Aquarela Coffee - DTLA

downtown los angeles before nine in the morning has a particular energy, and 5th street is already moving. aquarela sits at 601 w 5th, right in the middle of it, and the espresso here has quietly built a local following without a lot of noise around it. you won't find much fanfare, just a place that takes its roasting seriously in a part of the city that runs on tight schedules and decent coffee. dtla has no shortage of options, but an independent roaster operating on this block, sourcing and roasting with this much attention to the shot itself, is worth knowing about. if you're cutting through the financial district on a weekday, the espresso at aquarela is a reasonable argument for arriving a few minutes early.