Dear God, please allow me to be a conduit for the love that you give us all every day.

[MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] I had a lot of fun early at 16.

Really being impressed by this culture and this environment.

[MUSIC PLAYING] Really loving the idea of not only the craft of making something with your hands, but what it meant.

[MUSIC PLAYING] I would have never you know, thought coffee would bring me through that career trajectory, let alone that it's brought me around the world.

[MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] COFFEE The Universal Language is made possible in part by.

[MUSIC PLAYING] Hollander Chocolate, premium chocolate for your daily rituals.

[MUSIC PLAYING] On my days off, outside of staying home, I don't know where to go.

Where do I start?

Every neighborhood in this city has a go-to specialty coffee experience.

I'm glad that my first experience having Turkish coffee was next door to Mike Phillips' place down at Boxx Coffee.

The coffee culture in Korea is huge.

And there's a huge representation of that here.

Thinking of the world map right now and like what isn't here.

In every single pocket, every single neighborhood in this city, there is coffee.

And there is somebody representing their own culture of coffee.

[MUSIC PLAYING] I've been behind the bar for a long time.

And just getting to meet the diverse amount of people that are in coffee and are staying in LA for the coffee says a lot.

[MUSIC PLAYING] In Los Angeles, it's not just about going for a cup of coffee.

Tell me what you want to experience, and I'll tell you where to go.

[MUSIC PLAYING] It's just about knowing what is it that you want.

Do you want to experience great latte art?

Go to nicely.

Sig bevs, also nicely.

What else do you want to experience?

Tell me.

People that go to see nicely understand what they're there for.

You will wait.

I love watching that man work.

[MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] So many people when I was moving down from Seattle tell me, oh, you're going to hate living in Los Angeles and stuff.

And I was like, man, I don't know that I love living in Seattle right now very much.

So I'm ready for something different, you know [MUSIC PLAYING] I knew I wanted to ride my bicycle every day.

And solid weather to ride a bicycle down here more days than not.

And I was a fair weather cyclist in Seattle.

So I was like, man, I'm going to get to ride my bike every day.

I mean, you know, that sounds great to me.

[MUSIC PLAYING] I think people you know, judge one area they've been to or one experience they've been to, you know.

And all of a sudden, that dominates their impression of it.

I've lived in Venice since I moved to Los Angeles 16 years ago.

I wasn't living exactly you know, what I was told I was going to do when I first got here.

Sleeping on people's floors, living out of a storage unit at times.

It's not unlike a lot of the actors and you know, writers and all that type of stuff that come to make it in Los Angeles too.

And here I am coming to try and make it as a barista.

I had to find my Los Angeles.

If I didn't find coffee, what would I have been doing this whole time?

I would just be another immigrant working in a foreign country, trying to fend for myself.

[MUSIC PLAYING] What I've loved about places like New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, you know, Chicago, these cities that are globally impactful.

And if you're doing anything with passion or intention, people will find you in these cities.

[MUSIC PLAYING] My cafe Rico has been one of my hallmarks of service.

I try my best to not let folks leave without me making them one.

I also like to warm people up to that experience.

Like, I don't pretend like that's the thing everybody should have the first time they come in.

[MUSIC PLAYING] I'm geeked out by the idea lately of, you know, self-esteem and how your community can be a huge part of helping you build some of that self-esteem.

Ultimately, it's you, self, you know, making those choices to rise to the occasion and be who your community has supported you to be.

Okay perfect , it is my honor to serve you on Cafe de Puerto Rico here.

That's in the latte.

And the mocha, the dark chocolate style.

I'd hurry and take a sip while you've got the salt and the melty chocolate.

[MUSIC PLAYING] I graduated from UC Riverside with a degree in business administration.

It was really hard to find a job.

I was like, you know what, I'm just going to call this a gap year, work somewhere for a year, anywhere, and just start applying for real jobs.

[MUSIC PLAYING] That was now 14 years ago.

And then finally opened my own shop and my cafe.

Originally, I actually wanted to be a chef.

The joy of cooking for me was sharing food with people and seeing their feedback and seeing them enjoy that food.

But in a professional culinary setting, you don't get that.

With coffee, you get to experience that where you make something, you get to see the experience of that customer enjoying it right then and there.

[MUSIC PLAYING] It's so welcoming.

