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Cait: “I Tried Giving Up Coffee, I’m on Day 5,”...she then proceeds to order a Mocha, “Oh well, I tried.”

Urth Caffé, the quintessential LA spot. Loose leaf tea, farm fresh ingredients, flour-less chocolate cake that will convince you to go gluten-free, and of course, whole bean organic coffee. Spanish lattes, Blended Thai Red Tea Boba, Monkey Granita, Divine Spice Chai Tea Latte. If the names of these drinks don’t have you reaching for your car keys, then let me name drop a few of my favorite foods here. Anything is good. Literally anything. Proscuitto Panini di Parma, Pizza Catona, Caravan Kale Salad, Smoked Salmon Plate. My mouth is watering, I should probably have eaten before I decided to write about past food affairs. I’ll continue with the desserts: The Famous Oreo Cheesecake, Urth Napoleon, Marble Crumb Pound Cake, Coconut Custard Cream Pie, Victory Vegan Pumpkin Pie, Bread Pudding. 

I could go on endlessly, as Urth has been apart of both my past four years at USC, and frankly, my friendship with Cait. When in doubt, Urth. For breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, dessert, coffee, anything really. This time for dinner, we both ordered kale-affiliated plates. I opted for the Tuscan Kale Soup; Cait went with the above-mentioned Caravan Kale Salad. But dinner doesn’t mean skipping on coffee (or tea). One mocha for Cait (topped with the fluffiest, yummiest looking tower of whipped cream), and one Blended Thai Red Tea with Boba for me. 

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Not quite coffee, but we are back this summer exploring Southern California and the goodies it has to offer! Full disclosure, Lindy did go to Zebra House in San Clemente before for a mocha and then after pitaya bowls we went back to get me a coffee. This is after all #lindyandcaitscoffeedates

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Big Trees, Plenty of Porch Space and a Nice View of the Train Tracks

Lindy and Cait are at it again going on our coffee dates and exploring the unique coffee and tea shops Orange County (and soon LA county) has to offer! Today we explored Hidden House Coffee in San Juana Capistrano. Located on Los Rios Street ( a super cute and somewhat famous street in OC that has a bunch of unique restaurants and shops all in old early-1900s houses), Hidden House Coffee is literally a hidden house as it's yellow exterior and green picket fence seems to almost camouflage with the giant tree in the "front yard." It has the perfectly-sized front porch with plenty of seating (although you can sit outside in the "front yard" or inside at the bar or at one of the tables).

This afternoon, we went at a relatively non-busy time so after we grabbed our coffees we sat outside and chatted as if we were alone in our own front porch and were watching our "neighbors" walk by. The history and originality of this house plus the light breeze, glittering sunshine, and perfect 75 degree weather made this coffee date delightful. Yet, it was our delicious coffee drinks and the great art of conversation what made it one of those lovely afternoons.

I ordered an iced white chocolate mocha (one of my favorites), and Lindy went with an iced vanilla latte (after reading good reviews about it on Yelp...yup she’s a yelper). One of Lindy’s favorite things about original coffee shops is when the coffee still overpowers the vanilla flavor of a vanilla latte. Some chain coffee places put 5,6,7,8...or more....pumps of vanilla and 5,6,7,8...or more...pounds of sugar; the resulting vanilla latte is delicious don't get me wrong, but it's not coffee. It's basically sweet vanilla milk with a hint of espresso flavoring. But what is great about Hidden House's vanilla latte is that it tastes like coffee. And good coffee! She definitely took way too much time in explaining the specialness of that vanilla latte, but we didn't order food so I can't say too much on any of their other foods/drinks. 

We talked for about an hour on friendships, high school memories, boys, and what our summers hold in store for us as she will be up in Malibu for summer school and two internships and I'll be here at home still with summer school and a job as well! We are excited to explore more coffee places in both OC when she makes her visits home and in LA when I make my visits up there! Hopefully we will bring along more friends to these lovely dates and show people what a great experience a Lindy + Cait kind of coffee date can be! Until next time, go try out Hidden House Coffee! 

