LA Mill Coffee Boutique - Los Angeles, CA (Silverlake)

I'm not a coffee drinker, but when I kept hearing about La Mill Coffee Boutique in multiple conversations with multiple people, I made a mental note to try it. Renee loves her coffee and when we had some time to kill before dinner, I suggested we try La Mill and see what the hype was about. Here's the sign lit up at night.

Inside is a cute turquoise and white designed space with a black and white painting on the wall, reminiscent of toile wallpaper. You can order at the counter to take your coffee to go or sit at the tables.
I love the robin egg blue chairs and the chandelier. So cute.
To tell you the truth, I was overwhelmed at the selection here. Not only do you pick a specific coffee bean, but you can pick the type of extraction. You can have it brewed in a Clover vacuum siphon brew chamber, a french press or a Japanese hand drip process, among other numerous options. I didn't know there were so many ways to brew a cup of coffee. I texted my friend for guidance and he suggested the Guatemala hand drip. I ordered this iced. Here's the fancy contraption it came with. They brew these at the table.
The waiter was super nice and told us exactly what he was doing and how it was affecting the taste of the coffee. Apparently you have to pour the water several times and in a particular fashion to get the right taste. It went totally over my head, but I'm sure a coffee aficionado would appreciate the play by play explanation.
The hot water is poured down the drip and below it is a container of ice. The ice cools the coffee as it is steeped through. The end result is a boat load of iced coffee.

The description of their coffee beans are given the same esteem as wine. The tasting notes of the various coffee beans from Panama to El Salvador ranged from crisp bright acidity to deep tones of dried fruits, peaches and apricots. Again, I am not a coffee person so I can't describe the taste of my Guatemala El Socorro Y Anexos very well, but it had a smooth, clean finish with no lingering or bitter aftertaste. It was pricey though, I think $10 or so for my iced coffee. I think it amounted to like 3 full glasses of coffee so I guess the per glass cost isn't too bad, but there is no need for Soomeenshee to be drinking 3 glasses of iced coffee in one sitting. I paid for it later that night when I couldn't fall asleep.

Now for dessert, we ordered the Passionfruit Gelee, which had lychee-shiso sorbet, coconut-soy milk soup and basil seeds. Apparently Pastry Chef Adrian Vasquez of Michelin two-starred Providence designed the menu. This was amazing.

The dish arrived with a slice of passionfruit gelee surrounded by what looked like chia seeds, topped with some crunchy flake thing and the lychee-shiso sorbet balanced on top. The waitress then poured the coconut soy milk soup into the bowl for us as we watched. The flavor and texture combination was delightful. This has got to be one of my favorite desserts in a long time. I seriously would have been happy just eating the lychee-shiso sorbet, drinking the coconut-soy milk, savoring the passionfruit gelee or even chomping on those frog egg-looking basil seeds on their own, but together, it was perfection.

I think I might have to stay away from La Mill in fear of getting addicted to their coffee, but their dessert selection, I'm sure, will beckon me again. The waitress told me to try their food next time since we enjoyed the dessert so much. Chef Michael Cimarusti from Providence designed the food menu here as well.

La Mill Coffee Boutique

1636 Silver Lake Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026