OC Coffee Shops | Little Ox Coffee
The coffee scene in Orange County is probably one of my favorites. Southern California in general has some great finds, but the OC area has the best combination of accessibility and quality. Bigger cities like Los Angeles and San Diego are worth visiting, but tend to be overhyped and crowded.
After highlighting the best Instagrammable coffee shops Part 1 and Part 2, I decided to create a coffee shop series of my favorite spots. Sharing highlights of my experience, café interior, and of course the drinks!
So when Little Ox Coffee suddenly popped up on my radar, I knew I had to check it out.
First Impressions
Walking in on a sunny morning, the café is beautifully lit with natural light. It’s clean and spacious with plenty of seating available. After visiting a few times, it does tend to get busy quite fast with afternoons being quite crowded.
But even on a busy day, the baristas were fast and there was no change in the quality of the coffee.
Baristas
Personally, I believe customer service can make a huge difference in an overall experience. I have zero complaints with Little Ox Coffee though!
The first time I visited, the entire staff were friendly and made me completely comfortable. I’m naturally just an awkward person and there was a bit of a mishap with the card reader, but thankfully I had a good laugh with the cashier while trying to figure it out.
Drinks
I’m guilty of being both a tea and coffee lover, so I always want to try something new. Which is one of the reasons I went multiple times…But if I don’t have a solid opinion on a place, I tend to give it another chance. So far I’ve tried the Coconut Spice Latte, Salted Cream Vanilla Latte and Summer In Taipei.
I’ll be honest, the the Coconut Spice Latte wasn’t anything special. It was good, but the flavor wasn’t that impactful. I was hoping for more of a coconut taste, but it just seemed closer to an average brown sugar latte.
Because I was torn between two drinks on my first visit, I went back to try the Salted Cream Vanilla Latte. Which I absolutely love. So far my favorite drink from Little Ox Coffee. The cream isn’t overpowering and blends well with the coffee until the very last sip. It’s actually the one drink that has me coming back for more!
Summer In Taipei is a refreshing lemonade drink mixed with guava and lychee. It’s quite unique as it doesn’t have strong flavors of a lemonade, but is delicious in it’s own way. This is more of a drink I’d get if I’m in the mood and happen to be in the area.
Story Time
On one of my visits, I happened to strike up with a conversation with a nice older woman who wanted to use the space behind the glass wall for a meeting.
It turned out we both were going through the menu trying all the different coffee options whenever we had the chance to visit. It was fun to learn that her overall favorite was the Espresso Bala-tonic because that is something I would not have tried at all.
And then she recommended trying one of the matcha drinks as the quality was amazing. So that’s on my list to try next!
final thoughts
Little Ox Coffee is a cozy and beautifully designed café with tasty Asian-inspired drinks for both coffee and tea lovers. The coffee is smooth and well-rounded that even an “average” coffee had me wanting to come back and try their other drinks.
Definitely recommend for anyone wanting to switch up their regular coffee routine.
Little Ox Coffee
217 N Euclid St. Fullerton, CA 92832
Mon-Fri: 7am - 7pm
Sat: 7am - 8pm
Sun: 8am - 7pm