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Aaaaaaaannnnndddddd.....WE'RE BACK

Our first coffee date of summer 2013! 

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Noms Away....or should I say "Bon Appétit"

It's been a while, and although we did technically have a coffee date at Koffee Klatch in Laguna Beach it was neither of our first times so we felt a little wrong putting it with our other adventures (we also forgot to take pictures). Yet, Koffee Klatch definitely deserves 5 stars.  

Koffee Klatch is besides the point--we tried out a new place today. It wasn't exactly a coffee shop or a cafe or a tea house, but it was a fabulous and unique restaurant that served quite a delicious Café Mocha.

Both espresso and chocolate were plentiful flavors in our delicious drinks, andit gave Lindy the kick of caffeine I desperately needed. She had woken up at 4:50 am to take a spin/weights class at 5:30 am. Crazy? yes. But definitely worth it. 

Let me back up to our first introduction to Lulu's Creperie Café--we saw the cutest white table and chairs set up outside.

When we entered, we were greeted by a French looking older man in a beret. We presumed he was the owner because he seated us and then continued to eat his breakfast at another table. I'm guessing that wouldn't normally fly if he was a regular host. The café was set up with a few tables and chairs both inside and out. The patio, covered by a trellis of dangling lavender flowers, emitted a charm resembling what I would expect a café in France have-one that was hidden away beneath the flowers and hedges hiding the secret den of deliciousness.

Speaking of delicious, our food was great. The vast and bountiful menu had options varying from a basket of french bread, to waffles, to egg dishes, and crepe dished (both savory and sweet). Seeing that it was a creperie, Lindy made herself get a crepe and went for La Galette Crepe-with spinach, mushrooms, ham, poached eggs and a white cream sauce. Trés Magnefique. She ate every single bite.

As for me, the good ol' habitual eater, ordered an Egg & Cheese Croissanwhich with fruit, which was also completely gone after she finished her meal.

Needless to say, Lulu's Creperie Café provided food that matched its exquisite charm. We enjoyed our mochas and breakfasts (my second breakfast anyways) as we talked about our futures, my upcoming year in Switzerland, fashion, and overall it was a really great coffee date. Or as the french would say (well probably not...this was just the translation i found on google), nous avons eu un très bon moment!...or something like that. 

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Hey! This is a really neat blog. Pan and I have something similar but with brunch places in our area. If you're ever in the Bay Area we have recommendations! Anyway, may we reblog this post: /post/26597642717/beach-reading-sesh Thank you!

Thank you! I'll definitely check out your blog, and thanks if you do reblog our post. If we are ever in the Bay Area, we will definitely get in touch for recommendations; I love brunch! 

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Zebra House Cafe

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Beach/Reading sesh

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We Have Really Good Vegan Cupcakes...*awkward Caitlin moment*

This trip down to San Clemente wasn't quite our "average" coffee date. To start off, we didn't go to a coffee place, at first. I had heard of the Lavendar Tea Lounge, and really wanted to go check it out, assuming that a tea place would automatically serve coffee as well. Not only did it not serve coffee, but it didn't serve tea either! Okay, just kidding it did; it actually served quite a bit of tea. This entire wall was lined with tins of all kinds of types. 

Yet, this place narrows down the recommended teas of the month, or however they exactly do it. I wasn't quite paying attention as the guy was explaining how it worked; I was too distracted by Caitlin's worried/perplexed/uncomfortable body stance and face. You see, Cait's not a fan of tea, and well this place ONLY served tea. I still wanted to get something, so I picked from one of their recommended drinks, and since it was 4th of July week, I kept it patriotic and went for the Blue Berry Bang! 

