Bohemian House Of Espresso + Chai: Sixth Street Revolution
Between two dreary ionic towers on 6th & Spring, there’s an escalated threshold underneath a dusty black shade that reads, “Bohemian House of Espresso & Chai.” At first glance you’ll probably assume it’s a cut-rate shop some next-door neighbors drop by on occasion, but when you walk out, you’ll have experienced what is arguably the most authentic coffee shop in Los Angeles.
You’ll start out trying to take in a cacophony of artistic tastes. One wall has black & white photographs of 1960s cultural icons ( MLK, Fidel Castro, Marilyn Monroe). Paintings of naked women and rock & roll artists sporadically catch your eye. There are Jetson-like television sets and a futuristic globe chair next to the espresso bar. The theme feels confusing, but irrefutably sixties, “There was a lot of change happening in those days…everyone is still trying to catch up.”
Then there’s the owner, or rather the barista, who calls himself Blackie; he makes all the coffee himself. He is also the author of a small book placed on every table, “Blackie Bohemian;” a minimalist-meets-beatnik manifesto on why he wants coffee to bring people together. Almost all the content is a series of moral choice questions like, what would you do if you had to assassinate the president to live?
You can certainly tell by the aroma of the man himself, Farah A. Hagar, that counter-culture is not only his aesthetic, but his objective. He wears a black beret (a must of any 1960s revolutionary), and talks with great confidence in himself and the power of his coffee. He knows it's his blend of retro culture and built-from-scratch drinks that converts visitors against the bland mass consumption of stores like Starbucks (incidentally his next-door competitor). “No one is doing what I’m doing...I make everything from scratch.”
This is literally true. You can pick a completely random item from his itinerary of specialities - The Camel Milk Cortado for example - and he will immediately get down to work; tearing up the various leaves and spices that go with it, and even crafting its own myth. “This came to me from an Amish farmer,” he began one story, claiming he had been traveling and asking for what he hoped would be a soothing remedy for stress and anger.
Blackie hands a small cup of camel’s milk to go with it. “He gave me this...believe me there is nothing like this in the world.” Indeed, it is a wild yet minty and sweet blast of taste; it will make anyone a convert to the cause.
As ecstatic as his personality may be, he is also the kind of man that didn’t like to talk too much about his past, even the struggles he had to face getting his business running as a Somalian immigrant. The only thing he wants to focus on are the people that come to his store. Once the city went into total lockdown from the COVID-19 pandemic, two of his revenue sources - tourists and office workers - completely vanished. Locals however, continue to pour in. He is grateful for the Downtown community, as it has remained the Bohemian House’s life support during what Blackie said was “a really huge challenge...I can’t fight this alone.”
To put it mildly, The Bohemian House of Espresso & Chai is a rebel’s cause. It is still open for take-out 8AM-4PM, and has no plans to close down.
Written by Daniel Nieblas | Photography by GL Askew II
