Klatch Coffee Pasadena — Restaurant in San Marino

Surprisingly hadn't already tried this coffee shop that's in what used to be a Starbucks. Saw they had a creme brulee latte & was enticed to try it out Saturday morning.

ITEM'S ORDERED:

Cold Brew Iced Creme Brulee Latte (breve, w/extra shot) Iced Vanilla Bean Latte (breve, w/extra shot)

TASTE:

I ordered both lattes with an extra espresso shot because I figured they'd be quite sweet which they were. But luckily the flavor was still good, but I feel like the drink would have been more to my taste if I added at least 2 (maybe 3) extra shots. Then again I like very strong coffees.

Also ordered both lattes breve, which is basically half & half instead of what would usually be milk. Makes it much creamier & even just a little more viscous.

The creme brulee flavor is executed through what seems to be a combination of vanilla syrup & caramel sauce. It's actually a pretty good flavor, & I feel the caramel flavor just accentuates the vanilla flavor in a nice way. Not sure I'd be able to recognize this as creme brulee specifically though, but is it good.

The Vanilla Bean Latte taste like a well made version of a vanilla latte. I do think I somewhat expected maybe a little stronger of a vanilla flavor since they call this "vanilla bean". But even so it's still one of the better versions of this drink I've had.

If you're torn between the Vanilla Bean Latte or the Creme Brulee just go with the Creme Brulee. It's really just a better version of the Vanilla Latte in my opinion.

Cold Brew is a solid cold brew. Good coffee strength & flavor. I've had plenty of cold brews that are just too "watery" & this one is not that.

SERVICE, LOCATION & PARKING:

Service was not bad but also not that super welcoming friendly service. Partly because it was very busy. Not sure if it's always this busy on a later Saturday morning.

Not sure if they were understaffed, or just got hit with a random rush, because it did seem overwhelmingly busy for 4 people to handle. Props to the staff working hard, but even so people including myself were waiting quite awhile for drinks. Ordered for pickup through Doordash & my order was ready at least 15 min after the estimated time.

They are located on Huntington (& San Gabriel) in the Trader Joe's shopping center. Very easy to find & lot's of parking. Just be careful because it's one way only through the parking lot lanes.

When I'm looking to indulge in a sweeter coffee I think I've found a new "go to" in the Creme Brulee Latte...

I tried their Crème Brulee iced coffee (regular sized) with easy ice - $5.10; drink was pretty good. It's basically a caramel iced coffee. The drink was definitely on the sweeter side, and if you don't mix it well, you get a whole lot of milk. I don't know if I'd order this again, just because the drink was more milky and sweet without enough coffee taste. Maybe it would be better in the blended version.

My sister was captivated by the Patio Special, so I ordered that one for her in a regular sized. Drink is not cheap - $6.60, but I can see why so many people raved about it at the other Klatch locations. This drink has espresso, ice cream, chocolate, and their secret ingredient (which I think is an Oreo or chocolate cookie). It's blended together and tastes kind of like a very smooth and rice chocolate and vanilla smoothie. The whipped cream on top makes it even tastier. I was kind of skeptical ordering this for her at 6 in the morning, but she said it was the fastest she'd ever finished a coffee-type drink. According to her, it's better than any Starbucks frap she'd ever had (and she drinks a ton of those). The only suggestion is that there wasn't enough espresso flavor coming out in the drink. She also thinks it would be nice to have some java chip or cookie bits for some added texture.

And picked up the Chippuccino (regular sized - $4.75) as well. This drink is hot and is made with espresso, milk, foam, and carob. There weren't many other customers ordering this drink at the other locations, and now that I've tried it - I think I can see why. It's similar to a muted hot chocolate with espresso. I was told that if you want the drink to be sweeter, you can stir the bottom so that the carob chips will melt into the espresso, giving the drink a more chocolate-y flavor. I think it would be perfect on a cold day, but my dad wanted more espresso and less carob.

tl;dr - So it seems like the majority of the drinks had good flavor but needed more espresso/coffee taste. We'll be back and probably order different drinks (like the standard latte and espressos and cold brews) to get a better sense of what Klatch coffee tastes like. But I can definitely see myself craving a Patio Special and ordering this once in a while - with more espresso if that's allowed.

They also have croissants, toasts, breakfast foods, and sandwiches for under $10! Highly recommend that Patio Special if you're not sure...

I have been coming here for years, and always order the large cappuccino because I think it's the best in the area.

However, earlier this month, I noticed that they gave me less coffee and more froth than usual, so I decided to talk to the barista this time. She said there has been no change (basically saying I'm a liar) and said that if I wanted more coffee, she would recommend that I get the small instead of large, because small and large have the same amount of coffee.

Huh? I have been paying close to $5 for the LARGE cappuccino, and you are telling me they have the same drinkable liquid as the SMALL version? So I have been paying extra for LARGE to get more...froth!? And as a long time customer, you can't just be a bit more flexible and let me have what I want... or in this case, have the same that I got before.

The barista said she would have to charge MORE than the price of a LARGE, to get more coffee than a SMALL, because small/large have the same amount of coffee.

Needless to say, I am very disappointed. I hope the owner can clarify this. It's sad if this place is becoming more like Starbucks (the I-don't-care-who-you-are place)...