Uniting Laptop Campers

Motto Tea Café just opened a new concept a block south of their tea shop. Kissa is inspired by the kissatens in Japan, which are cozy retro-style coffee cafes that often play classical or jazz music and serve hand-brewed coffee and desserts.

Score: 37/50

Food: 4/5 – The baked goods are baked in-house – cakes, cookies, scones, caneles, shokupan, shio pan, etc. They are pricey. A canelé is $5.85. The slice of shokupan toast with garlic butter was buttery, soft, with crispy edges, and had real bits of garlic. Delicious. Everything is on the smaller side.

Coffee: 4/5 – Wide variety of drinks include your typical espresso drinks, matcha, pour over coffee, tonics, and specialty lattes. The flat white had nice foam art. It looked darker than usual but wasn’t bitter.

Wi-fi: 5/5 – Free, password by the register

Ambiance: 5/5 – Lovely and peaceful, different areas to sit, floor to ceiling windows on two sides, artsy things to look at. The food is served on trays.

Noise: 5/5 – quiet jazz music

Plugs: 2/5 – Saw two outlets

Parking: 2/5 – not that easy since it’s in Old Town, metered parking or public parking lots ($1 for the first 2 hours)

Comfort: 3/5 – Tables are pretty close to each other and chairs aren’t padded, not really set up for laptop camping

Bathroom: 3/5 – One unisex, code required

Art: 4/5 – The things hanging above looked artsy

Tips: It’s not filled with campers yet. Online ordering is available.

Yotea offers a wide variety of Asian coffee and tea drinks and lots of add-ins. The space is laptop camping friendly. It’s in a new building with a few new businesses on the way. Order at the kiosk.

Score: 40/50

Food: 4/5 – A variety of croiffles are offered. I didn’t get any. They had sweet and savory versions.

Coffee: 4/5 –  They have Vietnamese coffee (including egg coffee), milk tea, Thai milk tea, Thai Green milk tea, fruit tea, cheese tea, frosties, Yakult drinks, ceremonial grade matcha, pandan coffee, ube coffee, and sweet corn lattes. You can specify the amount of ice and level of sweetness, plus they have many drink add-ins, including boba, grass jelly, other jellies, egg pudding, red bean, taro, crème brulee cream, several kinds of cheese cream, coconut ice cream, etc. The teas are brewed in advance, but drinks are made to order.

Wi-fi: 5/5 – Free, unlimited, password is by the register

Ambiance: 4/5 – Modern and somewhat sparse with white walls, concrete floor, black tables, black chairs

Noise: 4/5 – Quiet, feels like a library

Plugs: 3/5 – Spotted a few outlets

Parking: 5/5 – Free parking in the covered lot (in the rear)

Comfort: 5/5 – Chairs are all padded and tables aren’t too close

Bathroom: 3/5 – One unisex

Art: 3/5 – None

Tips: Online ordering available. Rewards program. Drinks are larger.

Ten Thousand Coffee was founded in Sydney, Australia. The franchise has cafes in Seoul, Manila, NYC, Taipei, and Hanoi. The offerings feel more Korean than Australian.

Score: 35/50

Food: 3/5 – Mini pastries baked on site, cookies, macarons, and castella cakes in the fridge. The ham & cheese croissant lacked flakiness and the filling was mushy.

Coffee: 3/5 – For drinks, they have standard espresso drinks, pour over coffee, cold brew, drip coffee, signature drinks (einspanners). The flat white was weak and had no foam art.

Wi-fi: 3/5 – Free, password by the register, it’s good for one hour

Ambiance: 5/5 – White everything with touches of black. White counter, white tables, white floor, off white walls, light wood seating

Noise: 3/5 – Pop music, K-pop possibly

Plugs: 4/5 – Plenty of outlets along one wall

Parking: 4/5 – 2 hour strip mall parking, it’s close to East LA College, so there are more parking restrictions in the area

Comfort: 3/5 – Tables are pretty close to each other and chairs aren’t padded,

Bathroom: 3/5 – One unisex, code required

Art: 4/5 – Photos of their drinks

Tips: Coffee beans and merch for sale.

Offset is a South Bay coffee roaster. The El Segundo café was small and 1/3 of it was dedicated to the in-house roasting.

