Alana’s Coffee Roasters roasts in house almost daily and only roasts beans that are in season. The beans are bought either directly from the farmer or through a supplier who works with coffee farmers around the world, and the newest release is a lot from Leónides Castro García in Oaxaca, “a perfect representation of Oaxaca”. The shelf also holds Ethiopian lots such as Yabitu Koba and Ardi, a second Mexican lot from Pablo Ramírez, a Colombian decaf processed with sugarcane ethyl acetate, a French roast, and blends such as 10th Street, roasted for both espresso and filter, and Mar Vista Morning. Beans come in 12 oz bags and in 1 lb and 5 lb wholesale sizes.

The cafés make their own syrups, keep the powders simple and low on sugar, and have sought out milks and milk alternatives to complement the coffee and espresso. There are three of them: Alana’s Mar Vista, Alana’s Venice and Alana’s West Hollywood. Beans ship by subscription, and the roaster supplies wholesale accounts.

Coffee on the shelf

Photograph: Alana's Coffee Roasters