Where to find the best misugaru lattes in Los Angeles
When I was growing up in Michigan, misugaru was a warm, comforting drink that my Korean stepmother made for me as a treat before bed on especially cold winter nights. She called it “sweet rice tea,” which sounded amazing to my 9-year-old brain. Misugaru is a powder blend made up of a variety of grains such as brown rice, barley, millet and black sesame. The grains are steamed, roasted and ground and served hot or cold mixed with water or milk. Many Koreans make their own misugaru at home, but there are also a dizzying number of retail versions. It’s sometimes consumed as a meal replacement since it’s high in many nutrients. I hadn’t thought about the drink in ages until I stumbled into Bodega Park, a sandwich and coffee shop in Silver Lake. There, chef and co-owner Eric Park serves a black sesame misugaru drink that combines espresso, oat milk and the multigrain powder and gets topped with black sesame cream. It’s nutty, sweet and frothy, but not too rich thanks to the bitterness …