Score: 37/50

Food: 4/5 – Pastries come from Rockenwager. They only had chocolate chip cookies and croissants left when I visited. There is a food menu too. It includes toasts and breakfast biscuits. The toasts are made to order.  The avocado toast had fresh ingredients, but the bread was too soft, the microgreens fell off, and the whole thing seemed underseasoned.

Coffee: 5/5 – The coffee is better than the food. For drinks, they had drip coffee, espresso drinks, espresso tonic, cold brew, ceremonial matcha, tea, horchata, and even einspanner. Milk choices: whole, oat, almond. They do not have pour over coffee. The flat white was excellent with superb foam art.

Wi-fi: 5/5 – Free, unlimited, the password is by the register.

Ambiance: 4/5 – Minimalist white walls, about 1/3 of the space is dedicated to roasting

Noise: 4/5 – No music, the roaster can be noisy

Plugs: 1/5 – I only saw one outlet

Parking: 5/5 – Easy free strip mall parking

Comfort: 3/5 – Seating isn’t padded, tables are very small, outdoors can be too hot

Bathroom: 3/5 – Seemed to be outside the building

Art: 3/5 – None

Tips: Coffee beans and merch for sale.

As Kneaded Café opened recently at the San Leandro Main Library. The baked goods and breads are baked about a mile from the café.

Score: 38/50

Food: 4/5 – Choose from a case of pastries (croissants, muffins, scones, cookies, teacake, quiche). You can also order a salad or sandwich. The sandwiches are premade and sitting in the refrigerated case. My sandwich was good but very simple. The side salad was way too salty.

Coffee: 4/5 – They serve Counter Culture coffee. The drip coffee was okay. Drinks include your usual espresso drinks, drip coffee, tea, lemonade, and hot chocolate.

Wi-fi: 5/5 – Free, unlimited, the password was posted

Ambiance: 4/5 – Indoor and outdoor seating, homey in feel

Noise: 5/5 – Quiet

Plugs: 3/5 – I saw one outlet. The library has lots of outlets though.

Parking: 4/5 – Large parking lot, free parking for three hours

Comfort: 3/5 – Chairs were hard but the tables were large enough to spread out, some of the outdoor seating might be too sunny

Bathroom: 3/5 – Didn’t see any but I’m sure the library has some

Art: 3/5 – None

Tips: Coffee beans and breads for sale. They also sell snacks.

Philz always seems to be camping friendly. This location is a bit smaller but has the charm of being a converted vintage gas station. There’s even a vintage gas pump inside.

Score: 40/50

Food: 4/5 – The pastries include muffins, croissants, kouign ammans, cookies, cinnamon rolls, cake, and more. They also have breakfast sandwiches, breakfast burritos, bagels, and more. Grilled ham & cheese ($6.95) was premade but they can heat it. The bread is thin and white and there’s a sweet sauce; it is cheesy and satisfying.

Coffee: 5/5 – They roast their own beans. There is no espresso machine. Coffee is brewed one cup at a time. The coffee is broken down by roast: light, medium or dark roast. You specify the amount of sweetness and cream. I like how the coffee is very strong. All coffees are $4.95 for a small, $5.80 for a medium, and $6.15 for a large. They also have tea and hot cocoa.

Wi-fi: 4/5 – Free, unlimited, no password required

Ambiance: 5/5 – White, light wood, touches of yellow, looks like a vintage gas station

Noise: 3/5 – Loud music

Plugs: 5/5 – Plenty of outlets

Parking: 5/5 – Easy free strip mall parking for three hours

Comfort: 3/5 – There are some couches but the chairs aren’t padded. Small tables are close together. Lots of outdoor seating.

Bathroom: 3/5 – One unisex, code required

Art: 3/5 – None

Tips: Coffee beans and merch for sale. Order ahead and earn points with the Philz app.

Located inside the Fremont Food Hall, Capture Coffee is a newish coffeehouse with Asian specialty lattes made with real ingredients (not powders). They use fruit to make the fruit lattes. It’s good for anyone who is lactose-intolerant.

Score: 30/50

Food: 3/5 – I went in the evening and did not see any pastries. The menu includes waffles and salads though. It seems a little limited food-wise but maybe it’s because of the time of day that I visited.  

