Jackie Likes … Javista? The heart of Hollywood does espresso right.

This past Tuesday, I travelled on up to Universal City to attend the taping of an episode of Ellen, and, as much as I would like to say it was for something reputable in a collegiate society, it was to watch One Direction perform. #noragrats

You’re probably thinking this is an incredibly irrelevant anecdote, but I promise it’s connected to coffee. I decided to trek to Javista post-Ellen in order to resurrect my coffee tour, and Javista (Short for Java + Barista? Who knows?) happened to be a hip ‘n’ swanky lil shop right on Sunset Boulevard that really, really wants you to know they serve organic coffee. I swear, if Yelp didn’t tell me they were called Javista, I would have thought they were “Organic Coffee.”

They’re just down the street from Groundwork, the roaster that ’SC’s own beloved Ground Zero serves up. And it was with that revelation that I decided to drive right past it and toward Javista.

Surprise! Unlike 90 percent of the places I’ve reviewed thus far, I actually really like them! They’re not just “OK,” and they’re definitely not “bad.” In fact, their agave latte — espresso, steamed milk and a touch of agave to sweeten — has narrowly made it onto Jackie Likes Java’s Top 3 drinks, just behind the Lavender Vanilla Latte (Augie’s) and the Freddo (Copa Vida). This is especially shocking as I’m pretty sure the barista who made my drink was being trained right then and there, so mad props to them for their hiring practices.

They also have your normal mochas, lattes, cold brews, et cetera, et cetera, but I was in the mood for something slightly (read: barely) different. I found bags of Urth Caffé beans on the wall, so they may or may not be serving their coffee, but I can’t confirm because unlike a forward-thinking coffee shop reviewer, I forgot to ask.

On the inside, Javista is, as I’d regretfully call it, a cookie cutter coffee shop. Their menu is written on a series of chalkboards (yawn), random black-and-white pictures hang along the brick walls (snooze) and coffee drinkers sit at wooden tables with teeny tiny succulents (meh). It’s a little boring, but there is password protected Wi-Fi (heart eyes emoji), so I’d consider it a great place to get some work done on the weekends. Disclaimer: Prices are mid- to high-level ($4 agave latte), but I’d say they’re well worth it.

And a closing pro-tip for you: Be sure to park at a meter. Free street parking is an illusion and is never actually free… not that I’d know…

The Javista Organic Coffee Bar is located at 6707 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, CA 90028, and open from 7 a.m .to 8 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays.

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