The Yala latte, made with a cardamom-spiced cream top, at Yala coffee shop, with locations in Studio City and Silver Lake.
(Shelby Moore / For the Times)
10 unique cream top lattes and cold brews that you’ll only find in L.A.
- Share via
It looks like cream top beverages are sticking around L.A.’s coffee scene.
“You can’t open a coffee shop in L.A. without having a cream top, fortunately or unfortunately,” said Ryan Solomon, director of wholesale at the Little Marionette, on bringing the cafe from Sydney to L.A. in 2024.
The whipped topping is typically made from condensed milk of heavy cream. Fans of embellished beverages can’t get enough of the now-standard flourish that local coffee shops add to iced coffee and matcha drinks. The trend evolved from the Austrian Einspänner coffee drinks that first overtook Seoul’s coffee scene in 2016 before landing in L.A. not long afterward.
The verdict on cream tops is split among cafe owners, with some claiming that the rich, luscious topping can overpower the flavors of carefully curated coffee drinks. Last year, prominent L.A. cafes Maru Coffee and Mandarin Coffee Stand limited the add-on on their menus, with Mandarin Coffee Stand owner Sherry Gao saying that the trend went “a little bit out of control.”
About This Guide
Our journalists independently visited every spot recommended in this guide. We do not accept free meals or experiences. What should we check out next? Send ideas to guides@latimes.com.
But for Arian Behboodi and Jared Sielski, co-owners of Lynx Coffee in Sherman Oaks, the pros outweigh the cons.
“We appreciate the cream top drinkers, and we appreciate the coffee fanatics, and we really do try to have a little bit of both,” Behboodi said.
Now, local cafe menus are evolving beyond neutral cream top flavors and offering whipped toppings that pull inspiration from all parts of the world, such as an iced honey latte garnished with a Vegemite cream top at a Palms coffee shop and a cajeta cream top that recalls the gooey Mexican caramel sauce at a new cafe in Hermosa Beach.
Showing Places
Vegemite cream top at the Little Marionette
Palms Café $
(Melody Xu / Los Angeles Times)
The Australian spread with a salty, malty and umami taste is an ingredient most Angelenos may never have imagined atop their morning coffee — but that’s exactly what the Little Marionette is serving on an iced honey latte as a tribute to the shop’s roots from “down under.” Founded by Ed Cutcliffe in Sydney, Australia, the cafe goes through one pound of Vegemite per week, though sometimes the exact Vegemite-to-cream ratio varies based on taste. Give this cream top a chance and you might be pleasantly surprised by how well it pairs with the umami notes in the latte. When it comes to Vegemite, the people who like it, love it. You never know until you try.
Show more Show less
Route Details
Yellow rose cream top at La La Land Reserve
Beverly Hills Café $
(Melody Xu / Los Angeles Times)
Born in L.A. with Persian roots, La La Land CEO Francois Reihani helped test the recipe for this floral cream as a tribute to his favorite Persian ice cream flavor. For those who grew up enjoying yellow rose ice cream, this cream top will bring back waves of nostalgia whether ordered on a matcha or an espresso latte. The roses are sourced locally from a small Persian-owned business and when blended into a milky cream top, impart a refreshingly floral flavor. If you’re hoping to try this at one of the franchise’s 34 storefronts nationwide, note that this cream top is exclusive to the La La Land Reserve location in Beverly Hills.
Show more Show less
Route Details
Praline cream top at Lynx Coffee
Sherman Oaks Café $
(Melody Xu / Los Angeles Times)
A pinch of black salt is the finishing touch on this nutty creation by Lynx Coffee, co-owned by Arian Behboodi and Jared Sielski. In the signature praline latte, real nuts are processed with sugar and salt, then blended until they reach a peanut butter texture that can be mixed with cream. Just like how real nuts are used in the praline cream top, real farmers market strawberries are used in “The Ariana” drink, a fruity, limited-edition collaboration with actress Ariana Greenblatt.
Show more Show less
Route Details
Chestnut cream top at rōk Coffee and Tea
Westside Café $
(Melody Xu / Los Angeles Times)
The intricate presentation of the chestnut latte at rōk is hard to ignore — just a couple moments after I sat down, a fellow customer stopped me to ask which drink it was. The chestnut cream top is thick, rich and generously garnished with roasted almonds and crushed praline. Opened in 2025 and inspired by the Korean word chorōk, or green, rōk offers an abundance of cream tops including black sesame, biscoff cookie and even a limited-edition “dot cake” flavor, a playful spin-off of the dense sprinkle cakes that have become a viral sensation.
