We all know the feeling – spending $8 for a watered down, green drink that better resembles cereal milk than matcha. I’m not sure if it’s recency bias or if I’ve just had one too many underwhelming matchas, but I’ve finally decided that it’s time to stop gatekeeping and share my favorite places to get an actual good matcha latte in LA.
Maru
Photo: Sprudge
Aside from having really good coffee, Maru also makes a really really good matcha latte. They use Ippodo Tea’s Ikuyo matcha, which is one of my favorite entry level matchas. It’s incredibly smooth and well balanced and very palatable for people who aren’t used to drinking a lot of matcha. Although the matcha floats around $7 after I add oat milk, the serving size is pretty large being 16 oz and it’s well worth it to me. A regular iced matcha latte with oat milk is the perfect order for me – skip any sweeteners or the cream top as it takes away from the smooth subtle sweetness their matcha naturally brings. Maru is my go-to spot if I want a consistent high quality matcha latte.
Damo
Photo: Yelp
Damo in Koreatown is another one of my go-to spots for a matcha whenever I’m in the area. It’s a great place to get some work done while drinking one of the best matcha lattes LA has to offer. While the classic matcha latte is great, where I think Damo shines is their variety of different matcha lattes. They often offer seasonal flavors, such as strawberry and mango cream and they also make a really good einspener (cream top). Overall, Damo is a great spot to get some much needed studying done while drinking a unique high quality matcha latte.
Community Goods
Photo: The Infatuation
Community Goods off of Melrose is without a doubt one of my guilty pleasures. It’s so close to my work and that might be the reason why I can justify spending $8 on such a small drink. I feel so guilty on the drive there, but so happy on the drive back. I swear this place has given me more emotional trauma than most relationships I’ve had. Okay, aside from my personal life, there’s no doubt that Community Goods makes a really good matcha latte. It’s earthier and more complex than most, which I love, but might not be for entry-level matcha drinkers. It’s also like $8 for maybe a 12 oz cup, which is one of the biggest cons (I drink most of it on the drive back to my work). However, there’s a reason I keep going back and it’s because of that oh so good vanilla oat milk matcha latte.
Cafe Dulce
Photo: L.A. Parent
Don’t get me wrong, Cafe Dulce has really good pastries, but I’m going there for one thing – their blueberry matcha latte. And I’m getting the large size too. There’s just something about it – maybe it’s the fact that I love blueberry or the fact that not nearly enough cafes are doing blueberry flavored drinks – but it has to be one of my favorite drinks in all of LA. Cafe Dulce is located in Little Tokyo, so a walk around the village while eating some pastries and drinking some matcha is a recipe for a great day.
Layla Bagels
Photo: Toast
I know what you’re thinking – a bagel place on a list for the best matcha lattes? Just hear me out okay. I didn’t initially go to Layla to try out their matcha, I went for the same reason as everyone else – to see what the hype was about for their Montreal style bagels (the hype was real, but that’s not the reason for this article). Aside from being my favorite bagel spot ever, they also make a surprisingly very good matcha latte. Their classic matcha latte is great, but I recently tried their seasonal sage matcha latte, which is so unique and complex and without a doubt, a new favorite of mine. It just doesn’t make sense why a bagel shop has a better matcha latte than 90% of the ones I’ve tried from actual cafes, but I’m not complaining. A perfect weekend breakfast for me is an everything bagel with herb cream cheese and a sage matcha latte with oat milk, you gotta try it soon.
