Coffee is a staple throughout Latin America and a core part of social gatherings in Latinx households. The majority of the world’s coffee beans are grown in Latin America including Colombia and Brazil, following a long-standing tradition of growing the plant in our fertile soil and tropical climate for centuries. As such, it’s only right that we ensure that those profits are being put back into community when they open up coffee shops and café using coffee beans grown from our home countries. In honor of National Coffee Day and our undying love for cafecito, we decided to put together a list of Latinx-owned coffee shops that are worth the visit, specifically in Los Angeles, California. From Chismosa Cafe in Covina to Cafe Sociedad Latina in Huntington Park, these are all locally owned shops that foster strong relationships with coffee growers across LATAM and serve their neighborhoods with love, passion, and, of course, good coffee. Read on to learn more about 17 Latinx-owned shops in LA you should visit.
Chismosa Cafe – Covina
Chismosa Café, located in downtown Covina in East San Gabriel Valley, originally started as a pop-up catering company that showed up to make delicious Mexican-inspired coffee in LA, the Inland Empire, and Orange County. Coffee lovers can rejoice with options including café de olla, “taro-chata” that combines taro and horchata, and “caramelo,” or caramelo and vanilla. They also have drinks for more traditional coffee drinkers like flavored cold brews, espressos, and americanos. They are also well-known for their bakery and brunch options. From Wednesday through Friday, be sure to stop by for baked goods like cookies and french toast, as well as savory foods like burritos, avocado toast, and chilaquiles. On the weekends, you won’t want to miss out on their special menu with items like pozole dumplings and duvalin cheesecake. Yum!
Café Santo – Montebello
Café Santo in Montebello puts a modern, contemporary twist on traditional Oaxacan coffee. In addition to drinks you probably know like cold brew and dirty chai, they also offer Oaxacan Mocha that features Oaxacan chocolate with almonds & cinnamon. Be sure to also try their amazing breakfast options like their mollete, Oaxacan-style toast with black beans, pico de gallo, cheese, and chile de arbol. Founded in 2016, the shop’s owners collaborated with Oaxacan and LA-based chefs to create a menu that seamlessly blends Mexican and LA flavors, and have operated their brick-and-mortar shop since 2021.
Coffee del Mundo – South Central
Coffee Del Mundo is a Black and Afro-Latino owned brand that specializes in dairy-free coffee. Their completely dairy-free menu honors the difficulty that Black and Latinx communities have digesting lactose, since cows were only introduced to our countries through colonization several centuries ago. As such, many items are 100 percent plant-based for everyone to enjoy including cacao cold brew and cacao blanco. They also offer cold brews using beans from individual countries like Mexico, El Salvador, and Ethiopia. Best part? They come bottled in individual servings for easy on-the-go travel.
Ground Up Coffee – Montebello
Ground Up Coffee has been a staple of Montebello since 2017. Founded by two best friends from East LA, the goal of the shop is to bring high-quality, artisan coffee to their community and directly support small farmers in LATAM. Their menu includes items like drip coffee, cold brew, affogato, and a variety of lattes (vanilla, hazelnut, matcha, and honey, just to name a few!). They also offer fresh, ready-to-roast bags of coffee beans which can be ordered whole or ground and that come from ethically-sourced farms in Nicaragua, Guatemala, and El Salvador.
Guerilla Cafecito – LA
Guerilla Cafecito is the ideal place to visit for your next breakfast stop. Their six-item coffee menu is small but mighty and familiar with the usual drinks like drip coffee, espresso, cappuccino, and cold brew. If you stop by, be sure to pair a drink with an item from their daily breakfast selections including burritos, burrito bowls, and breakfast sandwiches with egg patties and Oaxacan cheese.
