Stumptown Coffee Roasters Thai Cold Brew

Coffee Los Angeles

I wouldn’t call Stumptown Coffee Roasters experimental, but the company is certainly ambitious, vying with fellow specialty coffee heavyweights like Intelligentsia and Blue Bottle for cup space in cities like New York and L.A. When Stumptown opened in the downtown L.A. Arts District in 2013, the design was modern industrial, but not mind-blowing. However, they carried Sugarbloom Bakery pastries from Sharon Wang, who makes SPAM musubi croissants and white miso kouign amanns, by no means traditional. Stumptown also has practices that aren’t givens in the Arts District, like serving coffee with sugar and additives that aren’t milk. Stumptown’s well known for their cold brew In Los Angeles, which it’s available on tap or in stubby bottles, and it now factors into a delectable Thai Style Cold Brew.

This is different from the typical Thai iced coffee preparation. Most recipes I’ve seen call for brewed coffee, either condensed milk, or a combination of heavy cream and sugar, and possibly some cardamom, served over ice. Typically, the coffee is acrid and wouldn’t be palatable without sweetened dairy. At Stumptown, they incorporate cold brew, which has low acidity, concentrated flavors, and a noticeable lack of bitterness. Is this the best cold brew in town? Maybe not, but it is consistently smooth, and with the addition of sweetened condensed milk, Stumptown’s Thai style cold brew achieves balance, like Thai milk chocolate. Bonus: the drink even has a stylish mascot: a Thai elephant which rests on a sign by the register.

Address: 806 S Santa Fe Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90021
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Joshua Lurie

Joshua Lurie founded FoodGPS in 2005. Read about him here.

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