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9 Korean coffee shops reinventing the misugaru latte in L.A.

By Kelly Dobkin

July 29, 2024 3 AM PT

When I was growing up in Michigan, misugaru was a warm, comforting drink that my Korean stepmother made for me as a treat before bed on especially cold winter nights. She called it “sweet rice tea,” which sounded amazing to my 9-year-old brain.

Misugaru is a powder blend made up of a variety of grains such as brown rice, barley, millet and black sesame. The grains are steamed, roasted and ground and served hot or cold mixed with water or milk. Many Koreans make their own misugaru at home, but there are also a dizzying number of retail versions. It’s sometimes consumed as a meal replacement since it’s high in many nutrients.

I hadn’t thought about the drink in ages until I stumbled into Bodega Park, a sandwich and coffee shop in Silver Lake. There, chef and co-owner Eric Park serves a black sesame misugaru drink that combines espresso, oat milk and the multigrain powder and gets topped with black sesame cream. It’s nutty, sweet and frothy, but not too rich thanks to the bitterness of the espresso. The first few sips brought me right back to childhood for a moment.

“It’s like having hot cocoa or Ovaltine,” said Park.

For years, the traditional misugaru latte or misu latte, a mixture of the multigrain powder with milk, has been served widely in coffee shops in Korea. On first taste, it’s reminiscent of the cereal milk you find left over in the bowl: grainy, sweet, somewhat nutty and uniquely delicious. In the early 2010s, Korean-born chains like Tom n Toms and Caffe Bene (both have been compared to Starbucks) brought a taste of Korean coffee shop culture to the U.S., and brought misugaru lattes along with them.

But more recently, a new crop of third-wave Korean-owned coffee shops around L.A. has been adding espresso (and in some cases creamy toppers) to misugaru lattes. There’s Bodega Park, but other spots such as Alchemist Coffee Project, Series A Coffee, 3Thyme Coffee & Herbs and many more have been mixing up their own coffee-laden versions as well. Camel Coffee, a popular Korean chain of cafes that opened its first U.S. location in Los Feliz in June, makes its own version too.

For a dose of Korean coffee culture, here are nine of the best coffee shops around L.A. serving creative misugaru lattes.

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Alchemist Coffee Project

Koreatown Coffee $

By Kelly Dobkin

This coffee shop with multiple locations has been serving up unique creations since opening its first outpost in Koreatown in 2016. About a year ago, a misugaru latte was added to the menu; it’s now one of the top-selling drinks, according to store manager Jenny Kim. “We make ours in a shaker so it’s not too grainy,” she said. The oat milk and the (secret) brand of organic misugaru powder are shaken together well so that the overall texture of the drink is soft. Then they add a shot of Onyx espresso and top it with sweetened milk foam and black sesame powder to finish.

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A barista sifts powder over a misugaru drink

Be Bright Coffee

Fairfax Coffee $

By Kelly Dobkin

Winner of the 2024 U.S. Barista Championship, owner Frank La is the mind behind Be Bright Coffee, alongside his wife, Michelle. The brand began as a subscription-only roaster and vendor at Smorgasburg DTLA before setting up a permanent storefront on Melrose in 2022. Every May in honor of AAPI Heritage Month, La adds a misugaru latte to the menu as a seasonal special. His version includes a signature espresso mixed with whole milk, honey and misugaru, then gets topped up with misugaru cold foam (also made with honey). While you wait for the latte to return to the menu, try the Einspänner, a Viennese coffee drink that has made its way to cafes in Korea and L.A. Be Bright’s version tops an Americano with cold foam and cocoa powder.

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Bodega Park

Silver Lake Coffee Sandwich Shop $

By Kelly Dobkin

Inspired by New York bodega culture, an ongoing love of sandwiches and his Korean American heritage, chef Eric Park opened Bodega Park in Silver Lake in 2022. He and his wife, Miriam, leased the Silver Lake space that had been Black Hogg for more than a decade, transforming it into Bodega Park after the pandemic started. While items like a chopped cheese (their take on the New York classic) and an aji chicken breakfast burrito have had their own Instagram moments, the black sesame misugaru drink also has been hugely popular. Bodega Park uses Korean-owned House Roots coffee in all of its drinks. The drink is available without coffee in a “puro” form, for those who want to skip the caffeine.

