You walk into one of the campus coffee shops, bustling and busy, and wait in line before you order your usual dose of caffeine. Your interaction with the barista consists of a “hello,” maybe a “how are you,” and ends with your order and hopefully a “thank you.”
Who are the baristas who make our coffee daily? What do they like to order? And are these drinks worth it? These are questions we hope to answer here at BruinLife, where we’ve compiled a list of baristas and their beverage recommendations, offering insight into who they are and what they would order. Tune in to hear some of UCLA’s baristas spill the tea and learn more about the friendly faces that keep our campus caffeinated.
Evelyn & Mo Ostin Music Cafe
Meet Alden Orlando, a third-year music industry student who’s been working at UCLA’s Music Cafe since the fall of 2025. The drink that makes him cringe is the matcha red-eye, “because it’s matcha with espresso shots, and I just think that’s weird.” After much deliberation, Orlando decided not to gatekeep the secret menu, from which he’d choose a cortado or an iced mocha with cherry cold foam.
If the Music Cafe were a person, Orlando would describe it as “an outgoing, bubbly person, who’s in a frat — but it’s like a granola frat (outdoorsy, laidback and calm).” When we asked which drink from the menu he would ban, he chose to drop the matcha (which he apologized for). “People order it so much that we become like a matcha factory. No more matcha!”
He credits his job as a barista with allowing him to enjoy interacting with others more, noting that he likes “striking up conversations” and “taking the time to make sure the order is made correctly”.
At Orlando’s suggestion, we ordered the cherry cloud coffee to see what the hype was about. However, there wasn’t really anything special about this drink — the coffee was just your standard cup o’ joe, leaning on the sweet side. The cherry foam elicited a slightly tangy, medicinal aftertaste reminiscent of cherry-flavored Tylenol. However, mixing the coffee made the experience slightly more enjoyable…but not enough to finish it.
Anderson Cafe
Next up is one of Anderson Cafe’s baristas, Luke Naphat, a first-year film and TV connoisseur (which is also his major). He’ll secretly cringe if you order a matcha or a chai, which he thinks people order to be “performative,” stating that “they wanna be like us” — in reference to true matcha lovers and enjoyers.
Naphat made it clear that the secret menu at Anderson is off-limits and employee only, but he does encourage you to “go to the register and ask for the special — only if you see me there though.”
Finally, Naphat picks a dirty chai latte as the drink that best encapsulates him — not to be confused with his favorites, the cortado or the iced mocha. When we asked him to elaborate, he said, “It’s because I’m sweet. And because I’m dirty.” For his recommendation, though, Naphat suggested that BruinLife try the iced coffee with a cherry cloud.
He thinks that if the Anderson Cafe were a person, they’d “obviously be a management major,” who embodies diversity “because our menu has such a wide selection.”
He stands by Anderson’s menu, emphasizing that “there is nothing weird about the menu.” He also mentioned the limited-time pork belly sandwich, which he thinks is “very cheesy. But very good.” He credits his barista job for deepening his respect for service employees, especially those in food services.
Interestingly, Naphat mentioned that his pet peeve is when a customer calls him by his name. “Don’t do that. We don’t know each other” – and don’t lean too absurdly over the counter!
And when asked what he thinks of ordering hot drinks in the summer and cold drinks in the winter, Naphat says, “Do what you want to do. Sometimes, even if it’s really cold out, you just want an iced latte. And some people just really like their cappuccinos. So you do that.”
For a drink that encapsulates his personality, Naphat thinks a mango iced tea best embodies him because it’s chill and the best item on the menu — the mango flavor specifically. He thinks it both describes him and is also his favorite drink on the menu.
We decided to take up Naphat’s suggestion and order a mango iced tea for ourselves. From the very first sip, we felt as if we were transported to a tropical island far away from all of life’s stressors. The fruity hints of mango were not too sweet, but rather refreshing — and the ratio of drink to ice was perfectly balanced. It’s rejuvenating to the soul and exhilarating to the taste buds, beautifully enhancing the flavor of the tea. If you see Naphat around Anderson, definitely ask him for an iced black tea with a pump of mango syrup — especially during warm days on campus.
Cafe 451
Cafe 451’s Kokotowa Ahmadu, a third-year anthropology student, talked to us next. Since beginning his job in spring 2025, Ahmadu has learned the value of human interaction in his workplace and continually gains insight into each customer’s character.
“[Customers come] for their drinks, but they also just want to interact,” Ahmadu said. “They’re getting their daily interaction from the register, and you can tell how some people act by the way they walk up.”
An order that stands out to Ahmadu is the dirty chai, which is a chai latte with an extra shot of espresso.
“I would recommend the dirty chai,” Ahmadu said. “It’s pretty good, [a] classic; sweet, with a kick to it.”
As per Ahmadu’s suggestion, we ordered the dirty chai. It’s definitely our go-to at Cafe 451, so we might be a little biased here. It’s milky, smooth and possesses a mild spice underlying the espresso. We enjoy how it isn’t overpowering in the slightest, despite the extra shot of espresso. If anything, it enhances the drink in a way that you wouldn’t even know what a chai is without it.
Kerckhoff Coffee House
Last but not least on our list comes Kerckhoff. Here, Samantha Lopez, a fourth-year psychology student, agreed to divulge this coffee shop’s best-kept recommendations.
When asked about Kerckhoff’s secret menu, Lopez tells us that there really isn’t one. “But we’re pretty flexible with all the stuff we have,” she tells us. “It’s fun to combine the syrups and things like that.”
And in terms of customizing your drink, Lopez says it’s best to keep it simple.
Her favorite is an iced vanilla latte with a dash of cinnamon — a classic coffee order that never fails to disappoint. Lopez explains that “adding that cinnamon just takes it to the next level.”
Shortly after, Lopez brewed up an iced vanilla latte with a dash of cinnamon for us to try. Kerckhoff’s iced vanilla latte is simple, but timeless. The coffee was brewed to perfection and tasted wonderfully balanced and sweet, especially for an early morning caffeine kick. Both the cinnamon and vanilla provided a light aftertaste, to which there was a slightly delayed reaction–but it was much-appreciated, especially since it gave time for the coffee to settle in our stomachs.
Bruin baristas — more than just caffeine
Wrapping up our look behind the coffee counter, it’s clear that UCLA’s baristas do more than brew coffee — they fuel the student and faculty body, singlehandedly keeping campus running. So, the next time you grab your morning latte or that extra shot of caffeine before your next exam, take a moment to appreciate the friendly face on the other side of the counter. Clearly, they aren’t just serving drinks; they’re making sure every Bruin has energy to face the long school day ahead.
