Kaldi Coffee and Tea

This is a great local coffee shop hidden on a beautiful side street in South Pasadena. It's a very comfortable place to enjoy a hot drink with lots of places to sit/work inside and more tables out front of the old brick building.

We had the Pumpkin Spice Chai Latte and a Dos Leches Latte. Both were flavorful, smooth & warm on a cold day.

The staff was both friendly & helpful and the shop is cluttered but clean. There is ample street parking and it is a lovely area to go for a walk.

I love the food and drinks. I would like to leave a stellar review but there are some problematic behaviors by the business owner at this location.

First they have a bathroom, which is now no longer available to patrons. This is very inconvenient, as we all know it's there, but it's no longer available and you have to leave you drink, food, table, items, and go across the street and around the block, into the library, to use the facilities.

Secondly the business owner is charging bogus, arbitrary credit card fees for purchases under $10 which is just really petty and cheap and below the standard of the neighborhood to nickel and dime patrons because you don't want to pay 2%. The business owner is blatantly telling us, the money comes first.

It's cheap, low, and grubby to put that in front of a transaction, for 30 cents, which is more than the CC processing fee; and is frankly vulgar to do to customers. For the record I am a licensed mobile business owner, and a founder of an LLC with a retail and online component.

The price points on the coffee and tea products is already above market, for the greater SoCal Area, and the price to pay for them, while sitting on cheap plastic furniture outside is the third rub.

This used to be a destination, and it is still, but it is fallen.

Zen out in South Pasadena...

You can drop in from the Subway Station a couple of blocks from here...

2 hour parking in surrounding neighborhood for days...

We're camped right outside the South Pasadena Library on Diamond Street...

Feeling like a diamond in the rough...

Everyone's so nice...

Everything's so quiet here...

I'll take a seat outside and watch the giant trees light up with the morning sun...

And keep sipping on my dirty chai oat milk latte...

Like I said...

Tao of Kaldi vibeszzz

Nice spot in South Pas. Fun eclectic art and lots of seating. There's wifi to sit and get work done or meet with a friend but no bathrooms so use at your own risk. Lots of parking in the back lot or street parking.

Coffee culture in Europe is quite different than the US. The unique American coffee Culture has been slowing down for post pandemic era. But those local coffee bars have been safe haven for Casual date to entrepreneurs and intellectuals to exchange innovative ideas at the coffeeshop. ( Sorry Not Sorry Starbucks).

This one, it s more personalized and stylized.
'Venti is Twenty' - Elizabeth Banks and Paul Rudd. ( google it if you don't know). So I am not here about a cup of Venti or a cute barista, Saoirse Ronan ( Lady Bird). I'm here for cheer the heck up over 15 years of local coffee bar since Role Models film released. Back in the day, I was in Brooklyn and day dreaming of SoCal. Hey, no more watching Yankee game and working at the restaurant. For sure, someone would knock on my door with Dunkin' coffee in East Coast but I made it to California.

The very same spot Paul Rudd asked a large black coffee. As of today, a barista who look like Rooney Mara asked me how would you take the coffee, I'd say, " A large Black Coffee, pls. "

FYC: woman owned Kaldi Coffee & Tea at serendipity South Pasadena. Just right across the library. And massive chocolate croissants!

Located next to Pasadena library, this hidden gem has the best honey vanilla latte!

It's absolutely phenomenal! The perfect combination of sweetness from the honey and the delightful aroma of vanilla make this latte a true treat for the taste buds. The baristas at Kaldi are always friendly and welcoming, which adds to the overall positive experience. If you're a fan of lattes, I highly recommend giving their honey vanilla latte a try. It's a sip of pure bliss!
It's giving me cozy vibes too!
Not all tables have outlets because I was thinking to come here to do some work.

I've driven by Kaldi numerous times and always see people sitting outside enjoying their coffee, so when my darling girls mentioned they'd be in the area this place seemed like the perfect spot to meet up!

