At L3 Craft Coffee in Bridgeland, a cup of coffee is a work of art. Order a latte with steamed milk, and you'll find an elegant drawing of a swan, tulips or hearts.
It’s all part of the thoughtful coffee-drinking experience owners Tommy and Lisa Lau hope their customers feel when they order a steaming cup of brew.
“It puts the whole experience into perspective,” Tommy says. “They put a lot of care and time into making the drink for the customer. It also helps the baristas know they texturized the milk.”
The baristas mostly taught themselves how to create latte art. Most enjoy drawing in their free time. Two baristas even created a large mural showing the coffee-making process. The mural shows how a coffee seed is farmed, roasted, transported and specially prepared for drinking.
L3 coffee beans journey from all over the world before ending up in a customer’s cup. Some come from Latin American countries such as Guatemala, Costa Rica or El Salvador while others are grown across the globe in Ethiopia. Coffees are rotated often so customers can taste blends from all over the world.
Tommy and Lisa even created the Cypress Blend, a mix of medium roasted beans from Brazil, Papua New Guinea, Sumatra, and Tanzania. Several blends were put to a customer vote before the owners picked the winning mix.
“This one was very complex,” Tommy says. “It had a few regions blended together which made it pretty special.”
L3 Craft Coffee offers specialty coffees, hot and cold drinks, teas and sandwiches. Their 1885 drink mixes Dr. Pepper, vanilla and espresso. Their Gobble-Switz turkey sandwich is a popular order as well as their frappe made of blended cold brew coffee, flavoring and milk. Teas arrive to you with a nifty timer for accurate brewing.
Love. Laugh. Learn.
Tommy and Lisa opened their shop in 2018 hoping to share their love of coffee with the community. The three L’s in their name each represent the shop's values: love of coffee, laughter and continuous learning.
Tommy worked in the coffee industry for 12 years where he tasted coffee brews to make sure each met high standards for brands such as Folgers and Starbucks.
“We just had a really big passion for coffee,” Tommy says. “We wanted to bring our knowledge to the community and share what we knew about coffee.”
Tommy and Lisa also offer regular monthly coffee tasting classes where coffee lovers can learn about and taste different coffee brewing styles and sample flavors from around the world.
“We really try to find ways that we can have them sample it and really figure out their preferred coffee beverage,” Tommy says.