Coffee: 2.5 –  Locally roasted coffee, coffee, cold brew, espresso drinks, specialty lattes (banana, ube, lemon condensed milk, black sesame). My mung bean latte was made with real mung beans. It tasted weird though – almost fermented and bitter. For milk, they have lactose free milk or oat milk.

Wi-fi: 5/5 – Free, unlimited, password is by the register

Ambiance: 3/5 – A shared space that looks nice (butter yellow wall, hanging pendant lamps, white tables, wood chairs) but several tables were dirty and trash was left on the table (I guess if you don’t bus your table, no one else does either).

Noise: 5/5 – Very quiet, no music

Plugs: 0/5 – Didn’t see any

Parking: 3/5 – Two hour free street parking till 6 PM

Comfort: 4/5 – Chairs are new and padded, no blinds or window coverings, tables aren’t too close

Bathroom: 3/5 – One unisex

Art: 3/5 – Nothing yet

Tips: Beans for sale and tumblers

The signage for Verve is hard to spot, but you’ll be happy you found this oasis in WeHo. It was my first time at this Verve location. I still prefer the Arts District branch which is larger and has more food options (from the on-site kitchen).

Score: 37/50

Food: 5/5 – Lots of pastries, yogurt parfaits, toasts, salads, etc. Love the avocado toast. The food always looks beautiful too.

Coffee: 5/5 –  Espresso drinks, nitro, flash brew, pour over, matcha, chai, and more. They roast their own beans. Coffee never disappoints. Great foam art too.

Wi-fi: 5/5 – Free, unlimited, accept terms to connect

Ambiance: 5/5 – Lots of small tables and counters, sunbrellas, outdoor patio has lots of leafy green plants

Noise: 4/5 – Busy place, music is loud but mellow

Plugs: 0/5 – Didn’t see any

Parking: 1/5 – Tough, metered parking or two hour if you’re willing to walk a few blocks

Comfort: 4/5 – Chairs are hard metal, covered patio with trees, counter seating outside with sunbrellas

Bathroom: 5/5 – Two nice unisex restrooms

Art: 3/5 – None

Tips: Coffee beans and coffee brewing accessories for sale. It’s a popular place, so finding a seating could be an issue.

Re:Bakesic is a new Asian bakery that also serves quality coffee in a cute setting. They’re in soft opening mode, so the offerings are limited for now. And if you get there in the late afternoon, there may be no baked goods left.

Score: 39/50

Food: 5/5 – House-baked scones, cookies, muffins, and banana bread with Asian flavors. Loved the matcha red bean mochi scone. It had a strong matcha flavor, red beans on top, and mochi in the middle. Appreciated how it was less sweet.

Coffee: 5/5 –  Signature drinks, classic espresso drinks, matcha, hojicha, tea, etc.  Milk choices: Oat milk, almond milk, or whole milk. The flat white was well-made though on the weaker side.

Wi-fi: 5/5 – Free, unlimited, password is by the register

Ambiance: 5/5 – Cutesy and feminine with pastel colors, light wood tables, and a bear logo.

Noise: 3/5 – Soothing with a strong beat though, sound echoes in the room

Plugs: 1/5 – Only saw one

Parking: 5/5 – Covered parking, no restrictions, new complex with only a few open businesses, so plenty of parking for now

Comfort: 3/5 – New wood chairs and stools that aren’t padded, two communal/larger tables and four small two top round tables, no outdoor seating

Bathroom: 3/5 – One unisex

Art: 4/5 – Nothing yet

Tips: Cash is not accepted.

Bevel Coffee is a Latino-owned new coffee shop in Altadena. It started as a pop-up mobile cart three years ago. The coffee is roasted in-house, but at a different location. The place is small, so it isn’t great for laptop camping.

Score: 37/50

Food: 2/5 – Bakers Kneaded provides the croissants, cookies, scones, and muffins. The scone I had was dry and hard.

Coffee: 5/5 – They have espresso drinks, cold brew, drip coffee, and tea. I was told that they plan to add pour over coffee. The latte was truly excellent, extra flavorful. Milk options: whole, oat, almond.

Wi-fi: 5/5 – Free, unlimited, secure. Ask for the password.

Ambiance: 4/5 – Tiles and lighting give the interior a retro look. Large outdoor patio.

