THE HISTORY COFFEE — Restaurant in Los Angeles

A bit of a hidden gem. Korean owned (which shows). (I'm Korean American btw). Clean interiors (though slightly sticky floors in spots :-P), trendy interiors (rustic industrial chic), pleasant music (smooth jazz), and most importantly for a coffeeshop (great temperature control! Not an icebox! Cool but not too cold). Service is very friendly. There is a lot of seating with a few strategic outlets. Customers come in and out during different flows, but generally finding a seat is not a problem. You can see ongoing traffic back and forth through the big windows surrounding the coffeeshop interior. For someone like me who likes a good mix of "loud enough" (to be motivated to work) but also pleasant, this place is my favorite spot so far in the city to get a few hours of work done in a nice environment. Haven't tried many of the drinks but heard they're good. More importantly, they're reasonably priced and generally well made. Parking is also free and readily available AROUND the block in the residential areas (just be careful of signs).

UPDATE October 2024. Been going more regularly. Been to other coffee shops around LA, especially K-town. History Coffee is definitely among the cleanest of all (tables are regularly cleaned after every sitting--rare to non-existent among other places). Also, definitely one of the friendliest, customer-oriented coffee shops I've been to in a long time (and I've traveled all over the world) :)

Other perks: a cool (albeit mostly quiet and empty) rare book store nearby. Cool and chill vibe neighborhood all around. Definitely a "local" feeling. Still highly recommended!

(Used to think the name was a bit grammatically funny, but now I suppose it's one of...

This left such a bad taste in my mouth (figuratively) after reflecting and seeing the owner's reply to my message. I'm a crippingly introverted male, at times I cannot assume what environment will trigger this. I can't believe I'm having to state my case more. I'm not hear to talk about their food, but their hospitality and their reply to my message proves it. I'm an avid person to study at coffee shops because my home situation is ROUGH. Came in for the first time and was asked to leave after sitting down for 5 minutes for not purchasing anything - immediately. I FULLY respect local coffee shops and their need to stay functioning, I was gonna buy if they had the amenities I needed - as mentioned by the owner in my reply (after I justified an appropriate edit) “Why are you staying coming for study at coffee shop without purchasing???”, which was a misleading assumption. I never planned to stay there for “free” public use. This is a coffee joint (its in the name!) not a restaurant where you have to order as you get in. I've came to coffee shops and have never been asked to order before sitting in. Not common sense. In my brief time there, again I'm introverted and couldn't ask more thoroughly, there was no place to charge my laptop (saw an outlet painted over so you couldn't use it), and it was quite warm in there. To say people don't study then, you should remove all the photos that show people opening their laptops...

Trying to find coffee shop in the area to make a stop and spend some time on my laptop, then finding History Coffee on Yelp with pretty high rating and great reviews. Parking was kinda tricky as expected around this area, but managed to find one of the last spots available. The couples serving that time were extremely friendly and helpful and I loved how their menu offered some peculiar options like their signature Banana Latte I went for, which seemed to be the most favorite one.

Plenty of seats with power outlets and I could see not few of the guests did come to work, so you could expect the ambiance was pretty focus time friendly.

They did offer some pastries and Chia Puddings but not heavier meals. My drink, which was only available in iced, turned out awesome. They even had small banana chunks on top. It was refreshing, not overly sweet, and the banana flavor surely didn't overpower the pretty bold coffee and even complemented it very well....