Monolith Espresso is Constructing One thing Completely different in Los Angeles

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 yr 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 just lately instructed Day by 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 assorted hues and sizes dangle from the ceiling, kind the bases of tables, sit inside counters and fill small inside gardens. Stone imagery additionally seems on Monolith’s espresso packaging.

“Certainly one of our objectives from the start was to create an area that felt genuinely completely different from anything within the better SGV space,” mentioned Wang. “We by no means approached the undertaking by asking what a espresso store was presupposed to appear to be. We imagine that no sort of enterprise must be confined to a predetermined format or aesthetic.”

A considerable portion of the ground plan is devoted to the bar, whereas the open format provides prospects 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 similar to Panamanian espresso specialist Panda Bear Categorical and Hacea Espresso Supply.

On the cafe, these coffees assist an experimental seasonal drink and meals menu led by Jin known 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.

“Relatively than treating every menu change as a chance to easily introduce one thing new, we needed each transition to contribute to a bigger narrative,” mentioned 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 “Crimson Pepper Syrup” with pink 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 method.” One current 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 Possibility-O Lagom 01 for pourover espresso and an FM Grinder Yoda 100 for single-origin espressos.

Wang beforehand labored as a barista, although he mentioned his deeper engagement with specialty espresso started whereas he was pursuing a Grasp of Effective 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 improvement and artistic course, whereas Jin continues to concentrate on menu improvement, 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 knowledgeable espresso background,” mentioned Wang. “Her involvement grew fully out of non-public curiosity and curiosity, which progressively advanced into an necessary a part of Monolith.”

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

“For us, good service is about guiding relatively than educating,” Wang mentioned. “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 are actually planning a separate warehouse that would supply extra room for Monolith’s roasting operation. As that undertaking develops, additionally 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 intently tied to my private outlook on life,” Wang mentioned. “[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 positioned at 43 East Valley Boulevard in Alhambra, California.

Feedback? Questions? Information to share? Contact DCN’s editors right here. For all the newest espresso trade information, subscribe to the DCN e-newsletter.