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Camel Coffee

Los Feliz Coffee $

By Kelly Dobkin

The first U.S. location for the South Korea-based chain drew two-hour lines when it opened in Los Feliz in May. The shop uses all proprietary products including roasting its own coffee locally, making its own signature sweetened cream and sourcing its own secret brand of misugaru for the popular M.S.G.R. drink. “We chose this type of misugaru because you can taste each grain more vividly,” co-owner Joshua Park said. The drink has an especially grainy texture, unlike others that shake or blend out the graininess, and a sweet flavor. The M.S.G.R. is a purist version made from simply the powder and sweetened whole milk, but there’s an option to add espresso to the drink as well. The drink is frequently sold out, according to Park.

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M Cafe

Koreatown Coffee $

By Kelly Dobkin

This brand-new coffee shop owned by the Ma family is located inside a sprawling piece of real estate on the second floor of Koreatown’s M Plaza. With a massive plant-laden patio and equally impressive indoor cafe, you can order up classic as well as signature drinks such as its take on the misugaru latte. LaB Coffee & Roasters espresso gets mixed with the powder and milk and is finished with a cream topper to create a layered visual effect.

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Nothing But Coffee

Koreatown Coffee $

By Kelly Dobkin

The dog-friendly cafe on Wilshire has been open since 2017 and has been serving its Creamy Grain drink for the last five years. The spot makes its drink similarly to Series A (also on this list) in that only the foam has misugaru in it. But Nothing But Coffee adds a secret ingredient: condensed milk. The espresso is iced, mixed with condensed milk and oat milk, then topped with the creamy sweetened misugaru foam. It’s one of the tastiest versions out there.

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Series A Coffee

Beverly Hills Coffee $

By Kelly Dobkin

Inspired by the show “Friends” and a love of Silicon Valley culture, Derek Rhie and his wife, Alina, opened Series A Coffee in Beverly Hills last year. “Our whole goal was to bring Korean-inspired coffee drinks to the Westside,” he said. “I wanted to create a kind of modern-day ‘Friends’ [and] Central Perk feeling here in L.A.”

Here, you’ll find homey touches like board games and a large TV with Nintendo Switch that encourages regulars to hang out for hours. Alongside viral creations like the sweet corn latte and strawberry matcha is its take on a misugaru latte. The drink itself is just iced espresso and milk (they use Mister Collins brand coffee) but it then gets topped with a whipped misugaru foam made of heavy cream, the multigrain powder and sugar. The whole thing is then topped with a sprinkle of Korean cereal, Jolly Pong, which tastes similar to Honey Nut Cheerios.

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Tom N Toms Black

Koreatown Coffee $

By Kelly Dobkin

The most recent L.A. outpost of the Korean chain, Tom n Toms Black is like the Starbucks Reserve of the brand, serving more premium food and drink options than its counterparts. Here, you’ll find everything from Korean-style popcorn chicken to pretzels to croissant taiyaki, as well as a selection of unique espresso beverages. Since 2016, the shop has served its version of a misugaru latte called a multigrain latte, which combines the powder simply with ice and whole milk, with the option to add espresso or toppers like whipped cream.

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3Thyme Coffee & Herbs

Koreatown Coffee Wine Bars $

By Kelly Dobkin

This coffee shop by day, wine bar by night has been around for nearly two years in Koreatown, serving up creative drinks including rose cream lattes, dirty matchas and Spanish lattes. And naturally it has its own take on the misugaru latte called a misu latte. Combining the powder with espresso, milk and sweet syrup, this version of the drink has a texture and flavor that’s similar to that of a classic cafe latte, without a super creamy foam.

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