast Asia.

Kei Concepts founder and CEO Viet Nguyen shares how the café is meant to be a “collaborative hub” where the community, other roasters, and vendors can come together to learn, grow, and evolve.

“This venture is as much about discovery for us as it is for our guests. We are committed to continuously improving and evolving based on feedback and experiences,“ Viet shares. “Ultimately, Kei Coffee House is where the East meets the West, bringing a new dimension to the coffee culture in Orange County.“

There are plenty of interesting things on the café’s drink menu, like the Sweet Corn Latte, made with espresso, condensed milk, corn purée, and a corn cheese foam. For a twist on a classic, there’s the Orange Thai Tea: a Thai tea sweetened with house-made orange jam.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Emily Joy Meneses (she/they) is a writer and musician based in Los Angeles. Her hobbies include foraging, cortados, vintage synths, and connecting with her Filipino roots through music, art, food, and beverage.

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