Coffee Tomo - Flash

Date of Dining: 3/31/2012 
Price: < $3 per cup
Location: 11309 Mississippi Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90025
website

The Quick Bit:

+ high quality single origin coffee
+ japanese slow brewing methods
+ coffee roasted in house
Δ parking can be difficult

While waiting for Tsujita, we arrived a little early on a cold and overcast morning. We decide to spend some of the time by getting some coffee from the shop next door.

When I walked into Coffee Tomo, I wasn't expecting much, but I ended up getting something much more in line with Bird Rock. The coffees were roasted on the premises and of single origin. To top it off, they had a slow brew method like Bird Rock's V60, except it was a new model.

Seeing that they had the slow brew method, I new I would be ordering one of the single origin coffees. As they were lacking the Southeast Asian variety, I settled for Ethiopian.

After weighing the coffee, the water, and making sure the temperature was the desired brewing temperature, the barrista settled on making my coffee. First, the grounds are just wet slightly before the more complex brewing takes place.

After the grounds are wet, the coffee is brewed at a slightly faster pace

The coffee drips down into a waiting canister below.

Meanwhile, we ordered a more traditional vanilla latte as well.

latte (left), slow brewed ethiopian (right)

The final product was delivered surprisingly almost at the same time.

The latte was a well done latte; the flavor of the espresso was nice and strong and I preferred this one over Starbucks.

The single origin slow brewed Ethiopian was really nice. The slow brew system really allows the caramel, mocha, and floral notes of the coffee to come through. I did find that I liked the chemex better as the metal filter allowed more oils of the coffee to come through. While the head of this coffee was nice, it was lacking in finish due to the lack of oils.

Conclusion

Overall, I was really surprised and happy to find Coffee Tomo readily available next to Tsujita. It was a great one-two punch. The availability of slow brewed single origin coffee is always nice. On the other hand, I prefer a slow brew system that does not rely on paper filters as I enjoy the oils in the coffee.