Art Illustrations by Vivian Hsia
Rant:
I first heard about Alfred Coffee through the many influencers and celebrities who posted photos on Instagram with the famous antler “A” logo all over their coffee cups.
As a coffee lover, I was excited to hear Alfred’s was coming to Malibu and had to try this highly favored coffee shop.
That excitement quickly ended when I took my first sip of their “world famous” iced vanilla latte.
Maybe my expectations were too high from all the media hype, but I wasn’t “wowed” like my opponent was by her first sip of Alfred Coffee.
Considering Alfred’s prides themselves with their vanilla syrup, I was expecting the the vanilla to have the best flavor ever — but I could barely even taste it.
Honestly, my latte tasted like milk with a dash of coffee — it was nothing special at all.
Alfred’s has a variety items on their menu — one of which is a breakfast burrito — ranging from $10 to $12, which is expensive considering its small size.
In addition to the not-so-great coffee and expensive burritos, I feel like Alfred’s is stepping on the territory of classic Malibu favorites like Blue Bottle and Howdy’s.
Why would someone want to go to Alfred’s for a smaller breakfast burrito when they could get a bigger one at Howdy’s for the same price? The same goes for the coffee — why go to Alfred’s for a mediocre cup of Joe when you could go right across the street and get an even yummier cup at Blue Bottle?
All in all, I think Alfred Coffee is overhyped and should be left for the influencers to enjoy. Hopefully other Malibu locals and I will stick to Blue Bottle.
Rave:
Anytime I hear of a new coffee shop in town, I run to try it. With the hype around Alfred Coffee coming to the country mart, I knew I needed to get there as soon as I could.
To my surprise, it became my new favorite coffee shop. I like the atmosphere, the location and I like the actual coffee more than anywhere else in the country mart.
For starters, I really do prefer the actual taste of the coffee. While I wouldn’t consider myself a coffee connoisseur, I do notice when my coffee isn’t up to par.
At Alfred’s, the baristas craft up a perfect iced almond milk latte for me every time — mixing the right amount of milk with coffee with vanilla flavoring. The names might not be as fancy as Blue Bottle’s, but I think the coffee tastes much better and is worth my money.
Second, I like the atmosphere of Alfred’s. It has upbeat music, colors on the walls and overall has a lot of excitement to it. Some coffee shops are more relaxing, but clearly if I am going somewhere to get coffee, I need an upbeat vibe to wake me up, rather than a vibe that will contrast my coffee intake and put me right back to sleep.
In addition, Alfred’s is located right in the main part of the country mart, so I can take my coffee and go shop around at the many stores, or I can just sit in the nice seating Alfred’s has right outside, with my favorite lights hanging above me.
One of my favorite parts of Alfred’s is they also have food I like. The Alfred’s breakfast burrito fills me up and tastes good — worth my money for sure.
Alfred’s is also very convenient. First, I can order it on the app which I like, and once I get there, there is a whole parking lot right by Alfred’s that is typically empty. I can pull right in, pick up my coffee and stay a while, or head right back out with a quality cup of coffee in hand.
While I understand Alfred Coffee might be seen as just another coffee shop, I really do think it has the best options for a quick, quality coffee alongside a good sandwich, for an affordable price.
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Follow the Graphic on Twitter: @PeppGraphic
Contact Abby Wilt via Twitter (@abby_wilt) or by email: abby.wilt@pepperdine.edu
Email Lydia duPerier: lydia.duperier@pepperdine.edu
