3THYME COFFEE — Restaurant in Los Angeles

It was supposed to be one of my favorite coffee go-to in LA but not anymore. When I order an iced latte and a hot latte, I said light ice for the iced latte, the man nodded, repeat saying light ice, and got my instruction. And after I got the drink, the iced latte was FULL of ice, it isn't LIGHT ice at all!!! I talk to them and they said if I wanna take some ice out from the drink. I agree and they really took out a few cubes of ice from the cup, and the picture is the final product of my iced latte from this cafe, even LESS than 80% of the cup. The man told me, "our drinks are measured based on a 100% ice scale (not light ice), sorry about that". That's why my iced latte is filled with LESS than 80% of the cup. LOL. But is it something that I should have been told before I make my purchase? Also, the iced latte and hot latte taste very BITTER, which taste like the espresso is over-extracted and the milk was not mixing well with the coffee. My stomach wasn't feeling well after I got home because of the over-extracted espresso. This place used to be my favorite go-to as I believe small business is worth supporting, but not anymore after today. I ordered an iced latte with light ice a few times before, it was 100% FULL, with almost perfect ratio and flavor while measuring based on a light ice scale. But today's visit really disappoints me. I even recommended this shop to some of my coffee-addict friends. I thought this coffee shop would have the potential to be one of the best third-wave coffee shops in LA, with consistency and good customer service, but looks like they are no better than Starbucks in terms of service and product...

This cafe was a little hard to find so keep in mind that it's kind of in the mall with the entrance from the street right behind Ahgassi Gopchang. It was very quiet when we visited before lunch time and there were a couple of people but would be a good spot to get your drink. The wait took a little bit because of the care they put into making the drink but it was all worth it.

Injeolmi Latte: Korean soybean powder, cinnamon, espresso, milk and heavy cream - this was really creamy and yummy! It tasted almost like a dessert with the creamy top, and the soybean powder went really well with the coffee. I don't even normally like coffee but this was really delicious. Matcha Tonic: ceremonial matcha, vanilla, tonic, dehydrated lemon - I loved this! It was super refreshing and had a really nice flavor with the matcha. Sometimes matcha can be too bitter or astringent, but this had a super nice balance and I hadn't realized that tonic would go so well with those grassy notes.

Since I don't drink coffee, I'm not sure I would try anything else that is a specialty. The specialty teas look interesting so that might be potentially interesting...

A cute little cafe with a modern/industrial feel with a big concrete design.

Drink: I had the hot matcha latte. Very disappointed. It had a very bitter and metallic aftertaste. I looked over at the baristas making someone else’s matcha and noticed they were using metal whisks to stir their matcha. $6+ for a lukewarm matcha. Worst I’ve ever had. My friend had the lychee black tea but she said she didn’t like it. Didn’t taste the lychee at all. Didn’t have the pastry but it get smelled good at some point.

Service/vibe: Staff were nice and the place has areas to sit and chat but also a small bar section to work. Good for individuals. However, terrible WiFi and bad firewall that blocks many websites from working. Bring your own hotspot. There are power outlets to charge your devices.

Cleanliness: the cafe is clean. It shares communal restrooms with the rest of the adjacent business which were disgusting. It was dirtier than a gas station restroom.

Accessibility: meter parking in the street out front or paid valet parking...