Couplet Coffee

The drinks list is where Couplet's pop-up years show: Gulab with saffron, rose and cardamom; Choco Banana built on house chocolate ganache, banana cream, Filipino banana chips and cinnamon; Coke n' Cream Spro with cola, espresso, vanilla cream and a maraschino cherry. Couplet Coffee opened its first permanent Los Angeles café on 17 January 2025, in the old Bloom & Plume space at the edge of Echo Park, carrying a brand that had spent years as beans, product drops and events.

Coffee, matcha and a playful bar

The straight coffee is all there: espresso, drip, cold brew, Americanos, lattes, cortados and cappuccinos. Retail beans include The Blissful Blend, the house signature; The Espresso for Everyone Blend, pitched as a modern crowd-pleaser; and Single Origin Peaceful Peru from the Estrella Divina co-op in San Ignacio, with further sourcing from co-ops and family farms in Nicaragua and Brazil.

Matcha carries equal weight, single-origin and ceremonial grade from Ise in Japan, including Bananas n' Cream Matcha with its lemon and marzipan notes. Beyond espresso there is Banana Bread chai, Iced Rosella with hibiscus, lemongrass and licorice root, and a Rosemary Passion Fruit Tonic built on either espresso or matcha. Pastry comes in from neighbours: croissants and colourful conchas, gluten-free cookies, cinnamon rolls.

Checkered tile and purple light

The room is built to look like the packaging: checkered tile underfoot, subtle purple lighting, rainbow and near-psychedelic colour across the walls. The founder worked with a local artist to make the interior feel like stepping inside Couplet's holographic bean bags, which ties the café to the brand that came before it.

The reason for the place is in that decision. The founder wanted a room where she and her friends belonged, having found coffee pretentious and stale as a UCLA undergraduate. The pop-ups that preceded the café ran queer art nights, live music, poetry and stand-up, and the Echo Park room keeps that going with meet-ups, art workshops and speed dating. Beans, matcha, tea, brewing kit and merch are sold alongside.

Start with Choco Banana or the matcha

Choco Banana is the first order for anyone who wants to understand the dessert-leaning house style. Coke n' Cream Spro is the nostalgic one, and the Gulab is the floral turn, with saffron, rose and cardamom behind the espresso.

If matcha is the reason for the visit, Bananas n' Cream Matcha is the natural start, using the Ise ceremonial-grade powder. Iced Rosella is the option without espresso or matcha at all. Pair any of them with a concha, a croissant, a gluten-free cookie or a cinnamon roll. There is a kids menu too, with hot chocolate and the Banooney, made with house Filipino banana syrup and steamed milk.