la.foodblogging

It’s an unfortunate fact of life that I have to work for a living. And it’s an even more unfortunate that work starts quite early in the morning. More unfortunate still is the fact that I live on one side of the Hollywood Hills and work on the other, necessitating an even earlier waking up time in order to get to work on time.

I am not really a pleasure to be around in the a.m. hours on the best of days, when I get to sleep in. On the worst of days it’s best just to avoid me altogether.

But one thing that can soothe this savage beast and clear away the clouds of sleep is the miracle substance known as caffeine. I often take my caffeine in the form of a Red Bull, but most of the time it comes in the form of a hot, steaming, odiferous cup of coffee.

Now, coffee, for me, is mostly a functional drink. I am not a coffee connoisseur who is concerned with different grinds and aromas and can tell you the subtle flavors that intermix to create my morning cup of joe. I am just a person who really needs her caffeine in order to keep from being a total shrew in the hours before 11:00 a.m.The only things I can say for sure about coffee is that I hate Starbucks, and think 7-11 coffee is actually pretty decent. But I have recently discovered a coffee for which I will walk an extra block in the morning to purchase rather than settling for the standard workplace breakroom blend. It’s Groundwork Coffee. Groundwork Coffee Organic Sumatra, to be exact.

Groundwork Coffee is a local coffee company started in 1990 by a cafe owner who decided to start roasting his own coffee. Groundwork’s emphasis is on quality and sustainability, which are concepts I can get behind. Groundwork Coffee has coffee shop locations in Hollywood at Sunset and Cahuenga; Downtown in the Artists’ District on Traction Avenue; in Santa Monica on Main St.; and two locations in Venice–one on Westminster and one on Rose.The Hollywood location is in a space that used to be a mosaic studio, back when I worked in the CNN building across the street and I am always sad that Groundwork wasn’t there back then instead. It’s a nice relaxing space that’s perfect for having some coffee and a sandwich or bagel and reading the paper. I probably would have been there every day.

I generally purchase my coffee not from one of the coffee shop locations, but from Buzz Coffee on Beverly, which features the Groundwork Blackgold, Sumatra, and Pacific Rim coffees.The Blackgold is the darkest roast and is described as having “deep syrupy body, smoky caramelized sugar notes and the distinctive overtones of its dark roast style.” The Pacific Rim is a lighter more “floral” coffee that is described as “exceptionally bright.” And my baby, the Sumatra, which is a low acid, heavy-bodied coffee which is characterized as “slightly earthy.” I like to drink it with some cinnamon tossed in.

If you are not convinced that this coffee must be tried,it is also the recipient of la.foodblogging’s “Travel the World for the Price of a Cup” award for the 2006 Independent Food Festival Awards.

I definitely recommend making a trip to the Groundwork location nearest you and checking out their extensive list of international organic and exotic coffees. Ask the coffee experts for advice. There is guaranteed to be something you would like. I would try them all if I were closer to a real Groundwork location, rather than Buzz which only features the three types.

Groundwork Coffee Shops are located at:

1501 N. Cahuenga Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90028

811 Traction Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90013

2908 Main Street
Santa Monica, California 90405

3 Westminster Avenue
Venice Beach, California 90291

671 Rose Avenue
Venice, California 90291

By KT (see more of her posts). You can find more of KT's writing at her own website Gastronomy 101.