La La Land

La La Land runs on one idea, and the idea is yellow. Their own manifesto calls it a feeling and a frequency, and the mission they set themselves is to put more of it into the world: more yellow cups, more yellow mornings, more yellow light in the neighborhoods they open in. The rooms are white with pops of yellow, and the name was picked on purpose to suggest a dream world, somewhere lighter and warmer than the street you walked in from. Kindness is the house policy, and it shows in how you get greeted before you have ordered anything. Matcha holds its own on the board, with a strawberry version, a lavender bloom and a Yellow Rose matcha latte among the ones people photograph, and there is a La La Matcha tin on the retail shelf if you want to make it at home. Ten Southern California cafes now carry the yellow cup, from Montana Avenue in Santa Monica down to Irvine Spectrum, with more in Texas, Arizona and Nashville. The company also puts weight behind who it hires, offering job opportunities to foster youth. We rate it as the reliable morning stop where the welcome is part of what you are paying for.