Dark Matter Caravanserai Is the One That Surprises You
A Mesoamerican-themed Dark Matter location in Avondale that feels like a different world
Dark Matter is Allen's favorite roaster in the city. I find them a little dark for my personal taste, which tells you something about both of us and nothing bad about Dark Matter. They are a local roasting collective with serious craft behind the beans and a visual identity that runs somewhere between psychedelic, punk, and deeply, unapologetically weird. Every location shares the same DNA: highly saturated spray-painted mural walls, neon signs, funky artwork that feels like it was designed by someone who had a very specific vision and absolutely no interest in your opinion about it.
The coffee is consistently above average across every location we've visited, which is not a small thing for a multi-location operation. The baristas are trained well and it shows. I always get the cappuccino. Allen always gets the cafe miel, a honey latte where the honey is sourced directly from one of Dark Matter's coffee-producing partners in Guatemala. The bees there have access to flowering hibiscus, eucalyptus, passion fruit, and coffee plants, and it comes through in the honey in a way that makes the drink genuinely worth ordering.
The food program is consistent across locations as well. Donuts come from Do-Rite, one of the better raised donut programs in the city. The chocolate is my order. The Homer, a pink frosted donut with sprinkles, exists and is correct in every way that matters. Cafe Tola empanadas and breakfast tacos round out the savory side. Croissants and a few other pastries fill the case.
Caravanserai in Avondale is the most visually distinct location in the collective and the one that catches you off guard the most. The theme is Mesoamerican — arched painted windows looking out over painted ocean and playas, warm adobe colors throughout, wrought iron chandeliers, and funky little piñata and llama-like trinkets scattered through the space. It is warm and transportive in a way that feels genuinely different from the rest of the Dark Matter universe while still being unmistakably part of it.
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