Endorffeine

One bar, one person, every drink

Jack Benchakul makes every drink at Endorffeine himself, which is the single fact that explains the rest of the place. The bar is a small U of concrete-grey counter in Far East Plaza in Los Angeles Chinatown, open since 2015, and the name welds endorphin to caffeine. Benchakul came to it from biochemistry, developing cancer drugs, and then from pastry, and both halves are visible: measurement taken seriously, sweetness handled by someone who used to build desserts. The room has been compared to a chemistry lab set inside a shopping arcade, and it is barely larger than a small gallery. It has stayed a single location, and nothing about the operation scales.

A multi-roaster bar with an aging habit

Endorffeine buys rather than roasts, and the list it buys from is a serious one: Sey, Drop, Ilse, Prolog, April and Leaves, with guests rotating through and Heart from Portland in the mix. What makes the bar unusual is what happens after the coffee arrives. Benchakul ages delicate varietals in-house to build vibrance and punch while keeping them elegant, and one example gives the measure of it: a Hacienda La Esmeralda from Boquete, roasted by Sey in Brooklyn, then rested three months before it was poured. Aging green coffee is a habit borrowed more from tea and wine than from cafés. The workflow runs on Modbar equipment, with taps at counter level rather than a machine between barista and guest.

What to order, and the tasting menu

The best first order is whatever Benchakul is brewing from the current lineup, particularly when a coffee has an origin, a roaster and an aging story attached, because that is where the bar’s thinking is. Ask about the coffee flower tea as well: it is brewed from dried blossoms of a Thai coffee tree and runs citrusy, floral, vegetal, sweet and umami all at once. Beyond regular service there is “9”, a tasting built for nine guests that pairs desserts with drinks, cocktails included, each one made to sit against an edible course. The Thai numerology in the name, the Thai flavour references and the Thai-American frame all come from Benchakul’s own background, and his pastry training is why the dessert side holds up next to the coffee. The Infatuation listed Endorffeine in its coffee guide for 2026.