Forget grabbing a latte on the run — California’s latest coffee craze wants you to make a reservation, take a seat, and surrender your caffeine order, and a small fortune, to the experts.
A new crop of Japanese-style “coffee omakase” tasting bars are turning the humble cup of joe into the kind of drawn-out, multi-course experience more commonly associated with Michelin-starred restaurants — complete with rare beans, food pairings, mocktails and eye-popping prices upwards of $125 for a sitting.
Popularized in cities like Tokyo, the elite experience is just the latest push toward luxe to emerge from the Golden State’s obsessive, sprawling specialty coffee scene — where the once-humble pourover has become a coveted and costly item — with cups crafted from rare beans flown in from around the globe pushing prices past $20 at top cafes.
Support authors and subscribe to content
This is premium stuff. Subscribe to read the entire article.
