The Conservatory for Coffee, Tea and Cocoa is a haven for coffee lovers (and, clearly, tea and cocoa fans, too). These folks know their stuff. Ask any one of their friendly staff members to help you decide which beans to bring home, or which of their hundreds of teas to order, and you'll get an education that isn't intimidating or brusque. The business roasts all of its beans in-house and also fulfills online and wholesale orders. It's a popular spot for writers, moms and Sony employees, and you may see interns ordering a gaggle of coffees from a list on their iPhones, but there's a good chance there won't be a laptop in sight (it's a no Wi-Fi zone). It's a refreshing feeling to walk into a coffee shop and see people talking, reading books or writing with actual pens and paper—and it's something the Conservatory wants to, well, conserve.
Out of all of LA's neighborhoods, Culver City might be the best to visit if you want to see the modern day coffee shop's evolution. The Conservatory for Coffee, Tea and Cocoa has been a haven for coffee lovers for more than a decade; for something a little more recent, stroll on over to Cognoscenti in the Culver City Arts District and you'll find one of LA's early pop-ups-turned-brick-and-mortars. Then there's Bar Nine, an ultra-modern space that was inspired by a challenge to reimagine the coffee shop experience. We went on a coffee binge in Culver City to find out just how seriously this nabe takes its joe.
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