Brew Bar Picked For Best Coffeehouse Competition

A Santa Monica coffee shop is among 20 in the running to be named America's Best Coffeehouse on the West Coast.

Brew Coffee Bar—a small café in the Colorado Center (—is one of six California coffee shops in the inaugural competition, and only one of two Los Angeles area-based semifinalists.

The coffeehouse is best known for making decadent, French style hot chocolate; using fairly-traded, specialty beans from Stumptown Coffee Roasters; and for using a pour-over technique.

"It's very unique since we're inside of a business center. We have a lot of great corporate offices here, but we have zero visibility from the outside," said CEO Joy Park in a video application.

• Click here to vote for Santa Monica's Brew Coffee Bar Roasters

The semifinal stage is a prelude to Coffee Fest, a September trade show in Seattle at which the top coffee shop on the West Coast will be selected by 30 judges.

Through Sept. 4, fan voting and secret shoppers will narrow the field to the eight coffee shops that will be invited to compete at the September event.

Brew Bar made it into the semifinalist round by submitting a video highlighting the cafe's strengths. (Look to the right of this story to watch the video it submitted.)

"We want to make sure that... customers are really satisfied and that we're  consistently delivering out great lattes," said Park.

She did not return messages seeking comment.

In Seattle, competing cafes will battle to impress judges with a series of drinks concocted on site.

The contest winner will take home $2,500 and an America's Best Coffeehouse Competition trophy. Second place will earn $1,000; third, $500.

Brew Bar also operates a mobile coffee truck that roams Los Angeles. It will open its second permanent location July 16 in Hollywood at 6430 Sunset Blvd. in the CNN Tower.

Stay connected with Santa Monica Patch throughout the day on Facebook and Twitter. Subscribe to our free daily newsletter for email updates.