tactile coffee truck los angeles california counter culture downtown fashion district sprudge

Tactile Coffee sits on the corner of Towne Avenue and 10th Street, a quiet block of Los Angelesโ€™ Fashion District dominated by clothing stores, beauty shops, and a few stop-and-go eateries. While nearby Downtown LA has its share of specialty coffee, with the likes of Verve, Blue Bottle, and G&B, the Fashion Districtย has been in dire need of some quality espresso. Luckily for businesses and patrons, the sleek Tactile Coffee truck rolls in every weekday morning at 8 a.m., ready to caffeinate the community through to 2:30 p.m.

tactile coffee truck los angeles california counter culture downtown fashion district sprudge

Tactile is theย work ofย brothers Mike and Eric Yi, two coffee and culinary alums who were determined to open a business together. According to Mike, โ€œAfter a lot of discussion, we decided on a coffee truck because it was the right combination of both of our experiences. It was just the right choice at the time.โ€ Eric had primarily worked in catering, while Mike learned the ins and outs of the coffee industry. โ€œI worked in a few coffee shops in Dallas, but got most of my coffee experience by working in Dallas roasteryย Eiland Coffee Roasters. It’s not a huge company, but I really grew in my appreciation for attentiveness and intentionality in my approach to coffee. I got a good look at the whole process, from sourcing, cupping coffees, and the whole production chain from green to cup,โ€ says Mike.

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tactile coffee truck los angeles california counter culture downtown fashion district sprudge

tactile coffee truck los angeles california counter culture downtown fashion district sprudge

Although it may seem like a small space fromย which to operate a cafe, the truck is just big enough to house all the necessary equipment and ingredients. The Yi brothers serve Counter Culture Coffee in espresso, drip, and cold-brew form. As for the top-notch gear, โ€œWe use a Synesso Cyncraย two-group, Macap M7D espresso grinder, a Ditting KF804 as our drip grinder, and a Fetco CBS-2131XTSย for batch brewing,โ€ saysย Mike.

Other beverages on the menu include Earl Grey and jasmine-green teas from Paromi Tea, a small-batch tea company in Maryland. โ€œThey have some of the most aromatic full-leaf tea sachets I’ve ever had,โ€ says Mike.

tactile coffee truck los angeles california counter culture downtown fashion district sprudge

In addition to the always in-demand cold brew (for thoseย hot LA days), some of Tactile’sย most popular drinks are creative takes on espresso-based beverages, all with house-made syrups and add-ins: The Blackstrapย usesย the Yis’ own syrup recipe, featuring Plantation Blackstrap Molasses. โ€œBlackstrap molasses is made when regular molasses is boiled for additional time, and it has a complex flavor that features bitter, mineral-y, and sweet notes,โ€ explains Mike Yi. For chocolate fans, the cocoa mix inย the mocha is made with a simple mixture of Bensdorp Dutch-processed cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and sea salt. Mike notes that โ€œBensdorp has a relatively high fat content, so it can clump, but the tiny bit of starch in powdered sugar acts as an emulsifier and helps smooth things out.โ€ For those looking to cool off with something other than cold brew, thereโ€™s the Black and Tanโ€”โ€œOur cold version is aย riff onย Vietnamese iced coffee, where we mix cold brew with our B-and-T syrup, which has a base of condensed milk and barley malt, among other things. The syrup tastes like melted Frosted Flakes and acts as our ‘white mocha’ syrup if customers want a hot version.โ€ (Tactile’sย vanilla latte is their only special drink that doesn’t useย house-made syrupโ€”itโ€™s made with syrup from French company 1883 Maison Routin.

tactile coffee truck los angeles california counter culture downtown fashion district sprudge

In the future, youโ€™ll be able to catch the Tactile Coffee truck roaming other areas of Los Angelesโ€”it’s already started to pop up outside of parks and schools in Downtown. โ€œWe’re really excited to see what opportunities lie ahead, and we know that this first truck is not our end game. We love what we can do on the truck, but it has limitations. A brick-and-mortar could really allow us to offer some great non-coffee beverage itemsโ€”we have no shortage of ideasโ€”and food. I love wild-yeast breads and fruit preserves, and I’d really love the opportunity to explore the possibilities there,โ€ says Mike Yi. Maybe toast and coffee on wheels is in the works? For now, Tactile Coffee doesnโ€™t offer any bites to go with their brews, but their patrons donโ€™t seem to mindโ€”as long as they can get their daily fix on foot.

Visit Tactile Coffee’s official website and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Tatiana Ernst is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and photographer. Read more Tatiana Ernst onย Sprudge.

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