LaB Coffee and Roasters, customized for the college student


Jackie Mayuga | Daily Trojan

Jackie Mayuga | Daily Trojan

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Like most STEM majors, I go through each school day, lecture and basically every living moment of my life not knowing what I’m doing. What day is it? What on Earth is the significance of an eigenvector? Why does everyone assign more hours of homework than there are in a day?  

On that note, I find that my feeble attempts at excessively difficult quantitative courses can only be remedied with good vibes and a productive atmosphere. Enter LaB Coffee and Roasters. That’s right, folks. LaB, as in LaBoratory. Unsystematic capitalization, yes, but with the experience I’ve had, I’d say they can do whatever they want.

LaB is in the middle of strip mall-ish area with an absolutely abhorrent parking lot. Not only are the spaces small, but it’s always full and apparently the people in this parking lot learned how to drive yesterday because I swear, they were making up their own parking lines.

Besides that, LaB has an infectiously studious vibe. No one was there when my roommate and I showed up, but they have long, community-style tables and a profusion of outlets. Conical flasks and test tubes line the walls. More pros: free, consistent Wi-Fi for days and an expansive library of coffee and espresso related books to read during your stay. And, even cooler than that, they serve their pour overs in beakers! It might be a little extra, but I gotta hand it to them for the consistency — it’s literally a laboratory for coffee.

Unfortunately, I did not get a cool beaker pour over because I hate drinking pour overs in hot weather. They’re more of my winter drink, but that’s an entirely different story. I, in (old!) Jackie tradition, got a vanilla latte. Which was a huge mistake because I think this might have been the latte to turn me off of all lattes forever. It wasn’t bad by any means, but good God, how many vanilla lattes can a single person have before they explode? I kind of expected better quality though, especially considering that they roast their own coffee. When that’s the case, I think I have the right to have high expectations!

Jackie Mayuga | Daily Trojan

Jackie Mayuga | Daily Trojan

Regardless, LaB is a great place to study. Coffee is pretty average, but I will definitely be going back to get my hands on an affogato before the fall weather hits us hard (hahah, who am I kidding? It’s going to be hot forever). If you’re looking for a quiet space with very few students, I’d recommend it. It’s close enough that it only takes a quick drive, but far enough to weed out the extra lazy. It’s a win-win.

Check LaB out!

LaB Coffee and Roasters is located at 429 N Western Ave., Ste 5, Los Angeles, CA 90004.

Jackie Mayuga is a junior majoring in applied and computational mathematics. Her blog column,#JackieLikesJava, runs every Saturday.

Jackie Mayuga | Daily Trojan

Jackie Mayuga | Daily Trojan