Updates | Cafe Dulce Los Angeles

Behind the Barista: Isiah Adams

Location: USC Village

Favorite Dulce drink: Short Iced Americano

Hometown: Tulsa, Oklahoma

“Pour me a cappuccino.” Isiah pours the blend of espresso, steamed milk and foam milk into a Dulce cup. “You’re hired.”

As an eighteen-year-old senior in Oklahoma, Isiah had his sights set on studying theater and making it big in New York. After finishing his freshman year at NYU, Isiah realized that studying theater wasn’t his passion. With just enough money for a plane ticket, he packed his bags and headed west to the city of stars. Though not too far from LA, Redondo Beach became home for three years. Isiah needed a side job to support his acting career, so he joined his roommate as a fellow barista at a local coffee shop. At the time, Isiah didn’t drink any coffee to avoid the caffeine addiction. He couldn’t resist for much longer and fell in love with the art of specialty coffee, finding serving coffee to be a means of self expression. He wanted to learn more.

Working at this coffee shop in Redondo Beach was not ideal. Checks weren’t paid on time and there wasn’t much motivation or support from coworkers or management. When Isiah’s pastor told him about a job opening at Dulce in Little Tokyo, he jumped on the opportunity.

Isiah poured his first cappuccino for Dulce five years ago and never looked back. After living and acting in Los Angeles for some time now, he’s developed a passion for screenwriting and hopes to one day write an act in his own TV show. Inspired by Donald Glover and his show Atlanta, Isiah strives to create original art house style content that stays true to himself and what he believes in.

Balancing a budding acting career while working long hours at a busy café is no easy routine. Isiah credits much of his success to the incredible support from his Dulce family along with the infectious positivity that no Dulce worker can escape. In his opinion, working at Dulce has given him “an opportunity to learn what it means to be responsible for everything in your life”. Although Isiah would prefer owning a brewery instead of a coffee shop (which he’s been experimenting with for three years now), he’s loved seeing how Café Dulce has blossomed over the years and can’t wait to see what’s on the horizon.

The shift from Halloween to Thanksgiving marks that perfect plunge into fall when the leaves turn orange and the air gets cooler—at least that’s what we in LA imagine happens to the rest of the country. But aside from chiller weather, November also calls for delicious food and sweets, as families and friends gather together today to celebrate what they’re thankful for. Nothing screams Thanksgiving more than a good old slice of pumpkin pie, but where did this tradition originate from?

According to History, pumpkins were first introduced to the New World by Native Americans back in the early 16th century as gift to the settlers. Pumpkins were originally called “pumpions”, a spin on the French word “pompon”, meaning “large melon”. As pumpkins became a staple Thanksgiving gourd, Pilgrim settlers began experimenting with “pumpion pie”1 by layering pumpkin, sliced apple, spiced rosemary and thyme. The early 18th century saw an increased popularity in pumpkin pie, as Connecticut town Colchester even postponed Thanksgiving for a week because they lacked the molasses needed to make pumpkin pie.

Pumpkin pie took unique political significance in America during the abolitionist period, as many abolitionists advocated for Thanksgiving to be a national holiday and made pumpkin pie the symbol of that revolution. Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863 and shortly recipes for pumpkin pie popped up in magazines nationwide the same time every year, creating the tradition2.

At Dulce, we carry on this tradition, but go above and beyond with our 6.5 pound in-house pumpkin pie.

Using a recipe created and hand-crafted by our wonderful pastry chef Patty, our pumpkin pie is simple yet made with TLC and the following ingredients:

The filling:

Eggs
Pumpkin puree
Salt
Cinnamon
Ginger
Clove
Condensed milk
Brown sugar
Milk

The crust:

Graham crackers
Sugar
Cinnamon
Butter

Our pies are sold by the slice ($6.50) and the whole ($49) in-store. Although a limited item, have no fear, as we will continue to sell our pumpkin pie just a little longer for the rest of the holiday season. Hope everyone had a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

References

https://whatscookingamerica.net/History/PieHistory/PumpkinPie.htm

https://www.history.com/news/the-history-of-pumpkin-pie