Primo Passo Coffee Co

Primo Passo sits on Montana Avenue in Santa Monica in a bright white room with an arched window, copper pendant lamps and a honey colored wooden counter. It began when Ryan Aicklen and Laura Moeller started roasting on a one kilo machine, and the passion that followed grew into a roastery. Laura is an interior designer and artist who designs and hand paints the label on every retail bag, and the artwork also appears on cards, mugs and apparel.

The signature espresso blend is called Monet, the house blend General Fortier, and there are single origins from Ethiopia, Colombia, Guatemala and Kenya. Espresso drinks are built on a ristretto double shot with Straus organic milk, and the bar also makes house syrups, a Positano and a shakerato, plus pour overs. It opens daily from six thirty in the morning to six in the evening.