Noise: 4/5 – Quiet music but lots of talking

Plugs: 5/5 – Plenty of outlets inside but no tables

Parking: 4/5 – Has a small parking lot, probably easy to find parking in the neighborhood

Comfort: 2/5 – Seating isn’t padded, outdoor seating lacks shade or sunbrellas. No tables inside.

Bathroom: 3/5 – One unisex

Art: 3/5 – Nothing but they just opened, so that could change.

Tips: Coffee beans for sale. There is a loyalty program.

HC is a busy local coffee shop in the First Bank Tower in downtown Austin. It has five branches in Austin and roasts its own beans.

Score: 35/50

Food: 4/5 – Pastries, breakfast tacos, grab n go sandwiches and yogurt parfaits. The Ranch House breakfast tacos are made with flour tortillas. No on-site kitchen. The pastries looked good (croissants, muffins, cake, cookies).

Coffee: 5/5 –  They roast their own beans, decent foam art, pretty smooth flavor. A small cup was large (by LA standards). Choose from brewed coffee, cold brew, espresso drinks, matcha, chai, tea, kombucha, hot cocoa, and chocolate milk.

Wi-fi: 5/5 – Free, unlimited, password posted at the register

Ambiance: 4/5 – Feels a bit like Starbucks inside lots of wood, a big counter with red tile backsplash, green paint, contemporary looking. Large windows on three sides

Noise: 4/5 – Music wasn’t too loud, lots of talking

Plugs: 3/5 – Saw three

Parking: 1/5 – Downtown so probably hard to find

Comfort: 3/5 – Hard seats all around, counter seating, some larger tables, outdoor tables

Bathroom: 3/5 – One unisex that looked pretty beat up. It’s a popular bathroom.

Art: 3/5 – None

Tips: Coffee beans and coffee brewing accessories for sale. It’s popular with campers.

The people behind Revenge Of (Comics and Pinball) opened a coffee shop next door. And Destroy Coffee and Gaming is set up so that you can play buy and play games like Dungeons and Dragons.

Score: 41/50

Food: 4/5 – There’s a case of pastries from LA’s Cuban bakery, Café Tropical. I spotted that coffee cake, muffins, cookies, and Cuban flaky pastries.

Coffee: 4/5 –  Choose from drip, cold brew, matcha, and espresso drinks. They use Counter Culture Coffee. My cappuccino was decent but bitter

Wi-fi: 5/5 – Free, unlimited, password posted at the register

Ambiance: 4/5 – Comfy dungeon, darker colors, wood, fake stone walls, exposed wood ceiling beams

Noise: 4/5 – Quiet though the music was loud. The music was mellow though. Very few people talk. It felt weird when people had a conversation.

Plugs: 5/5 – Many

Parking: 4/5 – Street parking, shouldn’t be too hard to find

Comfort: 4/5 – All the chairs are padded except for the ones at the counter. All the chairs have backs too. No small tables.

Bathroom: 4/5 – One unisex, ask for the code

Art: 3/5 – None unless you count the words And Destroy painted on one wall

Tips: They have drink specials too. It’s already popular with campers. Open 7 days a week.

The original Mandarin Coffee Stand opened in Pasadena in 2023. They are not coffee roasters but have selected high quality coffee from a variety of roasters, including La Cabra, SEY, Camber, and Terraform (Terraform is based in Shanghai, China). This new location is already popular with campers.

Score: 35/50

Food: 4/5 – Pastries are supplied by SugarBloom. SugarBloom supplies many of the nicer coffee shops in LA. The pastries are good: croissants, donuts, cookies, muffins, cake. There is no kitchen but they can warm your pastries.

Coffee: 4/5 – Espresso drinks, daily brew, single origin cold brew, pour over coffee, signature drinks (with an Asian influence), matcha, hojicha, chai, etc. The flat white featured very pretty foam art. It wasn’t that hot and was slightly bitter.

