What Are The Best Specialty Coffee Roasters in Los Angeles?

It’s no surprise that uber-cool Los Angeles has one of the best specialty coffee scenes in the whole of the US. But with all the choice, it’s difficult to know just who the best Los Angeles specialty coffee roasters are in 2024.

The best specialty coffee roasters in California include Alana’s, Demitasse, Cognoscenti thanks to their commitment to sourcing sustainable coffee beans. However, this is by no means an exhaustive list of top-notch coffee roasters from the Golden State. Read on to discover more excellent California-based roasters like Bar Nine, Go Get Em Tiger, and more.

In no particular order, we’ve put together a list of our seven favorite Los Angeles specialty coffee roasters roasting the best coffee beans in Los Angeles. We provide you with a little background on each roaster along with what they have to offer this year.

Alana’s

Alana’s Coffee Roasters was founded in 2017 by Eric Stogsdill and Erin Ward. Stogsdill has over ten years’ experience in coffee, starting out as a home roaster selling his coffee at farmers’ markets around Los Angeles. Ward is equally passionate about coffee and has helped put together the capital and people necessary to open the cafe.

Alana’s coffee is meticulously roasted on-site in small batches. Their coffee is grown sustainably and sourced responsibly, and they import directly from several of their farmers. Alana’s is a welcoming and beautifully decorated space, where patrons can enjoy good company and entertainment, and even better coffee.

Located at 12511 Venice Boulevard, Alana’s is a community-centered coffee shop. They provide a space for local creatives, professionals, and families to relax and socialize over a cup of coffee, and in summer they do movie nights, karaoke, open mics, and other community events.

On Alana’s website, you’ll find a nice range of coffee from the major coffee-producing continents that run along the coffee bean belt: Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

Prices start from $20 for a 1lb bag of coffee that comes as whole bean or ground. There’s a choice of blends, single origins and a decaf for those that prefer coffee with lower levels of caffeine, and there’s also a French roast for those keen on dark roasted coffee.

Demitasse

Demitasse is a coffee roasters and cafe chain opened in 2011. Founder and owner Bobak “Bobby” Roshan transitioned from politics and law to the coffee business, where he has found considerable success.

Demitasse trades directly with their farmers in Central and South America, and they work with trusted, responsible importers to source coffees from Africa and Southeast Asia.

Currently operating three locations, Demitasse Coffee serves and sells its products in an increasing number of cafés, restaurants, and markets around Los Angeles.

Their first location is in Little Tokyo, at 135 San Pedro Street. The second is in Santa Monica, at 1149 3rd Street. Their newest location is in Hollywood, at 6363 Wilshire Boulevard.

The cafe features a seasonal gourmet food menu, and fine wines and local beers. It also has a Probat roaster on display, on which Demitasse roasts their coffee twice a week.

The Demitasse website stocks a small range of coffees that include a number of different blends, single origins, and decaf. The team has even developed a special blend for making delicious cold brew coffee.

If you can’t decide which coffee to choose, try the sample pack of four 6oz bags. This is a great way to compare and contrast coffees by cupping at home.

Demitasse has also teamed with Sudden Coffee to produce an instant coffee made with specialty-grade coffee. This is excellent for those times on the road that you need great coffee but don’t have all the equipment to hand.

Prices start from $17 for a 12oz bag of coffee that comes as whole bean or ground to suit a range of the best coffee makers. The company also offers a subscription service to ensure that you never run out of coffee. Select to receive coffee roasted for espresso or a random selection from the head roaster.

Cognoscenti

Cognoscenti started out in 2009 as a pop-up shop, operating out of Proof Bakery and Scoops Ice Cream. In 2012, founder Yeekai Lim partnered with Proof founder Na Young Ma to open the first brick-and-mortar Cognoscenti location in Culver City.

They have since opened two more outlets at 868 South Olive Street and a roastery and cafe at 1118 San Julian Street, both in Downtown Los Angeles. Cognoscenti is not only a successful business but one of the few minority-owned specialty coffee roasters in LA.

Cognoscenti roasts single origin coffees only, sourced responsibly and sustainably from top coffee-producing countries such as Costa Rica, Colombia, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Rwanda.

Their coffees are sold on their website and also served and sold at any of their three locations. Prices online start at $20 for a 12oz bag of whole bean coffee only, so make sure you have a good burr grinder. If you feel that you can’t decide, opt for a bag of the Staff Favourite to ensure you get the most delicious and most interesting coffee available that week.