 It had herbal tea, milk, vanilla, and lychee. These juicy little thing-a-mah-bobs were super tasty and added a nice texture to the tea. They are similar to boba, but are a bit different. Here's an example of what they looked like (except mine were blue): 

Now, after I ordered, the awkward moment approached, slowly but surely. Caitlin, with no intention of getting anything after scanning the menu for anything remotely similar to coffee or actual food, took suggestion after suggestion from the two employees there. The final offer was a vegan cupcake. "They're really good," the lady promised. Caitlin, very politely and very sweetly tried to decline the offer, and finally after a few more painfully awkward moments we were able to leave with my tea and walked quickly down the stairs. That was one thing I forgot to mention. This place was located on the second story on the corner of Del Mar street, quite a cute location. Caitlin almost ran a red light at Del Mar on our way there; I noticed she wasn't exactly slowing down so we ended up stuck in the middle of the intersection for a few seconds, and then luckily had enough room to back up. A few girls were sitting on a bench right next to us and saw the entire situation, an audience to witness another one of our awkward performances. 

Anyways, moving on to our second stop for Cait's coffee and food, we decided to walk a few blocks down to Zebra House Cafe. It was a nice 10-minute walk, but wouldn't have been complete without Caitlin knocking my tea out of my hand (on accident) and then proceeding to crush the entire cup. Luckily, I had drank most of it, but it was the quickest and funniest series of seconds, and simply added to our odd and awkward day. We finally made it to Zebra House Cafe, filled with hip/cute/quirky decor, unique tables and chairs, and of course, zebra blankets. Cait ordered a Zebra Blended Mocha (white and regular mocha mixed), and a Sammy (egg and cheese on an english muffin).

A little late breakfast, as it was 3pm, but she was happy with her coffee and food, so it didn't quite matter to here. I caved in and ordered a regular Blended Mocha, and tried one of the gluten-free banana coconut muffins (employee-recommended). I'm very happy I did cave in because that was the best banana coconut muffin/ best gluten-free pastry I have ever eaten. 

These were our mochas, by the way. They didn't look too fancy, but boy were they delicious. 

On our way to the beach a little later, Caitlin ordered a pumpkin cinnamon muffin, and we both determined it tasted like Christmas (Caitlin tends to always crave Christmas-tasting foods throughout the year, according to her anyways). So, after we enjoyed the unique atmosphere, friendly service, and comfy purple chairs we plopped into, we walked back to our car and drove to the San Clemente Pier. Once there, we laid out, read our books, and fell asleep at different points during out "reading session." The sun stayed out for the one hour we were there, but around 5:00, it started to hide back behind its favorite clouds, and we decided to head on back home. So we hiked back up to our free hiking spot up the Hills of Santa Barbara Street, and drove back to the not so overcast Mission Viejo Mall, where we had met up earlier. Luckily we didn't have any intensely awkward moments at the beach (unless you count falling asleep with books on our faces)

or on the drive back, so we counted the day as an overall win. Two places in one trip, with a total of one tea, two coffees, two muffins, and one sandwich. I do owe Caitlin $7 still for my meal at Zebra (they only take cash, at least temporarily). 

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The really cool caramel design that came with my Harbor Latte from The Coffee Importers

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First Stop Coffee, Second Stop Breakfast

When I think of Dana Point Harbor I think of my family friend's condo, the Turkey Trot, and the Harbor House Cafe, where you can get a hot fudge sundae 24 hours a day. Yet, today Cait and I not only had a tasty breakfast, but enjoyed the perfect 75 degree weather as we looked out at the boat-filled harbor Dana Point is otherwise famous for. The Coffee Importers, situated right in between the Dana Point Marina Co. and the jetty, would appear to be two different places, as it has two different operations set up, although it is one distinct place. There is a coffee/ice cream store, and then across the way lies a mini-restaurant/smoothie bar. The indoor sections of both stores don't contain the majority of seats, as the outdoor patio plays host to a ton of seats. As we finished eating, I even noticed people standing around with baskets of food and coffee drinks waiting for tables to clear; it was that busy! 