And it is, I mean, it's on a busy street, but easy access to walk to.

[MUSIC PLAYING] You walk in there and you feel like you stepped into The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.

and it's like into Narnia, and it's into just a safe space outside of the chaos that is going on on the streets.

And... that's comforting.

[MUSIC PLAYING] You don't normally think of Melrose as a family-friendly area per se.

Ever since we've opened, it's been something that parents have always talked about.

They've always said, "Oh, thank you so much for putting in a kids area."

It gives them a place to play and it gives us a time to just sit down and relax.

Bring your family, this is a place for anybody and everybody.

[MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] We really believe in the power of coffee, helping you start your day to be a bright person.

And whatever you do, whether you're a doctor, or whether you're a scientist, an actor, whatever avenue of life you are pursuing, we want our coffee to help you be bright and reach that potential.

[MUSIC PLAYING] Coffee is a very personal thing.

People like it black, but some people like it with milk and sugar.

We're just trying to want to match them with the best coffee, fit for them.

Your coffee, your journey.

[MUSIC PLAYING] I remember the day that I met nicely.

This was before my Blue Bottle career.

I was practicing my latte art that I had just learned.

I saw the design of a tulip on the back of a barista magazine.

I was practicing that.

He poured me a drink and he was just like casually like, "Oh yeah, that's my pour."

I was like, "Okay, let me like hide my phone again."

[MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] One of my greatest contributions to our industry was making sure we could pour a rosetta on a latte every time.

That we could pour a tulip or a heart on a cappuccino every single time.

The first time I competed in a latte art competition, it's where I really saw, "Wow, the world is really big when it comes to coffee."

I hadn't really seen how big it was until I saw people from all over the world coming to compete in pouring pretty designs and a cup of coffee.

The focus on pouring latte art made me pay attention to being good in a lot of other areas of my bar.

nicely accomplished.

I expect it to be exactly what he wanted to pour.

I had to give it to nicely.

So I mean, like a disembrace right here, you know.

There's definitely a lot of times I try to remember this moment right here.

My mom has always been the type that she's wanted to put me in better situations.

I'm not a three-time world champion, if not for that sort of instillment from her.

My mom has always been really good at creating warm, great meals.

If I can create warm, great cups of coffee, I definitely am an extension of her hospitality.

I'm not the father I am today, if not for her.

Saying it that way is always kind of trippy because, mine was not around.

It's definitely much of the reason why I choose to be the father that I am to my children, is because the steadfast person she always was.

She taught me how to be a father.

And there's a challenge to that because she needed to be a mom.

Added reason why it means so much to me to be present with my children.

If my dad had just been a phone call away, I could have changed things completely.

For things to have gone the way that they did with me and my co-parent, a lot of that being because of my dedication to being in coffee.

In order to make sure it provided us something to substantiate a lifestyle of any kind for us.

Stressed me out to the degree where I didn't love coffee as much either anymore.

The experience and community and all that kind of stuff, you know, yeah, all that has been amazing.

It's been awesome to benefit from all that great stuff in coffee, but...

There's definitely been times it's cost me.

The fact that two black women opened up a coffee shop in an area where It was much needed.

A community center somewhere where black and brown or just people all in the neighborhood could come and enjoy themselves.

It's just been extremely encouraging.

People are longing for connection and for space.

We know all the amazing things that happen when you can gather, you connect, creation happens, development happens.

There being a lack of those in certain neighborhoods.

It's that collective effort in working with folks that have been here for years and years.

All of the above, down to our coffee program, is the result of a very close conversation with our guests.

Being able to have that engagement, it really puts attention on how much work goes into creating the product.

And really a highlight on the hands at origin that are involved in making it.

I like to call coffee the great connector.

It's such an amazing vehicle for connection.

Part of our name is Sonder.

Sonder being the realization that everyone around you is living a life that's as beautiful and complex as your own.

We are gathered through this conduit.

We are connecting.

Whether you love coffee and drink it multiple times a day or once in a while, I feel like every person at some point has had the moment where they're like, "Let's grab a cup."

COVID was when I found out I wasn't an owner at Menotti's.

What it meant to work really hard to create this brand and nurture this community, all the while thinking I was a part of the structure that was going to maintain something for my life and my children.

It kind of highlighted what has had to be some hard business lessons throughout the years.