Wi-fi: 5/5 – Free, unlimited, password posted at the coffee station

Ambiance: 4/5 – Has a Japanese teahouse aesthetic – light woods, a counter that you can stand at, window shades in the middle of the room, large windows on two sides, large counter

Noise: 4/5 – Music isn’t too loud, a lot of people talk though

Plugs: 0/5 – Didn’t see any

Parking: 4/5 – Limited covered parking (didn’t see time limit posted), 1 hour free parking on Colorado

Comfort: 3/5 – Small tables, chairs are hard (not padded), tables are close together

Bathroom: 4/5 – One unisex, cute

Art: 3/5 – None but not much wall space either

Tips: Coffee beans and coffee accessories for sale.

Soro Coffee opened several months ago in the Downtown Core. It is an oasis of calm and a place to relax and enjoy premium coffee and tea. They were serving Idle Hands Roasting Company based in Salt Lake City, Utah. It’s Korean-owned and serves high quality matcha.

Score: 38/50

Food: 3/5 – The pastries come from Bread Lounge. I spotted croissants, danishes, muffins, scones, and cakes. I ordered the lemon poppyseed cake slice. It was a small slice. After they headed it, it seemed quite dry. I expected better from Bread Lounge but maybe the toasting affected the texture. There is no kitchen, so they only have pastries.

Coffee: 4/5 – Choose from espresso drinks, cold brew, pour over coffee, tonics, chai, matcha, signature drinks, and tea. My flat white was strong and the oat milk added a nice creaminess. Mr. Froyo enjoyed his pour over. Milk choices: almond, oat

Wi-fi: 5/5 – Free, unlimited, password posted at the coffee station and by the front door

Ambiance: 4/5 – White room with many recessed overhead lights, looks like two adjoining rooms, minimalist, attractive

Noise: 4/5 – Music is quiet and calming, people are quiet. Traffic is noisy when the door is left open.

Plugs: 5/5 – Some along the walls

Parking: 1/5 – Very tough, some metered street parking

Comfort: 4/5 – Tables of various sizes, upholstered seating, stools by the windows.

Bathroom: 5/5 – Two clean bathrooms

Art: 3/5 – None

Tips: Coffee beans for sale.

Knotted started in South Korea and is known for Korean-style milk cream and custard filled donuts. It’s a dessert shop. They don’t have savory items.

Score: 34/50

Food: 4/5 – They had eight kinds of donuts, as well as burnt Basque cheesecake and cookies. The matcha donut had a matcha glaze and matcha custard filling. The glaze was too sweet. The donut was soft and fresh though. All the donuts are raised.

Coffee: 5/5 – You’ll find a full drink menu - espresso drinks, matcha, hojicha, tonics, ades, cream top drinks, etc. Stereoscope Coffee, a high-quality local roaster, is served. Milk choices - whole, oat, almond. My flat white was made with skill.

Wi-fi: 5/5 – Free, unlimited, ask for the password

Ambiance: 5/5 – The cafe is beautiful. The black and white striped seating area and curved lamps overhead look Parisian.

Noise: 2/5 – Loud music

Plugs: 0/5 – I didn’t see any

Parking: 3/5 – Can be a challenge, metered and free 2 hour street parking

Comfort: 4/5 – Smaller but some cushioned seating and seats without cushions

Bathroom: 3/5 – One restroom

Art: 3/5 – None but very stylish

Tips: There is a rewards program.

Artisanal coffee has finally arrived in downtown Monterey Park! Yihui Coffee serves multiple high quality roasters like Janson Coffee, Civil Coffee, and Coffee Sensory. Warning, people love camping here for long periods of time.

Score: 41/50

Food: 3/5 – There’s a case of pastries from LA’s Cuban bakery, Café Tropical. But they seem to sell out by late morning (or don’t carry that much)

Coffee: 5/5 –  The menu includes espresso drinks (hot or cold), cold brew, pour over coffee (hot or cold), signature coffee drinks, matcha, hojicha, teas, and even a coffee flight. The menu is in English and Chinese.

Wi-fi: 5/5 – Free, unlimited, password posted at the register

Ambiance: 4/5 – Nice place (minimalist looking – shades of white and grey) to camp.

Noise: 4/5 – Quiet with mellow music

Plugs: 5/5 – Many available and built into the seating

Parking: 5/5 – Street parking and I think there’s a parking lot in the back

Comfort: 4/5 – All the chairs are padded but the side of seating along the wall is pretty hard

Bathroom: 3/5 – Unisex

Art: 3/5 – None

Tips: They have drink specials and coffee beans for sale.