endorffeine — Restaurant in Los Angeles

Tl:Dr/summary: bad experience based in discrimination and preference to existing customers.

Situation: I had a terrible experience with this place and I really wanted to like it. So my girlfriend and I walk in after a delicious meal at chegos. Figure we can end our lunch date with a nice hot expresso coffee. So we walk in, order 2 expressos, coming out to $6.50. Here is an important note, we are the only ones in there with one single customers. The gentleman across from us has a coffee cup in front of him. Not in a paper cup. Next to him is the Barista's personal coffee, an expresso in a glass shot cup. Not a paper cup (we find this out later). When we receive our order, we get a paper cup, but we think nothing of it. A Caucasian guy walks in and orders 1 expresso and one coffee. The expresso he drinks there and the pour over to go. He receives his expresso shot In a single serve glass toulip cup and I'm thinking to myself. Uhm OK? As he drinks it, he gets to swish it around to smell the aroma coming from it and im here looking at my paper cup like... Wow, what a displeasing experience. My and my girlfriend begin to feel awkward and politely wait until the customer leaves to ask the Barista why we got paper cups and he gets glass. The response was as follows. " that was my own personal cup, I only have a few".

**We are first time customers, looking to come back... There were no more customers to say, "hey, we ran out" or " "sorry, I thought it was to go".

I bring this up to him, telling him we wanted to look for a new coffee shop to frequent, so it doesn't make sense to not give us a good experience.

At this point he could have just poured our expresses into a glass shot cup, remember, he only has a few, but he doesn't. He proceeds to tell me and my girlfriend that the last customer had a " relationship " with him? Isn't all business good business? His coffee and expresso totaled the same amount or maybe he paid $1 more, so shouldnt we be given the same experience?

The cashier was the only one who did anything to give us a clarification and an apology. Stating "I'm sorry, I thought it was a to go".

At this point, the Barista is simply repeating " we had a relationship, he's my customer, I stand by my coffee, I can give you a refund".

**Note, we never asked for one. The bombardment of a refund for a bad experience made us feel awkward. We just wanted good coffee.

Before accepting anything, he told the cashier to refund us and we simply left. Our expressos in the cups unfinished, the rest of our day sour. What a terribly handled situation Why not just apologize? or Give us a shot in a glass cup, if he only had a few? I mean, that all we really wanted!

I wanted to like this place. Finding chegos, howling rays, and the green tea bar, I'll be in the area a whole lot more. I even stated this to him. Why lose a customer over a glass cup? Thanks endorfeine. You can keep your minimalist racist discriminatory expresso. I'll be taking my business to the...

For anyone who is on a serious coffee journey, this is the Super Bowl of coffee experiences. Jack is a biochemist who meticulously brews every cup. You go here for pour overs or espressos.

Think of Jiro for sushi, that is Jack for coffee. You feel like you are transported to Japan, and the ambience is more like a temple or a shrine. There isn't a lot of noise, despite being across from howling ray's, no music, no laptops or plush seating. You are there to experience coffee taken to a level that's previously unknown, to unlock the secrets of the molecule that only a few shamans have been privy.

That you need to be patient is a given. This is not a place for large groups. There's counter seating around Jack, as he extracts the flavors from the bean du jour. While his cousin manages the till. You wait patiently and then take your time to savor the heavenly brew, taking time to let your nose pick the sweet, the acidity, the soul of the bean. The taste profile changes to the sublime as you get closer to room temperature.

Jack is meticulous, I hesitate to use the word perfectionist as he may not agree. He may toss out a cup that isn't up to his exalted mark. You are witnessing an artisan at work, who won't compromise. I have a soft spot for the pour over, however even the espresso is a masterclass in high pressure bean extraction.

Last time we spoke, Jack mentioned a possible collaboration with Diego Bermudez, my absolute favorite roaster, who have a heavenly lychee forward Colombian light roast. That would be the dream, mad hacker Diego's beans, and rocket scientist Jack's extraction.

There's great coffee shops in LA from Kumquat to Maru, Dayglow to the Boy and the Bear, Good Boy Bob to Loquat, but there's only one Endorffeine. This will never be a chain, or run by employees. If I could, I'd be here everyday, but a trip to coffee heaven is a special treat I look forward to.

Tip: Park across the street a few blocks south for relatively low cost metered...

I was in line for Howlin Ray's and was very excited to see a coffee shop serving a "Heart Coffee" from Portland. I really like Heart. So I really wanted to like this coffee shop. I ordered two cappuccinos and bought a bag of Heart ($21 more then I usually pay for the beans). When my mom and I took the first sip of the cappuccinos we both puckered our lips and looked at each other in utter bewilderment. It was awful!! I should tell you that I am a coffee snob and my mom is much more forgiving. I went back into the store and politely (and quietly) told the owner/barista that the coffee was under-extracted and therefore very sour. He looked at me and and said it is not he was on a very long pull and that he liked his coffee bright. Well, I like my coffee " bright" as well but I don't like it sour. I then expected him to offer to re-make it or at least offer me another option. But nothing was offered. So there I stood with two $5 coffee in hand feeling stupid. I said well I''m not going to drink these, where is the trash can? And all he said is I can throw them away for you. No further comment. Since this incident I have mentioned this coffee shop to some friends and was shocked to find that the sour coffee is indeed the way he serves his coffee and that no one who had been in would ever return. One would hope that a fancy coffee shop would know how to extract coffee or at least be open to a legitimate complaint. And to top it all off someone told me that the owner had asked his patrons not to tip with "change". So if you put three quarters in the tip jar beware "you are being offensive". I wonder if his employees feel the same since for some of us "change" is still money. And this is only an aside: but he also seems to be too cool for a sign, the store has a backlit white empty sign hanging And finding myself in a 1.5hour line for Howlin Ray's this Saturday I notice that no one has a...