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Specialty coffee shops in the L.A. area

Shandi Jones works her magic at Spring for Coffee.
(Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)
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Balconi Coffee

Description: Small, bright Sawtelle Boulevard cafe that uses multiple roasters (including San Francisco’s Ritual and Four Barrel) and specializes in the siphon brewing method.

11301 W. Olympic Blvd., No. 124, Los Angeles, (310) 906-0267, https://www.balconicoffee.com.

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Cafecito Organico

Description: Two cafes in Silver Lake devoted to Central and South American single-origin coffees. Roaster Angel Orozco opened these cafes to provide a place for organic coffee growers to sell their wares.

Locations: 534 N. Hoover St., 710 N. Heliotrope Drive, Los Angeles, (213) 537-8367; farmers market booths at Hollywood, Silver Lake and Atwater Village; cafecitoorganico.com.

CoffeeBar Los Angeles

Description: Sleek new cafe in downtown L.A.’s Bank District, brewing coffee from Noble (Ashland, Ore.), Verve (Santa Cruz) and Ecco (Santa Rosa)

600 S. Spring St., Los Angeles, (213) 327-1157, coffeebarla.com.

Coffee Commissary

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Description: Airy, Minimalist West Hollywood cafe with multiple bean sources — Coava (Portland, Ore.), Sightglass (San Francisco), Victrola (Seattle) — for multiple styles.

Location: 801 N. Fairfax Ave., No. 106, Los Angeles, (323) 782-1465, coffeecommissary.com.

Conservatory for Coffee, Tea & Cocoa

Description: Family-owned roasting facility and cafe. Roaster A.J. Barish has lightened his touch on roasting to reflect a newer, more origin-driven style.

Location: 10117 Washington Blvd., Culver City, (310) 558-0436, conservatorycoffeeandtea.com.

Gelato Bar

Description: Nik Krankl mans the espresso machines at his mother’s (Gail Silverton) gelato shops in Los Feliz and Studio City, while he canvases the city for his own cafe location.

Location: 1936 Hillhurst Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 668-0606; 43421/2 Tujunga Ave., Studio City, (818) 487-1717; https://www.gelatobar-la.com.

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Intelligentsia

Description: Chicago-based company that has inserted itself seamlessly into three L.A. neighborhoods. Single-origin and fair-trade coffees light-roasted at its Glassel Park roasting facility.

Locations: 3922 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 663-6173; 1331 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, (310) 399-1233; 55 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, (626) 578-1270; https://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com.

Kéan Coffee

Description: Orange County cafes owned and operated by Martin Diedrich, who light-roasts a global selection of single-origin, fair-trade, organic coffees in a roaster designed by his brother.

Location: 2043 Westcliff Drive, Newport Beach, (949) 642-5326; 13681 Newport Ave., Suite 14, Tustin, (714) 838-5326; keancoffee.com.

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LAMill

Description: Elegant Silver Lake restaurant and cafe, outgrowth of a family-owned roasting facility in Alhambra. Proprietor Craig Min medium-roasts single-origin coffees with a global reach.

Location: 1636 Silver Lake Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 663-4441, lamillcoffee.com.

Paper or Plastik Cafe

Description: Bright bustling cafe in Pico Village — with a working dance studio attached — brewing Intelligentsia beans.

Location: 5772 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 935-0268, paperorplastikcafe.com.

Proof Bakery/Cognoscenti Coffee

Description: Small Atwater Village bakery in which Cognoscenti, a one-man company manned by former architect turned pop-up barista Yeekai Lim, has set up a coffee bar using beans from Four Barrel (San Francisco).

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Location: 3156 Glendale Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 644-8633, twitter.com/@cogcoffee.

Spring for Coffee

Description: Two tiny high-volume downtown cafés, specializing in Blue Bottle beans (San Francisco).

548 S. Spring St., Suite 106, Los Angeles; 817 S. Los Angeles St., Los Angeles; no phone; springforcoffee.com.

— Patrick Comiskey

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