Cafe Dulce in Little Tokyo: Crafted Coffee and Donuts
Cafe Dulce was one of the first gourmet coffee shops in Little Tokyo. Nestled in the heart of the Japanese Village Plaza, Cafe Dulce has been serving locals and tourists alike for 6 years. Aside from being a source of great cold brew and lattes, Cafe Dulce has also become a go-to donut spot, making Eater’s Top 10 for donuts in Los Angeles. They are also a conduit for pop art, having commissioned mural pieces at their shops; they even have art on their coffee sleeves.
Dulce has also worked with many of the Asian American baristas in Los Angeles, and now these baristas work at shops like Copa Vida, House Roots Coffee, Blue Bottle, and more.
The heart of Cafe Dulce is, of course, the co-founder and owner, James Choi. James opened the shop with his mom in 2012. We popped by Cafe Dulce, grabbed a delicious Papua New Guinea pour over with him to hear his story.
James's Coffee Journey
James’s first encounter with coffee was somewhat a very American encounter: Starbucks. When James was at USC (‘05), he walked into his local Starbucks and ordered an Iced Caramel Macchiato. The rush of caffeine from the coffee made him jittery.
“I started shaking. I realized just how much the caffeine really affected me.”
However, James truly fell in love with coffee when he visited the famed Blue Bottle Coffee. James was walking around the Ferry Building farmer’s market in San Francisco.
“There was a line of people, I got my latte and man! The texture on this is so amazing! When I drank that cup of coffee, it wasn’t just drinking it into my body, but I was drinking it into my soul.”
From that moment, James was hooked onto the coffee craze. The first thing he wanted to figure out was how the hell Blue Bottle created such a unique texture. James went back to Blue Bottle and discreetly snapped a photo of the coffee machine they were using: La Marzocco (those are the big fancy coffee machines you see in every good coffee shop). James then went back home and researched everything Blue Bottle was doing, and soon he was opened to the whole world of third wave coffee (the movement of high-quality coffee).
“You have to give credit where credit is due. Blue Bottle, Stumptown, and Intelligentsia, the three big specialty coffee companies, brought coffee to the forefront. We wouldn’t be doing what we are doing if it wasn’t for them.”
Many people may not know, but James was a Division 1 golfer. In fact, he played for USC.
“USC was ranked No. 13 in the nation for golf, and for that reason I went there to play golf. My original pursuit and passion was to be a professional golfer. That didn’t work out.”
The reason for James’s halt in his golfing career, however, did not come from the game itself but from a need to help his mother.
“My mom was financially struggling, and things were difficult for her. So I decided that I should start pursuing a career where I can take care of myself. I’ve always liked accounting because it’s very applicable in business.”
Eventually, James opened a chocolate boutique with his mom. James’s mother wanted to open a chocolate store in Palo Alto, CA, so James helped open a Teuscher Swiss chocolate boutique near Stanford. They eventually sold the shop, but then, James’s mother had a new dream.
“My mom battled through her first round of chemo: it was tough. This was after we sold the chocolate shop and moved to LA. One day, my mom was sitting around and said, ‘I want to open a bakery in Little Tokyo.’”
James had hesitations with his mom’s wishes but eventually supported her idea.
Establishing Cafe Dulce
“As soon as I found out about the partner quitting, I put in my two week notice and I told myself time to figure out how to operate a bakery and coffee store. I went in and it’s been 6 years.”
James went in without knowing anything about baking or making good coffee. All he had were his accounting skills, work ethic from playing golf, and that one coffee experience at Blue Bottle. Luckily, baristas around Los Angeles took him in, and it’s from that community where he learned how to brew great coffee.
The hero behind Cafe Dulce’s coffee today is Jonathan Yang, the head barista at Cafe Dulce. Jonathan is responsible for the fine-tuned coffee brewing techniques at Dulce, from cold brew to pour over. They use beans from Copa Vida, Sweet Bloom, Ritual, and Saint Frank.
Dulce also made its stride and mark in the LA coffee scene with specialty drinks such as Vietnamese iced coffee, Hong Kong milk tea latte, masala chai tea latte, and Genmai tea.
In addition to coffee, Cafe Dulce has a strong relationship with art. James actively seeks opportunities to display art at his cafes. In fact, their newest location, Dos, located at Row DTLA in the Arts District, has a huge mural by Steven Daily on the wall.
Baking was a different story. Initially, James contracted a family friend to help bake for Dulce, but eventually, they resorted to buying frozen pastries and dough and proofing them at the store. It was during a collaboration that the Cafe Dulce Donuts were born.
“The great thing about the open concept of our coffee shop with the kitchen was the interaction. My friend would go, ‘Hey, try this pastry, is it any good?’ The donut in fact was created from leftover dough from our breadier pastries.”
Eventually, Cafe Dulce developed a reputation for having some of the best donuts in LA.
“People were coming in and called us a donut shop. I would say to them we’re a coffee shop first that happened to have donuts. But man, I love the donuts too.”
Their first non-traditional donut was the matcha donut, influenced by the Japanese American community in Little Tokyo. Their unique take on the bacon donut became an instant local favorite.
James’s favorite donut is the Snickers donut, which they made for the Giant Robot Biennale 4 at the Japanese American National Museum.
“I remember going to the county fair and trying fried Snickers... When I got one I was like woah it’s like a corn dog!”
Cafe Dulce also offers gourmet sandwiches, salads, and breakfast burritos, using bread from Japanese markets like Marukai or Mitsuwa.
James emphasizes the importance of his relationship with his mother:
"From the outside looking in people must think I had this incredibly close relationship with my mom, which I do on a lot of levels. But she was your typical tiger mom when I was growing up. However, I credit my mom for so much. I wouldn’t be as patient as I am now if it wasn’t for her."
Cafe Dulce serves the community with a message of connection and support, becoming a cherished fixture in Little Tokyo.
Get Some Coffee & Donuts at Cafe Dulce
- Address: Japanese Village Plaza, 134 Japanese Village Plaza Mall, Los Angeles, CA 90012
- Dulce Dos: 777 Alameda St, Los Angeles, CA 90021
The music in the video is Liszt's Feux Follets. Played by Aileen Gozali.