‘Infatuation Guaranteed’ : Coffee and Plants improves the world one cup at a time

Coffee and Plants was founded by Dennis Jauch, left, singer-songwriter Leona Lewis and Achraf Sekhiri.

English singer-songwriter Leona Lewis, her husband, Dennis Jauch, and friend Achraf Sekhiri have witnessed an increase in plant-based food options.

Still, something was lacking.

“We’re all plant based,” Jauch said. “It’s pretty amazing to see how far we’ve come in this plant-based world, but coffee was still lacking.”

In 2019, the trio founded Coffee and Plants nestled among Old Pasadena’s brick walls, and, more recently, Studio City.

“We resonated with the charm and the architecture of Pasadena because it reminds us a little bit of Europe,” said Jauch, who hails from Germany.

“We think it’s such a beautiful city and it just has that kind of homey family vibe to it. We stumbled upon this beautiful location in the Old Town, One Colorado Square, and thought, ‘This is just perfect.’ We just love the atmosphere of Pasadena.”

Coffee and Plants features creative espresso-based specialty drinks, single-origin drip and pour-over coffees, cold brews, special teas and seasonal menu items.

The signature blend’s beans are sourced from Unity Coffee, which works with growers in Colombia and Guatemala to “provide fair-trade wages to the coffee farmers.”

In Pasadena, the menu includes the Rose Bowl, 24K Charcoal and the Blue Lavender lattes. The 24K blends activated charcoal, homemade vanilla syrup and gold leaf, while the Rose Bowl latte boasts a rich espresso flavor paired with homemade rose hibiscus syrup and a splash of fresh beet juice.

There’s no espresso in the Blue Lavender latte, but it does have homemade lavender syrup with blue butterfly pea powder, plant-based milk and lavender garnish.

With sweet and floral syrups and the coconut whipped cream, the Laurel Latte was created in honor of Studio City, where it is exclusively available.

“We don’t have the Rose Bowl latte,” he said about Studio City. “We have the Laurel latte. Every location is going to have its own signature drink.”

Most, if not all other cafes charge for substituting whole milk for a nondairy alternative. Coffee and Plants does not.

“We didn’t like that there’s always an up-charge for plant-based coffee wherever you go; that still exists in most places,” Jauch said.

The 100% plant-based food menu — which comes with the tagline “infatuation guaranteed” on the website — spotlights gluten-free items, savory and sweet pastries, freshly prepared avocado tartines and Just Egg croissants.

“We’re just a coffee shop with quality ingredients, homemade,” he said. “All the ingredients just happen to be plant based and I think that’s very important because most of our customers are not plant based. We opened it out of a necessity. We felt like creating a more sustainable way to make quality coffee for the masses.”

For four-legged friends, Coffee and Plants sells “puppuccinos” — coconut whip cream topped with a peanut butter doggy biscuit. Proceeds of select items are donated to Hopefield Animal Sanctuary, an organization that rescues abused and neglected animals in need.

At the café, the owners and staff take sustainability to a new level. They reduce their carbon footprint by “eliminating the damaging environmental impacts of the dairy industry.”

For every 100 cups sold, it plants a tree in partnership with the National Forest Foundation.

Coffee and Plants further lives up to its name by selling plants that drape the bright space.

“We wanted the space itself to be a very welcoming, healthy and organic feeling place, which is why from the beginning we knew that we wanted to incorporate lots of plants in our store,” he said.

Soon, other locations will join Old Pasadena and Studio City.

“We want to disrupt the coffee industry as a whole,” Jauch said.

“We want to disrupt the Starbucks industry and we want to show people that there is a healthier option right at their fingertips.”

Coffee and Plants

62 W. Union Street, Pasadena

626-615-1261

12334 Ventura Boulevard, Studio City

818-987-5177

coffeeandplantsla.com

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