Straight from Busan, South Korea, A.OK made its debut this January and has gained quite the popularity since. A.OK Coffee is a family-owned business, known for its specialty pour-overs and Dubai chocolate products. This business strives to provide high-quality coffee at great prices, as stated on their website, https://www.aokcoffee.co.kr/.
The cafe is sleek and modern, the perfect place to enjoy freshly brewed coffee and the viral Dubai chewy cookie. It is located on the corner of Lambert Rd and Beach Blvd. Despite being across from Dutch Bros, another popular coffee shop, A.OK coffee has not had an issue with clientele, as store manager Ryan Ji, also the owner’s son, describes that during their grand opening, “there were lots of customers, especially because of our viral Dubai chewy cookie.” Even as time has passed, and the excitement over the shop has calmed down, Ryan says that “we still have a good number of customers, and we have started to form our ‘regular’ customers.”
Aside from being a regular coffee shop, A.OK Coffee serves as a place to train even novice entrepreneurs to become top-tier baristas. They complete this training through their differentiated menu and high-quality training.
After visiting the store and trying one of their signature drinks, it is safe to say that their coffee definitely lives up to all the hype. I tried their iced A.OK latte, with oat milk, and it was nothing short of delicious. It was not too strong, or too sweet, but a perfect in-between that left me with a smooth, creamy, and delicious latte. It had hints of cinnamon and had a beautiful caramel-brown color. Overall, I think it was delicious, and it deserves at least an 8/10.
In addition to the A.OK latte, Renata Padilla (9), a true chocolate lover, tried their chocolate chip cookie. Just based on looks, it looked very appetizing, but there weren’t many chocolate chips in sight. After taking a bite, Renata was proved wrong, saying, “As I bit into the cookie, I immediately felt the warm gooey chocolate melt into my mouth. It was very deceiving because I thought it would have no chocolate chips, and instead it was more chocolate than cookie!”
Overall, A.OK is doing very well for its first few months in business, and its wide variety of unique coffee and pastries does not make it hard to see why. This being their first location in the US has not stopped them from becoming many people’s new go-to coffee spot, or even study spot. From Busan to La Habra, A.OK Coffee’s success is definitely going to continue, especially if they continue to expand and create more locations in the US.
