Cauca, Colombia

LOS ANGELES — One of the great things about coffee is that it is grown in some of the most beautiful places on Earth. Sure would be nice to know someone who gets to go to these idyllic locations, wouldn’t it? As luck would have it, our coffee buyer and co-founder Chris Owens (@SingleOrigin on Twitter) is in Central and South America, wrapping up a three week buying trip. We will have a full report of his adventures, but for now enjoy these pictures as a little preview of things to come.

Solar drying process in Honduras

Honduras: Don Medardo…the Don Medardo of @HCR_DonMedardo fame

Still waiting for the Google Translation…

If it impresses on this table…you may soon find it on yours. (Stay tuned for more)

I remember - when I first started at Handsome - hearing of a chef named Gary Menes. His legend preceded him: Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry and Joachim Splichal’s Patina are just two of the recognizable ticks on his resume. One of my bosses told me to expect him in the next few days, and to make sure we set aside some coffee for him to serve at his new pop-up restaurant, Le Comptoir.

I fully expected to meet a chef who would be in no mood to make small talk; weathered by years of work in restaurant kitchens and hardened by success.

I couldn’t have been more wrong. 

Gary Menes, Chef and owner of Le Comptoir 

Le Comptoir is a reflection of Gary’s dream: 12 counter seats situated around a small kitchen, where he and his two sous-chefs create a dining experience you’re unlikely to find elsewhere. Gary bakes his bread using an 18-year-old starter, peruses local gardens for hyper-seasonal ingredients, and plates each of the five courses on a counter just a few feet from where you sit.

One of Le Comptoir’s sous-chefs, preparing the 4th course

This unique level of intimacy with the process of creating a meal is further emphasized by Gary’s incredible hospitality: I’ve never felt more welcome at someone’s table. Period. 

Gary plating the final course

Gary also takes his coffee service more seriously than most specialty coffee shops. He weighs each batch, monitors his water temperatures with a thermometer, and brews using a v60 with a scale and timer. Some of the best Handsome brewed coffee I’ve had has come from Le Comptoir. 

Le Comptoir is open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. You can check out their website at LeComptoirLA.com, and also add Gary Menes on twitter @garymenes. 

If you live in Southern California, make reservations and go meet Gary Menes. It’s a dinner you need to experience. And go this weekend - there will be a small gift from Handsome Coffee that I think you’ll enjoy.

<3 Jesse

We are incredibly excited to announce that we’ll be working with FIX Coffee in Echo Park.

FIX Coffee Bar 

Join us this Saturday (3/24) from 9am to 7pm at FIX - The Handsome Coffee Crew will be spending some time behind the bar. Come say hello to Michael Phillips, Tyler Wells and myself! We’ll be pulling our Scouts Honor espresso, and a few single origins on the brew bar. 

Anca’s Romanian will be serving traditional Romanian flatbread on the outdoor patio - and it will be delicious. 

FIX Patio

FIX is located at 2100 Echo Park Avenue, LA, 90026. 

Add FIX on Twitter @FixCoffeeCo and on The Facebook  - and come visit us this Saturday.

Trust me. I’m a doctor. 

<3 Jesse

These are our good friends:

Stephen Kenn and his wife, Beks. 

Stephen builds beautiful furniture:

Damn beautiful furniture. 

Steve is like a real-life version of the guy from the Notebook. A handsome, charming, and humble craftsman who rides motorcycles, opens doors for his wife, and likely has a whole bunch of other enviable skills. 

What does this have to do with Handsome? 

Steve and Beks run the Back Door Coffee Club (BDCC) - a space in downtown Los Angeles which showcases his furniture, and serves Handsome coffee brewed on a v60 and Chemex. If you’re looking for a great place to relax, go to the BDCC.

You’ll be hard pressed to find a better vibe and friendlier people. 

Visit the BDCC between 8am - 11am, Monday to Friday. You can find them at 944 McGarry St, Los Angeles. Look for the motorcycles parked out front. 

<3 Jesse (@twofistedangelo) 

LOS ANGELES — We are officially open for business. As such, we’d like to extend an invitation to you for a visit when you have the chance.

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582 Mateo Street

Los Angeles, CA 90013

(click here for a map)

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Service Hours:

7 a.m. - 5 p.m. (Monday through Friday)

8 a.m. - 5 p.m. (Saturday and Sunday)

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Our company is headquartered in the downtown Arts District of Los Angeles, California. This location features a full-service coffee bar with open views of our roasting operations. We roast all our coffee in-house on a seasonal basis, featuring top farms of Central America, South America and East Africa.  

Our roaster is a 1956 UG-22 Probat, which was refurbished in Belgium during 2011 and air-lifted to California for installation at our location.

The Coffee Bar features copper, aged maple and oak as the main finish materials. The general architecture features original wood trusses, extensive glasswork and natural daytime lighting. From the front, a guest can see our entire operation where we receive green coffee from the farms, roast it to our profile and serve it to the people of the Arts District.

Whole bean coffee, espresso drinks, brewed coffee and merchandise are available for sale at this location. Please visit us when you can.

Handsome Coffee + Woodsmithe from WoodSmithe on Vimeo.

LOS ANGELES — We are truly in the home stretch. We’ve had friends over to the space in the past few days. Tonight we’re throwing a gala event for the Arts District of Los Angeles — the place we will be calling home for a long time to come.

Here’s a look at our past four months in a lovely capsule. Our partnership with WoodSmithe (www.woodsmithe.com), also of the Arts District, has been rewarding beyond words. So here’s a video about it. Please enjoy. And please stop by should you get the chance in the coming days and weeks. The doors shall be open for business very soon, but you folks are welcome anytime we’re around. We built this space for us to share.

Justin’s next stop was Salt’s Cure, a neighborhood spot in West Hollywood that’s open for lunch and dinner as well as brunch on the weekends. The restaurant sources the best ingredients possible and then prepares literally everything in-house down to the bread, and though chicken isn’t normally his thing, Justin highly recommends the chicken salad sandwich. Next time you’re in West Hollywood, don’t forget to check out this amazing spot with some of the best food in town which you can follow with a bit of smooth Handsome Coffee. You might even run into Justin since he’s definitely planning on going back soon.

Justin was pretty excited to head out to Red Medicine  near Restaurant Row on La Cienega Blvd.  Red Medicine has a great team, and it was fun to hang out at the bar to check out the menu and take a sneak peek into the kitchen before hours. In fact, the menu was so tempting that Justin went back in the evening for the #60 cocktail (a pear crusta) and the Banh Mi plus sweet potatoes. Banh Mi and sweet potatoes are only served at the bar which is pretty awesome since Justin always enjoys chatting with bartenders.