For our food, I think mine was a winner. Cait got a plan bagel with cream cheese, egg, and cheese (yes you read that right, both cream cheese AND regular cheese) and I got a sun-dried tomato tortilla stuffed with egg, spinach and feta cheese.

While both were delicious, I think I won based solely on healthy points, but also color points as mine had at least 3 distinct colors! Although, the Coffee Importers' greatest features would be its coffee drinks and atmosphere combined. I'm not saying the food wasn't good, it just wasn't the best part of the experience, and I mean, I've had better. But on to my favorite parts, the coffee and the atmosphere. 

Cait actually ventured out and tried the English Mocha, a blend of heath mocha, english toffee and their café mocha. It was absolutely delicious, and tasted like melted toffee. My drink was also a bit different, as it was unique to The Coffee Importers, listed under their specials. I tried the Harbor Latte, their signature latte with vanilla and crowned with caramel, but I vouched to have mine made with almond milk instead of regular (partly because I've heard its healthier, partly because I wanted to see how it would taste). My drink wasn't as sweet as Cait's, nor did it have as much dynamic, but it was still very good nonetheless. Yet, if I had to pick a favorite, it'd be Cait's.

As I mentioned before, the weather was perfect, and the seating contained a great view of the harbor and all the boats holding up fort there. After we finished our food, Cait and I took a stroll down a ways toward the bridge and checked out all the funny boat names. We also saw some people stand-up-paddle boarding, which I definitely want to try sometime this summer! Days like today reminded me how absolutely beautiful the beach can be, and I really want to try and get down there more often...so it's a good thing Cait and I will be headed down to San Clemente next to try out one of its unique coffee & tea spots!  

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Our food and drinks at Coffee, Tea and Tulips

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Two Classy Ladies...in Workout Clothes

This morning Cait and I didn't exactly try out a new place (well for me it was new), as Cait and her family used to go here all the time when she lived nearby. Coffee, Tea and Tulips is the cutest little bistro/café/tea room/coffee shop, although its pretty hidden in the Village Center across the street from the Mission Viejo Library. Yet, its quite a find once you do discover it, as there are chic decorated tables and scattered paraphernalia that reminds you of being in an English Countryside manor or the streets of Paris, or a 19th century Victorian parlor. The place was definitely more dressed up than Cait and I as we arrived in our workout clothes (although neither of us had worked out or planned to work out after). This tea parlor requires a good amount of time to thoroughly enjoy not only the ambience, but the food. The music was a bit odd at times as one moment we'd be listening to smooth French jazz, but the next hear what sounded like Spanish folk music. We definitely felt cultured, although sometimes were confused as to what culture exactly we were supposed to be experiencing. 

Each coffee drink is made to order and each require a decent amount of time to be crafted to the high standards Coffee, Tea and Tulips it claims to have for its food and drinks. Caitlin once again ordered a peppermint mocha, and it tasted like candy, but without being too sweet as it still held true to the distinct coffee flavor. My adventurous self went for the Café Borjia, a mixture of espresso, orange zest, liquid cocoa, and a hint of something special I couldn't quite put my finger on. For breakfast, Cait ordered the granola, yogurt, and berry crepe, while I went for a more savory dish: the Spanokopita and toast. My dish was similar to a quiche and contained seasoned eggs, feta cheese, spinach, pesto, and perfectly ripe tomatoes. While Cait's concoction contained a sweet sort of freshness, mine contrasted with its rich flavor matched with its light texture. Both were extremely delicious and one can definitely notice the time and effort put into each recipe and actual execution of each dish. We both decided we are definitely coming back and next time we want to try the Two Classy Ladies Tea, which comes with two tea pots, scones, lunch sandwiches, and pastries. The only catch for us is that next time we have to dress up in something a bit nicer than workout clothes. I mean we have to dress classy if we are going to get the classy tea, am I right? 