Show more Show less
Route Details
Cardamom cream top at Yala Coffee
Silver Lake Café $
(Melody Xu / Los Angeles Times)
Middle Eastern flavors are at the center of Yala Coffee’s menu. Born to Iraqi and Iraqi Armenian immigrant parents, co-owner Zain Shammas grew up drinking the Middle Eastern coffees that he and wife Marissa Shammas now aim to emulate through their own drinks, including sand coffee where extra-fine grounds are brewed in a Turkish coffee pot and heated on a bed of sand. A cardamom cream top can be found on their 4-ounce Evil Eye latte that’s garnished with a raw sugar rim as well as the popular Yala latte that is sweetened with brown sugar syrup. The sweet spice of cardamom adds brightness to the scorched molasses notes in both drinks.
Show more Show less
Route Details
Fig leaf cream top at Doubting Thomas
Westside Café $
(Melody Xu / Los Angeles Times)
The fig leaf cream top at Doubting Thomas was inspired by pastry chef Naomi Shim’s childhood — specifically, her mother’s fig trees. Aromatic fig leaves are picked and chopped for this cream top, creating a complex flavor that is fruity, nutty and grassy all at the same time. Lime zest shavings are not just a garnish here — they cut through the muted flavors to provide tartness. This cream top is often ordered atop cold brew, and the few months of the year that figs are out of season, the cafe substitutes it with equally innovative cream tops, including pink celery.
Show more Show less
Route Details
Cajeta cream top at Cafe Minerva
Hermosa Beach Café $
(Melody Xu / Los Angeles Times)
Luisa Gaxiola was initially going to play it safe. A minimalist, brutalist cafe would surely perform well, right? But a conversation with a friend and a trip home to Mexico convinced her to go all in on bringing Mexican culture into the menu at Cafe Minerva, which she co-owns with her husband, Hermen Gaxiola. Opening in June, the couple ultimately conceptualized the cafe around the city life of Guadalajara, Mexico. This cajeta cream top takes after the Mexican sauce that’s traditionally made by simmering goat’s milk until it thickens and darkens. Goat’s milk is a key ingredient in this cream top, which can be added to various drinks. I went with the barista’s recommendation of the La Minerva latte, which features a house-made cinnamon-forward syrup that naturally complements the cajeta cream.
Show more Show less
Route Details
Blue coconut cream top at Olive and James
Fairfax Café $
(Melody Xu / Los Angeles Times)
Hailing from Beijing, the couple behind Olive and James like to keep their menu fresh by regularly debuting new cream top flavors, but blue coconut has become a permanent item due to its loyal following. Made with coconut milk and coconut syrup, the cream is refreshing on top of the drink’s base, an unsweetened matcha latte (you can also order it with a sweetener of your choice). Its bright blue color can be attributed to butterfly pea powder, made from finely grinding dried petals of the flower that’s native to Southeast Asia. Other than the blue coconut cream top, the Melrose and Silver Lake locations offer different menus. For example, a double green pistachio cream top is exclusive to Silver Lake.
Show more Show less
Route Details
Tiramisu cream top at Cafe Ruisseau
Playa Vista Café
(Melody Xu / Los Angeles Times)
Cafe Ruisseau’s tiramisu latte captures the Italian dessert with a delectable cream top generously adorned with coffee grinds. Flavor-wise, the add-on takes after the rich, velvety cream in tiramisu itself. This mocha drink is perfect for a sweet treat, but also light enough to be a day-to-day coffee order for fans of the classic dessert. Owned by Edward Ackah-Miezah, Cafe Ruisseau serves its playful creations out of storefronts in Playa Vista, Santa Monica and Beverly Hills.
Show more Show less
Route Details
Egg cream top at Da Vien Coffee
Long Beach Café $
(Melody Xu / Los Angeles Times)
Across 12 locations in Orange County and L.A., Da Vien Coffee offers cream tops galore. Owned by Vinny Nguyen, the flavors range from the standard Einspänner to egg cream, an homage to Vietnamese egg coffee, or cà phê trứng. Traditionally, this drink features strong coffee topped with whipped egg yolk and condensed milk. Real egg yolks are beaten into Da Vien’s egg cream, but its sticky-sweet taste more so resembles melted marshmallows. Then, baristas garnish the drink with a dusting of cocoa powder, which brings out an almost tiramisu-like flavor, adding even more complexity to the mix.
Show more Show less
Route Details
No matching entries.
Please reset filters to see all entries.
No matching entries.
Please reset filters to see all entries.