Picaresca Barra de Café – Boyle Heights
Picaresca Barra de Café was originally located in a mini mall complex in 2020, which then moved to a bigger location in 2023 but always with the mission of serving the vibrant community of Boyle Heights. Today, they offer an expansive menu with a variety of traditional coffee drinks – espresso, cold brew, cafe con leche – as well as fun speciality drinks like a Mexican mocha (espresso with cacao powder and cafe de olla), Evergreen Latte (matcha with cafe de olla), and Ginger Rose Latte (espresso with white rose, pomegranate, and ginger syrup). Be sure to also try one of their breakfast items like an egg and ham breakfast sandwich or a plate of chilaquiles! And if you want to make your own at home, they sell their in-house cafe de olla syrup, made with cinnamon, star anis, orange zest, and brown sugar.
Tepito Coffee – Pasadena
The next time you go to Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena, be sure to check out Tepito Coffee, located right in front making it easy to enjoy the perfect book and cafecito moment. Founded by two best friends from LA, they source all their beans from Veracruz, Mexico to create items like mocha lattes, horchata lattes, Adelita Latte (house coffee with cinnamon, star anis orange peel, and piloncillo) espressos, house coffee, and cold brew. For those who aren’t as into coffee, they offer a diverse menu of lemonades, jamaica, non-caffeinated lattes, and in-house chocolate milk. They also have a variety of baked pastries and burritos for purchase. And, if that weren’t enough, they have a subscription service where you can get bags of their Verazcruz beans delivered to your doorstep and monthly gatherings for community members to share space and coffee together.
Patria Coffee Roasters – Compton
Looking for some new, unique coffee drinks? Be sure to stop by Patria Coffee Roasters in Compton in South LA. They offer one-of-a-kind items like oat coffee slushies (oat milk, coffee, sugar, and Mexican vanilla), Ibarra Mexican mochas (Ghiradelli and Chocolate Ibarra), and cortaditos (espresso and milk). You can also order bags of their whole coffee beans online, which come in flavors from Guatemala, Peru, and Costa Rica, either one time or as part of a subscription.
Cruzita’s Deli And Cafe – Huntington Park
Cruzita’s Deli and Cafe in Huntington Park is the ultimate love letter to our community. It was founded in 2015 by a mother-daughter team from Southeast LA with roots in Mexico and El Salvador, who are on a mission to address food inequity and disparities in their neighborhood. All of their coffee is locally roasted and organic with items like flash brew, iced cafe de olla, and Mexican mocha. They also offer non-coffee drinks like Mexican hot chocolate, chai lattes, matcha lattes, and fruit smoothies. For food, you’ll enjoy classic café faire like oatmeal, salads, protein bowls, and hot and cold sandwiches.
Recreational Coffee – Long Beach
Located in downtown Long Beach, Recreational Coffee is all about people, community, and good drinks. They offer a delicious coffee menu with all of the classics – cortados, lattes, espressos, mochas – as well as their own unique spin on the coffee experience including Almond Orgeat Lattes and Choco Cappuccinos. Be sure to also grab food or pastries like vegan donuts, hazelnut strawberry toast, or a sausage and egg muffin.
The Boy & The Bear – Sherman Oaks
The Boy & The Bear was originally founded in 2012 as a pop-up shop in Villavicencio, Colombia dedicated to serving exclusively Colombian-inspired coffee with coffee beans grown in Colombia. Today, they have stores in Redondo Beach, Pasadena, Culver City, Westchester, and most recently Sherman Oaks, known as The Casavieja Store. Featuring indoor and outdoor seating, they offer a diverse menu with lattes, macchiatos, cortados, matchas, and espressos. They also offer speciality drinks like vegan mochas with dark chocolate and the Stockholm Fog with mocha and chai flavor. For those who aren’t in the area or who want to enjoy their coffee from home, the shop also offers take-home coffee beans in custom boxes and bags, Colombian chocolate bars, tea bags, and apparel.
