Check-ins
Come here for
Latte Noir
Curator’s note
Yeekai Lim trained as an architect and moved into coffee when commissions dried up around 2010, working through a pop-up, a frozen yogurt shop and a counter inside Proof Bakery before opening a permanent Culver City shop in 2013 that he designed himself down to the porcelain cups. He still describes the work in architectural terms: connecting a spatial language to the science of coffee.
The Coffee
Cognoscenti roasts its own coffee out of a DTLA roastery now, built around continual cupping and long-term producer relationships rather than a rotating guest-roaster model. The current lineup leans on named smallholder and estate producers in Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, and Papua New Guinea, several of them multi-year repeat buys, alongside a house blend and a sugarcane-process decaf.
- Diego Bermudez Maragogype Koji (El Paraíso)
Colombia, Cauca · 1,960 masl
- Varietals
- Maragogype
- Process
- Koji (Aspergillus oryzae / Amazake method), anaerobic natural
- Producer
- El Paraíso, producer Diego Samuel Bermúdez
soy sauce · spice · sweet chocolate · green apple · umami
- El Diviso Red Bourbon
Colombia, Pitalito, Huila · 1,700-1,850 masl
- Varietals
- Red Bourbon
- Process
- Anaerobic natural
- Producer
- El Diviso, producer Néstor Lasso
cherry · banana · hard candy · raw honey
- El Diviso Caturra Chiroso
Colombia, Pitalito, Huila · 1,800 masl
- Varietals
- Caturra Chiroso
- Process
- Anaerobic natural with Saccharomyces cerevisiae (T58) yeast
- Producer
- El Diviso, producer Néstor Lasso
strawberry · basil · punchy acidity
- Peru Eli Espinoza Soberón
Peru, Las Pirias, Chirinos, Cajamarca · 1,800 masl
- Roast
- Medium
- Varietals
- Caturra
- Process
- Natural
- Producer
- San Ignacio, producer Eli Espinoza Soberón
passion fruit · champagne acidity · green grape
- Costa Rica Los Duran Black Honey
Costa Rica, Sarchi, West Valley, Alajuela · 1,300-1,650 masl
- Varietals
- H17 (Caturra x Timor Hybrid)
- Process
- Black honey
- Producer
- Los Duran Wet Mill
fruit cake · raisins · warming spices · brown sugar
- Guji Habtamu Goro
Ethiopia, Uraga, Guji, Oromia · 2,010-2,250 masl
- Varietals
- heirloom/landrace
- Process
- Washed
- Producer
- Habtamu Goro washing station, producer Habtamu Fekadu Aga
blackberry · strawberry · juicy apricot · floral orange · peach tea · electric acidity
- Colombia Double Anaerobic Mossto then Washed
Colombia, Bruselas, Pitalito, Huila · 1,820 masl
- Varietals
- Caturra Estate
- Process
- Double anaerobic mossto then washed
- Producer
- El Diviso, producer Nestor Lasso
jasmine · lychee · honeysuckle · mandarin orange
- Papua New Guinea Arufa Natural
Papua New Guinea, Arufa, Jiwaka Province · 1,520-1,770 masl
- Varietals
- Blue Mountain, Arusha, Mundo Novo, Bourbon
- Process
- Full natural on raised beds
- Producer
- Monpi Coffee / Kindeng Wet Mill (~600 smallholders)
raspberry · vanilla · toasted sesame · brown sugar
- It's a Hoot Blend
Guatemala / Colombia (blend)
- Process
- Blend
- Producer
- Finca Huixoc & Ojo De Agua (Antigua, Guatemala); Finca El Diviso (Huila, Colombia)
toffee · graham cracker · orange · date
- Decaf
Colombia, Valle del Cauca
- Process
- Ethyl acetate (sugarcane-derived) decaffeination, 97% caffeine removed
pleasantly sugary
The Vibe
A 400-square-foot storefront in the East Culver City Arts District, on the ground floor of architect Clive Wilkinson's studio building. Cast-in-place concrete at the entry, polished concrete floors, and a back bar wall of CNC-cut white oak in a geometric pattern. The counter is built as an island so the barista and customer share the same side of the process, no barrier between them.
Photos
Add a photoSomewhere to Work
People
- Power outlets
- Guest wifi
- Restrooms
- Food menu
- Patio / outdoor seating
- Pet friendly
- Kid-friendly
- Wheelchair accessible
- Locally owned
- Reusable-cup discount
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