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Lavender Lattes, Muffins and Trying to be indie at "The Camp"

Our second coffee date took place at Milk + Honey at The Camp in Costa Mesa. The Camp is a really unique place, across the street from The Lab, but let's face it, it is pretty indie/hipster or whatever you want to call it. Cait and I, to be honest, aren't exactly indie or hipster, although Cait can dress somewhat in that fashion style sometimes, but she's really more bohemian. Anyways, my point, is that we made sort of a joke out of it when taking the picture for this coffee/tea place and while I don't have Instagram, I did make the picture sepia tone. All Cait needed was the square framed glasses and the lens should have been fish eye, but hey we compromised with what we had. 

Now for the actual place, Milk + Honey was found again on Yelp, by me this time. Inside there were a few tables, a really cool bar table setting, whose wall people had etched in their names into, and a comfy couch where Cait and I posted up. Right in front of us, there was an outside patio of sorts that had a few tables, greenery, and lighting that made the place feel so isolated and quaint. It was quite pretty and I wish all the tables weren't full so we could have enjoyed the lovely summer evening outside. Yet the doors were wide open so essentially we did enjoy the best of both worlds, the beautiful weather with the comfy couch.

We were accompanied by, yet again, our fabulously delicious drinks. Caitlin ordered a peppermint mocha (another one of her favorites) and I ordered the Lavender Tea Latte. I saw a recommendation for my drink on Yelp, reviews including descriptions such as: "cereal in liquid form," "too good to be true," "tastes amazing...with a different type of sweetness," and since it was something new, I had to try it. Thank goodness I did! I've never had anything like it, and next time I go there it will be hard to stick to my philosophy of trying something new because I'll be so tempted to order the same thing! Now this time, we both had eaten dinner before so we got desserts, well muffins actually; we split the blueberry muffin and the "apple of my eye" muffin, both extremely delicious and no crumbs were left over when we finished. So, if you are ever over by the Lab or the Camp, check out Milk + Honey and try the pizza bagels for us, they ran out, but the description looked delicious!  

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Rad Striped Pants, a Mayan Mocha and the Beginning of Our Coffee Dates

Kean Coffee was our first coffee adventure destination. Cait found it on Yelp, and so we drove all the way out to Northern Newport to enjoy a delicious "dinner" of sorts, as we went around six. Cait ordered and iced white chocolate latte (one of her usual drinks-she tends to stick to her favorites) and some sort of wrap, I forget exactly what was in it but I had a bite and it was extremely yummy. I ordered a Mayan Mocha and it came in one of those giant coffee mugs and had that classic "heart" design on top.And for "dinner" I had a molasses and apricot cookie. Not too nutritional, but it was vegan, so that should count for something, right?

Anyways, we enjoyed our absurdly delicious coffee drinks and munched away on our mini meals. As we got caught up on our second semesters of college and the first few weeks of our summer breaks, one older man walked by us and commented on Caitlin's striped pants saying how rad they were and how they were straight out of the sixties. Another guy, much younger, told Cait she was cute as he walked out of the store. Now, Cait is pretty shy and got quite flustered at both of these comments. I just sat there laughing at her discomfort and bright red face, and later we both laughed, especially at the older man who was pretty excited about Caitlin's pants.

Afterwards, we decided to skip the freeway and head down PCH to enjoy the Southern California Coast. When we got to Laguna Beach, I pulled over to one of my favorite spots, the Montage. It was after 7, so we got free parking, something rare for Laguna during the day, and walked out to this beautiful point near the Montage (but not without stopping to take some pictures with the fish mural underneath the Montage pool).We then walked down to the sandy shore to watch the sunset.

It was a great end to a lovely day, and on our way back we came up with the idea of exploring Orange County's unique coffee shops! Kean Coffee was great, so we decided the OC had to have more cool coffee&tea shops like this one to offer us. So enjoy as we continue to explore and share our discoveries! 

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Kean Coffee and the Montage