The 2024 Sacramento Coffee Lover’s Guide

Pachamama’s olive oil latte (Photo by Ashley Fleming, Courtesy of Pachamama Coffee Farmers)

DRINK TO YOUR HEALTH

Mediterranean Magic

Olive oil and oats—packed with healthy lipids and antioxidants—are both staples of the Mediterranean diet known for extending health span and longevity, so it’s no wonder that a coffee concoction made with olive oil and oat milk is extra good for you. What is surprising, however, is that the olive oil latte at Pachamama—a spring menu item that first appeared last year and is available through June—might just be the most enchanting beverage to ever gild your palate. First, cold-pressed Arbequina extra virgin olive oil from Pasture 42 in Capay Valley is whisked into single-origin Peruvian espresso right in the cup, then folded into foamy, velvety frothed oat milk to create an impossibly creamy, luxurious beverage with a taste and texture as delicate and soft as a baby’s breath, yet earthy as freshly turned loam after a rain in springtime. You can add a dash of honey or lavender syrup if you’d like, but do yourself a favor and try it naked first: Why disrupt a perfect three-part harmony? Multiple locations. drinkpacha.com

Keep Calm and Drink Up

We are of the opinion that not all flavors pair well with coffee (a peach latte?!? Aw, come on, folks). But one that does perfectly complement the flavor notes of coffee is the sweet, earthy, aromatic bite of turmeric. The health powerhouse contains curcumin, the anti-inflammatory polyphenol that gives the spice its brilliant goldenrod hue and has been shown to benefit everything from metabolic syndrome and anxiety to delayed onset muscle soreness after exercise. And Old Soul Co. makes our favorite turmeric latte of all time. Their secret sauce is a house-made turmeric infusion, which you are free to sweeten to taste, or not—we like to drink it as a subtly savory curried latte. Pro-tip: The turmeric latte isn’t officially on the menu, but Old Soul baristas are always happy to make it for insiders in the know, which now include you. Multiple locations. oldsoulco.com

Swallow Your Bliss

Coffee, cacao and cordyceps are three of the regal ingredients in the Three Kings Latte at Cafe Xocolatl, the downtown chocolate shop that specializes in handcrafted chocolates and regularly hosts traditional cacao ceremonies. Take raw cacao—which contains abundant antioxidants and anandamide, aka the “bliss molecule”—add espresso, milk (oat or cashew), sweetener (honey water, maple syrup or coconut sugar ) and a mushroom blend containing cordyceps, a feel-good neuroprotective fungus, and you have a mocha latte that’s full of flavor and health benefits. The unprocessed, raw cacao retains all its antioxidant flavonols—and natural bitterness, so the drink may be an acquired taste. But hey, you learned to love the bitterness of a hoppy IPA, right? 1607 10th St. 916-582-2146. thechocolatemarketplace.com

Shroom Vroom

Downtown denizens, there’s a new reason to perk up: Lately, Grace Coffee Roasters, located in the Esquire Tower near 13th and K streets, has been seeing customers lining up to try their chagaccino—think of it as a mocha, but with mushrooms instead of cocoa. A fungus that grows mainly on birch trees, chaga has long been a folk remedy for boosting immunity and lowering inflammation, and is a great source of skin-protective melanin to help stave off sun damage. Grace makes its whipped concoction—which debuted last year and tastes more like sin than salvation—with dark roast house espresso, and serves it hot or cold and sweetened with monk fruit. This cup is surprisingly mild and easy to drink, as the alkaline chaga counters the acidity of the coffee, and the mushroom’s natural probiotics sooth your tummy while the antioxidants rev up your neurotransmitters. 1215 K Street. 916-706-1200. gracecoffeeroasters.co

Low Carb, High Taste

You know the black and red plastic coating that keeps your booster cables from shorting out when you jump-start a car battery? Your nerves have a coating like that—it’s called myelin, and it’s made up of Omega-3 fatty acids just like those in the keto coffee at West Sacramento’s Water & Salt. Dark roast organic espresso is frothed with Omega-3-rich grass-fed butter and coconut-based MCT oil—medium chain triglycerides, or MCT, have been shown to improve cognitive functioning, aid in weight loss and decrease inflammation, according to studies published by the National Institutes of Health. Vegans can have the same drink blended with cocoa butter, which also contains Omega-3. Keto dieters and intermittent fasters swear by this morning brew, but be aware that adding sugar transforms the drink from what the originator of Bulletproof coffee, Dave Asprey, termed “brain octane” to dessert in a cup, so sweeten with just a dab or two of monk fruit. 1620 W. Capitol Ave. West Sacramento. 916-222-2301. waternsalt.com

The Dark Knight

Charcoal has recently been turning up in everything from lemonade to ice cream, so why not coffee? The substance is used to filter toxins out of drinking water, and emergency rooms keep activated charcoal powder on hand to treat poisoning and overdoses because it prevents toxins from being absorbed into the body. The charcoal latte at 18 Grams Coffee Roasters is the perfect antidote for when you’re feeling a little polluted—maybe you overindulged in cheese or pasta or birthday cake. The taste? Charcoal hasn’t got a distinctive flavor profile, but its presence lends the cup a clean and balanced profile. So while many lattes feel too rich and milky, this one feels fresh and light, despite its dusky hue. Elk Grove: 9677 E. Stockton Blvd., 916-895-2672. Sacramento: 1600 Ethan Way, 916-571-2639. 18gramscoffeeroasters.com

—Hillary Louise Johnson

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