Update: This coffee shop is now closed.

I make fun of the ‘burbs a lot, but I found myself there for Wax Poetic’s Alternative Holiday Book & Art Bazaar (via Martini Republic) a couple weeks ago. I got there early though, and stepped into the coffee shop next door: Romancing the Bean.

This has to be one of the cutest lil coffee shops I’ve been in. Not just cuz of the comfy couches and the lil basket collecting cup sleeves for reuse, but because when I asked the guy at the counter where they got their coffee, he looked to his right and said: “Mom, where do we get our coffee?”

Can’t get much more mom-n-pop than that :)

Romancing the Bean gets their coffee from Volcanic Red. Back at home, I did some research — and Volcanic Red showed up on TransFair’s list of certified cali coffee roasters! Volcanic’s website’s under construction, so I called their Calabasas number — and they gave me a Phoenix number for Gare, the “bean buyer.”

We talked today. Gare said all of Volcanic Red’s ORGANIC coffee’s fair trade certified, and that they’re trying to expand this market — both by trying to increase customer demand for it, and by working out some kinks in the supply side of things. “For example, it’s almost impossible to get fair trade, organic coffee in Mexico right now,” Gare said.

Still, they’re doin’ more of it every quarter. I just called Romancing, and an Emily told me that they have an organic (and therefore, also fair trade) blend on brew about every other day. “And you can always call us too to see if we have one brewing before you come in,” she said. Gosh — These people are seriously really, really sweet.

The cafe itself: It’s cozy and intimately lit — perfect for a date — but not so much if you wanted to work on the LA Weekly crossword puzzle — which is why you need to vote for me so I can have a lil handy light for these situations. Cuz I didn’t wanna leave.

And yes, they have wifi :)

Romancing The Bean. 3208 1/2 W. Magnolia Blvd. Burbank. 818.562.3267.

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