Consider the pop-up cafe. It is a multi-faceted thing. For some it the first bootstrapping step toward ambitious brick-and-mortar dreams. And for others, it is the end unto itself, the freedom to take your coffee business wherever, whenever. This latter version we have featured a few times already in this year’s Build-Outs of Coffee, but the former has yet to make its debut. Until now.
Malcriada is southeast Los Angeles-based pop-up cafe that describes themselves as a “culinary project… in the business of specialty coffee” that leans on Mexican, Chicano, and Latino influences. Currently popping up around Los Angeles, Malcriada has big plans for the future, including multiple cafes and a bakery. And it all starts with a humble coffee cart.
The 2023 Build-Outs of Coffee is presented by DONA. The 2023 Build-Outs of Coffee is sponsored by La Marzocco, Pacific Barista Series, Acaia, and Marco Beverage Systems.
As told to Sprudge by Daisy Orozco and Irán Sánchez.
For those who aren’t familiar, will you tell us about your company?
Malcriada is a culinary project from Southeast Los Angeles in the business of specialty coffee. Our mission is to live hospitality while sharing and preserving the culture we inherited. Malcriada is influenced and inspired by Mexican, Chicano, and Latino shared experiences and we express this through the brand identity and our menu. Our goal and dream is to have multiple locations in South East LA and we’re currently operating as a popup coffee shop.
Can you tell us a bit about the new space?
As our first retail location we want to have a coffee shop with a bakery program in the city of Bell where we live. After that our plan is to open more shops across Southeast LA, ranging from standalone coffee shops to a cafe with a food program.
What’s your approach to coffee?
Being that hospitality is our priority, we approach coffee with intention keeping in mind what our customers like and what works for the drinks we serve them. That’s more important than what coffees we personally like. In terms of the coffee itself, we prefer coffees that are clean, sweet, and drinkable. We’re currently serving Monarch blend from Onyx Coffee Lab because it’s delicious on its own as espresso or filter but it works wonderfully in our milk drinks, which is what we serve the most. Through Malcriada we’ve been able to explore the world of sweet/flavored coffee drinks and we came up with flavors that are unique and stay true to our brand concept. And our customers love them which is what matters most!
Any machines, coffees, special equipment lined up?
We rely on our beautiful La Marzocco GS3 AV and our Mazzer Kony S. Currently loving Monarch blend as espresso and also served as filter at our popup service. Should we also mention our hate/love relationship with our Westinghouse iGen4500 generator?!
How is your project considering sustainability?
This one can be a tough one for coffee shops but we do what we can. We buy coffee from Onyx Coffee Lab who have a carbon neutral roastery, and they make big efforts in the name of sustainability. We try to minimize our shopping trips and try to buy as much product in bulk as we can store, in addition to using fruits and products that are in season for our drinks.
What’s your hopeful target opening date/month?
We hope we can open our first retail shop late 2024/early 2025.
Are you working with craftspeople, architects, and/or creatives that you’d like to mention?
We MUST mention our good friend Victor Zúñiga who’s a tremendous artist and graphic designer. He helped us creating Malcriada’s visual identity and we still work with him to design our merch drops!
Thank you!
Gracias a ustedes! We’d love to serve you cuando quieran <3
The 2023 Build-Outs of Coffee is presented by DONA. The 2023 Build-Outs of Coffee is sponsored by La Marzocco, Pacific Barista Series, Acaia, and Marco Beverage Systems.
