Drinks contained in the Monolith Espresso bar in Los Angeles. Photograph by Ariel Ip, courtesy of Monolith Espresso. (@lastname.ip)

Husband-and-wife co-founders Nikki Jin and Eli Wang opened Monolith Espresso earlier this 12 months in Alhambra, California, bringing house-roasted coffees and an elaborate seasonal drink idea into an area constructed round stone, openness and experimentation.

“Monolith Espresso started with a easy concept: a real love for espresso and a need to create one thing of our personal,” Wang not too long ago informed Every day Espresso Information.

Photograph by Ariel Ip, courtesy of Monolith Espresso. (@lastname.ip)

The cream-toned inside and stone finishes reinforce the store’s title. Rocks of varied hues and sizes grasp from the ceiling, type the bases of tables, sit inside counters and fill small inside gardens. Stone imagery additionally seems on Monolith’s espresso packaging.

“One in every of our targets from the start was to create an area that felt genuinely completely different from anything within the better SGV space,” stated Wang. “We by no means approached the venture by asking what a espresso store was alleged to appear to be. We consider that no sort of enterprise needs to be confined to a predetermined format or aesthetic.”

A considerable portion of the ground plan is devoted to the bar, whereas the open format offers clients a transparent view of drinks being ready.

Photograph by Ariel Ip, courtesy of Monolith Espresso. (@lastname.ip)

All of the coffees for the store are roasted by Wang on both a Stronghold S7X machine or a newly added Stronghold S8X machine. Wang additionally oversees inexperienced espresso sourcing, turning to boutique merchants resembling Panamanian espresso specialist Panda Bear Specific and Hacea Espresso Supply.

On the cafe, these coffees help an experimental seasonal drink and meals menu led by Jin referred to as “In 4 Actions,” an idea impressed by four-movement musical compositions. The actions, or “chapters,” succeed each other seasonally in an ongoing narrative, every referencing symbols and flavors of various Asian areas.

Picture courtesy of Eli Wang and Nikki Jin, Monolith Espresso.

“Fairly than treating every menu change as a possibility to easily introduce one thing new, we wished each transition to contribute to a bigger narrative,” stated Wang.

The present menu chapter, “Monsoon,” references Southeast Asia, with 4 drinks reflecting the ideas of warmth, tide, downpour and breath. “Warmth,” for instance, features a single-origin Ethiopian chilly brew with a “Spiced Coconut Oil Wash” and a “Purple Pepper Syrup” with crimson bell pepper, Thai chili and lemon juice, completed with a Tajín rim and contemporary Thai chili.

The store has additionally launched a “Seasonal Highlights” menu that “explores the identical inspirations in a extra playful and approachable approach.” One latest instance is the iced “Coconut Elephant,” with espresso, coconut milk, cream, Thai tea and palm sugar. 

Picture courtesy of Eli Wang and Nikki Jin, Monolith Espresso.

Supporting the busy bar are two Mazzer grinders feeding Slayer espresso machines, a Ditting 807 for grinding retail espresso, an Choice-O Lagom 01 for pourover espresso and an FM Grinder Yoda 100 for single-origin espressos.

Wang beforehand labored as a barista, although he stated his deeper engagement with specialty espresso started whereas he was pursuing a Grasp of High quality Arts in pictures at Pratt Institute in New York. The thought for a restaurant took form throughout his research, and he and Jin started planning Monolith after he graduated.

Past espresso, Wang leads Monolith’s conceptual growth and inventive route, whereas Jin continues to give attention to menu growth, together with baked items from Los Angeles-based Out of Skinny Air.

Photograph by Ariel Ip, courtesy of Monolith Espresso. (@lastname.ip)

“Nikki didn’t come from an expert espresso background,” stated Wang. “Her involvement grew totally out of non-public curiosity and curiosity, which progressively advanced into an necessary a part of Monolith.”

The couple stated they need the nontraditional menu and design to ask newcomers into specialty espresso quite than make them really feel excluded from it.

“For us, good service is about guiding quite than educating,” Wang stated. “We wish to decrease the barrier to entry with out lowering the depth of the expertise.”

Photograph by Ariel Ip, courtesy of Monolith Espresso. (@lastname.ip)

Wang and Jin at the moment are planning a separate warehouse that would offer further room for Monolith’s roasting operation. As that venture develops, in addition they plan to enter the wholesale market and broaden on-line espresso gross sales, rising slowly and organically. 

Like every correct monolith, the concept is permanence, not pace. 

“The title Monolith is carefully tied to my private outlook on life,” Wang stated. “[As] a lifelong science fiction fan, in lots of the tales I like, monoliths symbolize one thing timeless that transcends generations. They carry a way of thriller whereas additionally inspiring curiosity, creativeness, and discovery.”

Photograph by Ariel Ip, courtesy of Monolith Espresso. (@lastname.ip)

Monolith Espresso is situated at 43 East Valley Boulevard in Alhambra, California.

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