Azucanela Churros & Coffee – Hawthorne
Located in Hawthorne in 2019, Azucanela is famous for being the first Churreria in the South Bay, offering a diverse menu of churros, coffee, and lemonades. Besides cafe de olla, their menu offers speciality drinks you won’t be able to find anywhere else like mazapán lattes, pistachio lattes, cold brews with chocolate cold foam, goat milk cappucicnos, blended hot chocolate with espresso and whipped cream, and an “Iced Cafechata,” or horchata and cafe de olla. For food, be sure to try their avocado toast and of course, their specialty churros available with goat milk caramel, chocolate or raspberry sauce, Nutella, or vanilla ice cream. And don’t forget to book them for your next party or event!
Cafe Sociedad Latina – Huntington Park
Located in Huntington Park, Cafe Sociedad Latina is THE ideal place for Latina coffee drinkers. All of their beans are sourced from all over LATAM including Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala, Brazil, Honduras, and El Salvador and everything is made without hormones, artificial flavors, preservatives, or gluten. Their menu has many unique offerings like coconut lattes, Mayan lattes, vegan lattes, and an Iced Cancun. For non-coffee drinkers, you’ll be sure to enjoy their frappes available in vanilla, Oreo, Nutella, caramel, chocolate, hazelnut, white chocolate, and double chocolate. Finally, be sure to stop by for one of their breakfast and lunch sandwiches, churro bites, and ice cream, made fresh daily.
Confidential Coffee – Long Beach
For those who want a simple menu to choose from, look no further than Confidential Coffee, a family-owned coffee shop in Long Beach! They have all the classics including espresso, americano, cappuccino, and cold brew, as well as a variety of house specials: Cajeta Latte (Mexican caramel, cinnamon, and espresso), Mazapan Latte, and Rompope Latte with espresso, oat mil, orange zest, and shaved pecan. Pair with a pastry, donut, breakfast sandwiches, or bagel, and you have the rest of your morning covered!
Horchateria Rio Luna – Paramount
Horchateria Rio Luna in Paramount is a testament to the wonderful flavors of Mexican-inspired coffee. Whether dining in, taking to go, or ordering delivery, you’ll be sure to enjoy their delicious drink menu, which includes Mexican mochas, horchata lattes, cafe cajeta lattes, green tea and horchata lattes, and pumpkin horchata lattes. They also have frappes in a variety of flavors like churro, Mexican chocolate, strawberry, mazapan, flan, lavender, and guava. And don’t miss out on the chance to try Oaxacan horchata, vegan horchata, or horchata with green tea. As for food, you’ll love their line-up of breakfast burritos, breakfast sandwiches, huevos rancheros, and chorizo with biscuits and gravy. And of course, be sure to pair any of their churro offerings with a cup of coffee!
Mi Cafecito Coffee – Pomona
Mi Cafecito Coffee is a family-owned coffee shop in Pomona whose speciality is offering Mexican-inspired drinks, pastries, and merch. Besides classic offerings like cappuccinos and drip coffee, you can also try their speciality drinks like Mexican mochas, Tres Leches coffee (made with sweetened and condensed milk, evaporated milk, and whole milk), and Latte de Olla (an alternative to the traditional cafe de olla using house-made syrup with piloncillo, cinnamon, and clove). They also offer different seasonal drinks like Espritecito (espresso with Mexican Sprite), Strawberry Mint Soda, and Chica Fresa (espresso with homemade strawberry sauce). Their pastries are just as crafted for our community with pan dulce like conchas, empanadas, and bollilos.
Café de Leche – Altadena
Café de Leche is a woman and Nicaraguan-owned coffee shop in Altadena, originally founded in Highland Park in 2008. Today, they not only serve drinks you would expect to see like chai and matcha lattes but also agave lattes, horchata with espresso, chai chata (chai and horchata), and Thai-style cold brew. For non-coffee drinkers, they also have a selection of hot and iced teas including black, green, and hibiscus. You can even purchase at-home coffee supplies so you’re guaranteed to have delicious coffee where you live too including bags of whole coffee beans, coffee filters, and pour-over machines.
