I have a confession: I have been unfaithful.

It started on an early Sunday morning, when I was waiting for the car wash to open. When we met in Little Tokyo it was so quiet, it felt like we were the only ones awake.

But it didn’t end after that first meeting. It happened again one morning before work, in a garage downtown… and again… and again. The last time, I recognized two of my neighbors walking past with their dog, and thought for sure my secret would be blown. They didn’t see me… but the guilt has become too much to bear. So I am telling you now:

I am cheating on my percolator with Café Dulcé coffee.

Courtesy of Cafe Dulce Facebook page

Ha! Did I scare you? Did you think you were going to get a juicy back-story to the collected façade of my life? Not my style.

Despite living downtown for six months, I had no idea that Little Tokyo held such an exquisite coffee gem until an additional location opened just a few blocks away from my apartment. The second location is actually a pop-up shop and not necessarily a permanent installation. Though the space is only reserved for the next six to eight months, I am smitten and would love to see Dulcé stay.

Courtesy of Cafe Dulce Facebook page

The staffs in both shops are consistently warm and welcoming regardless of what ungodly hour you may walk in. The spaces are small, but very bright, and their pop-up location is actually completely open on two walls. There isn’t a ton of seating in either one, but there are actually men in the neighborhood who seem to congregate around the perimeter of the downtown space, sipping their hot espresso and talking about ‘things.’ (I don’t know what they are talking about, hence the assumption that it must be ‘things.’)

And ah, the coffee! It is just glorious, prepared with the passion of only people who truly love what they are doing. The proper handling, grinding and preparing of premium coffee beans is an art and these guys are the masters. If you order an Americano, you will indeed receive an Americano, your cup bursting with bright, energetic espresso flavor. (Too often I’ve been handed a cup of boiling though flavorless brown water, by baristas at chain coffee shops that shall remain nameless.) As you are handed the aforementioned coffee, you will also likely be given a brief history of the beans used to craft your drink. From start to finish, it is an invigorating, all-sensory experience. Want to know more? Go visit Dulcé and try their coffee yourself! We might run into each other… and my percolator will just have to get over it.

Locations after the jump!

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Have you seen the video “Sh*t LA People Say in LA?” If you have, you’ll remember the part when one of the girls turns to the other and pretentiously says, “I only drink Intelligentsia coffee.” Though highly unlikely as it’s a bit pricey, I would love to be able to say the same. It is expensive coffee, but I will also tell you that it is worth every penny. I dropped into the Intelligentsia location in Pasadena one Saturday morning, and can say it was love at first sight. Prior to entering the café, I really had no expectations, but stepping up to the worn, wooden counter-top, I knew the bar had been set.

My mind was immediately and completely blown: Three baristas worked feverishly behind espresso machines in immaculate, synchronized glory. Did my eyes deceive me? No- it was true! They were grinding the beans for every single cup! Drip coffee was being dripped through its own recycled-paper filter for each, individual cup! And don’t even get me started on the foam hearts… I am a sucker for art in my foam.

Your perfect little coffee cup is placed on its perfect little white saucer, which is then placed on a bamboo serving board alongside a miniature latte glass filled with sparkling mineral water. A+ for presentation. Then you finally sit down, take a sip and BAM! Mind blown again. Every bit of flavor and integrity that could have been ground out of those little beans is experienced in every single sip because remember, you didn’t have to share that coffee with anyone else.

Needless to say, I am now obsessed. Unfortunately it took me about three weeks to have the opportunity to come back, but I am here again on a Saturday morning, and can’t think of anywhere else I would rather be.

...all gone.