It's had me look that much more grateful to be where I am now.

That's something that I do as an example to black and brown you know, faces, that I want to be.

I want to continue to just see more in my industry.

To be any kind of part of that, ya, how I say something might hit with some people.

And the benefit of my experience, you know, hopefully helps others moving forward and stuff even if it's just a little bit.

It's exciting to have a purpose for something greater than yourself at times.

Because somebody believed in your ability to nurture that community.

I saw it in my mentor Brian Fairbrother.

That was what his biggest impact on my life was.

You know, seeing what he meant to a community.

The way he put it, "Look, my shots may not be perfect some days.

My milk may not be perfect some days."

But somebody's going to leave feeling appreciated and that I saw them and grateful that they came through my line that day.

[Music] It's that intention, you know, that somebody shows up caring about something and having that passion.

It's more than just throwing things together.

In the same way we appreciate the finest chefs in the world taking, you know, the best ingredients they can find at farmer's markets.

[Music] That coffee is helping people do what they need to do to be their best selves in their community to help influence the world that they need to.

There's different reasons that people drink coffee.

I don't drink it for the caffeine.

I like to experience coffees that I've never had before.

In the same way that you recommend food places, well, what are you looking for?

I love watching people behind the bar move.

I love beautiful spaces, so I love Stereoscope in West Hollywood that just opened like that chrome.

I was like, "Ah!"

And it's just about preference.

And I think when it comes to that, it's just like, "Okay, but what then is your vibe?"

So, a large vanilla ice whole milk and a large Hojicha.

Hello!

Back in 2008, when I was working at a local coffee shop in LA, my mentor just happened to come by my shop, had my coffee, and told me, "Hey, this is a really bad coffee."

It never occurred to me what a good coffee was.

The journey began, and my pursuit of what a good coffee should be, and I decided to take that as a career.

- This is what we had on espresso.

Yeah?

You guys had the Brazil espresso too, right?

- Yes.

How was that?

Lens glasses that you look through to see back-to-back photos, where it kind of collapses into one and forms a three-dimensional look.

It kind of resembled us in a way that we take analog ideas, we give more depth into it, and that's how we form the name Stereoscope.

When customers visit Stereoscope, we make sure that everyone knows that, "Hey, these are coffees that had intentions as to why we chose a certain coffee."

Only when people know that this has these values that they really appreciate what they're drinking.

I designed the cup because I wanted something that kind of resembles the wine glass.

I wanted to make sure that people can really taste everything and feel the aromatics.

And the way I did it was by cutting a slit at a location where it kind of curves inward, so the aromatics are captured inside here.

And when we serve out, we open the lid so people can really feel the aromatics coming up.

The reason why we have a two-piece is it's very symbolic for me in that it's a whole perfect shape.

As a person, you're whole, but at the same time, you're very fragile.

You need the community, and you need the support of something else.

It was the irony of a cup that can't stand on its own unless you need the bottom part.

We want to make sure everyone feels special when they come into the shop.

Everything was made by hand.

[music] We feel like the last piece of the puzzle is actually handing the drinks by hand.

Service is our core value, and we want to make sure that we keep that as our heritage.

[music] Hospitality is something that we talk about everywhere.

The job is to welcome them into specialty coffee to make it not intimidating.

I think the most unique thing about L.A. or in the coffee communities, the people that's in it.

The people that's behind the bars, you have the most unique stories, how they wound up in L.A. How did you get here?

The elaborate story about all that brought you into being coffee.

These are people's life experience, and bottled up, and this is what they have created.

You can be somebody out here.

[music] If I take myself back just to the initial idea of like, if I have 14 or 15, would I have ever seen coffee bringing me to where I am right now?

No.

You know, my whole coffee career is, you know, I went to the University of Espresso Vivace, I went to the Graduate School of Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea, I went to the Business School of Handsome Coffee Roasters, I had an internship at Heart and the Hunter.

Then I got my PhD at Menotti's, you know, and then I had short residency at Dayglow.

But now I have, you know, this residency here at Hooked.

People making it as a barista in Los Angeles now, I mean it's a great honor to be a part of that in some kind of way of helping kind of like, maybe show some folks, you know, like what it is to have pride in doing that.

People say, you know, New York, if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.

There's something too, it's like, man, making it in Los Angeles... means something.