LAMILL

LAMILL was one of the very first specialty coffee roasters to open in Los Angeles. Having started out in the mid-’90s, the company’s current incarnation was born in 1999, when owner Craig Min took over his father’s company and renamed it.

They currently operate two coffee shops, one at 1636 Silver Lake Boulevard and one in Los Angeles Airport. Their coffee is also sold or served in more than 300 locations across the US, as well as several other countries around the world.

LAMILL offers an impressive range of coffees on their website. These include a wide variety of both blends and single origins sourced from Latin America and Africa. The blends even include ones developed for use with drip coffee makers, too.

The company has also teamed up with Steeped Coffee to produce a specialty-grade single-serve coffee bags. These work much the same as tea bags, which is great for pure convenience.

Prices start from $14 for a 12oz bag of coffee that is available as both whole bean or ground. Something we really like is the discounted subscription service that starts from $13.50. So often, roasters charge a premium for their subscriptions which seems an odd way to deal with loyal customers.

The service is one of the most flexible on our list, with all of the coffees available to purchase through the subscription. Simply select the quantity of bags you want to receive and whether you prefer weekly, fortnightly, three-weekly, four-weekly.

Portola

Portola is an award-winning specialty coffee roasters and cafe chain established in 2011. It is co-owned by husband and wife Jeff and Christa Duggan.

Jeff Duggan, a scientist with a background in math and chemistry, oversees Portola’s roasting to ensure superior quality and consistency. Portola currently runs six locations in the Greater Los Angeles area.

Portola takes great care not only in roasting their coffee but also in sourcing. They pride themselves on being direct trade only, cultivating personal relationships with their farmers.

They are committed to paying at least 25 percent above Fair Trade prices. Often, they exceed that figure by paying 50 percent extra to ensure quality and sustainability. This coffee roaster offers various blends and single-origin coffees from South America and Africa. You can find them on their website or in their shops.

Prices start from $15.95 for a 12oz bag of whole bean coffee. Portola also offers a subscription service so that you can receive coffee either fortnightly or monthly. Just select your frequency and preferred coffee choice, and the service will deliver your coffee to your front door.

Go Get Em Tiger

Go Get Em Tiger (GGET) emerged from G&B Coffee, a downtown Los Angeles café owned by Charles Babinski and Kyle Glanville. The two co-owners have a long history in the coffee trade. They have worked for some of the biggest names in the industry and each holds a US Barista Championship title.

GGET began as a ‘multiroaster’, serving and selling coffees by a number of outside roasters. However, they soon outgrew their roasters’ capacities, and in 2018, they began roasting their own coffee. Roasting now takes place at their 16,000-square-foot facility and headquarters in Vernon, using both a Mill City Roaster and a Probat roaster.

The duo has enjoyed incredible success. currently operating a total of ten locations in the Los Angeles area.

GGET offers a seasonally rotating variety of coffees. Currently on offer are single-origins from Colombia, Peru, and Ethiopia, as well as one blend and one decaf. You can purchase these online, at G&B, or at any GGET café.

Prices for GGET coffee starts from $17.50 for a 12oz bag of whole bean coffee. The company also offers a subscription service named the @Home Club.

You can select up to four bags of coffee to be delivered weekly, fortnightly, or every four weeks. And if you ever find yourself running short, getting an extra dose is just a text or email away.

Bar Nine

Bar Nine is a specialty coffee roaster, retailer, and cafe. They opened their roastery in 2013, and their cafe a year later in 2014. Both the roastery and cafe operate at 3515 Helms Avenue in Culver City.

Zayde Naquib, who has many years of experience in coffee and retail, and community-minded entrepreneur Jereme Pitts co-own Bar Nine.

Besides their commitment to excellent coffee and customer experience, Bar Nine also strives to run on a green, sustainable model. They implement several practices to achieve this, such as using solar power, utilizing recyclable bags for retail and wholesale products, and launching a glass takeaway jar program.

For the duration of the COVID-19 outbreak, Bar Nine is offering a smaller coffee selection, which is available online or at their cafe. This includes two house blends, a decaf, and a mystery blend. They also sell ice-brews by the 1/2 gallon, and 64oz lattes, available for pick-up only.

Prices on the website start from $14 for an 8.8oz (250g) bag of coffee that comes as whole bean or ground. If you find that the selection is a little limited at the moment, take advantage of the Odyssey subscription. The Odyssey coffees are for the more adventurous and who enjoy discovering all that the world of coffee has to offer.