I had no idea that Kaldi had been in the area for 29 years. The coffee shop is women owned and currently has a new owner, so disregard any previous bad reviews because she was darling! I didn't catch her name but she was working hard behind the counter and serving every cup with a smile.
The shop itself is cozy. Plenty of tables to sit at and relax with a beverage and a pastry. It's a great spot to meet up with friends, read a book, or get some studying in. They support local artists and their artwork is displayed on the wall for purchase.

Our order consisted of: Macchiato (Graciela), Mexican Mocha (Jessica), 3 espresso shot latte with oat milk (Te-See), and a Drip for me. We also shared a cheese Danish.

I needed some extra fuel to help me finish a work project by a 1 p.m. deadline and the Drip did the trick. It was smooth & robust and gave me that extra boost.

*Parking lot on the side of the building & free parking on the street.

Te-see is on a roll!!! I hit 2 new coffee shops this week...what??? Yes, damn straight. And this one is owned by a Woman!!!! Happy national Women's Month:)

Thanks to my girl Nikki, she suggested we meet here with the beautiful Perez sisters, Graciela and Jessica. Had a college vibe with a sprinkle of "Portland," Oregon. Especially on another cold and misty morning.

This coffee shop has been here for 29 years...Really? Who knew? New ownership now and well run. The owner was very friendly. She took my order which was ready in minutes. *My staple drink order: 3 espresso shot latte, extra hot with oat milk. Spot on! It was smooth, rich and hot!!!

~The girls ordered a macchiato, Mexican Mocha and small drip~

*Great location
*Parking lot on the side of the building
*Free street parking (read the signs!)
*Plenty of tables inside and outside to enjoy a warm sunny day
*Workable space

Kaldi is a nice, quiet coffee shop in South Pasadena that features a variety of drinks and pastries but not as much parking. Street parking is available, but read carefully because even on the same street, there is 2hr and 3hr parking parallel from each other on the one-way streets!

I ordered a latte upside down, and it was tasty. However, the ham and cheese croissant could have been better. It was a bit flimsy and salty. It wasn't too crisp, and it was more of a chore and obligation to eat than an enjoyable breakfast / snack. The bag that it came in also got quite oily. Overall, I would label the ham and cheese croissant one of those look but don't order items.

Outside of the food, the circular tables were a bit wobbly, so working was a little difficult. Additionally, I saw that the plug I sat next to didn't quite have power... I didn't check if this was true the entire cafe, but I thankfully had about 5% battery left before my parking time ran out

I'm giving this establishment 1 star (but if I could've given 0 stars I would!) because last Wednesday I went to get some work done and needed to use the bathroom. I went to this girl at the counter and asked if I could use their bathrooms in which she replied with "we don't have bathrooms but the 'Levery' does." I frequent this area a lot and did not recognize that name. She kept pointing at the window, but all I saw was the park and school district building.

After a lot of confusion, a boy next to her soon stepped in and I could tell the vibes weren't nice. I soon left, still confused btw, and heard the boy say "at least you know what a corner is!" to the girl. It was very loud because my seat was all the way across the cafe. Still needing to use the bathroom badly, I checked my maps again to figure out what she was talking about and decided to go back and have them point it out on my maps. The boy walked out from the counter and pointed to the library. I thought she said "levery" not "library" but instead of taking the time to smooth out the misunderstanding, they were incredibly rude and gross about the interaction.

It was raining so instead of going to the library, I went to JONES COFFEE. There, I said I would buy croissant if I could use their restroom. They said yes and gave me the code- no problem! Once I was ready to buy their ham and cheese crossiant, they realized they didn't have any, but offered me a FREE PASTRY along with the one I settled for! It was a complete 180 from the customer facing mess I endured at Kaldi coffee.

Moral of the story
If you're in a customer facing business, make sure to be POLITE TO YOUR CUSTOMERS.

If there's a misunderstanding with a customer, take the time to smooth it out. There could've been a number of reasons as to why I couldn't understand her. Any customer could've had:

1. A hearing issue
2. A disability
3. Issues with the machines being too loud
4. Anything really

I would think this establishment wouldn't want to discriminate people of any kind, but who knows if they have these types of workers representing them. Also, go to Jones Coffee instead!