I walk through the leafy maze, brushing hanging viney tendrils with my sunburnt arms. The memory of sand still clings to my legs as I ogle stylish shoppers and willowy models in photoshoots. Breaking open the lava surface of a molasses-apricot cookie, I watch the dark crumbs fall on the darker table.

I hold a cappuccino, graced with a relaxed swan. Its bitterness stands in counterpoint to the earthy ginger and sorghum of my cookie, the textures silk and chewy grit. Pages of notes glow in the light. Baristas chatter about their favorite obsolete breakfast cereals.

I am at Cafecito Organico, where the motto is Cafe O Muerte—Coffee or Death. Nestled in the maze of retail stores in Costa Mesa’s The LAB Antimall, Cafecito is a unique shop with a familiar and comforting vision—great coffee, grown on earth by humans.

I, for one, feel more human here.

—Costa Mesa, CA / late morning / Cafecito Organico