What to Know
- Little Fluffy Head Cafe
- 203. W. 7th Street
- Flavors include matcha, milk tea, and oolong
Sometimes the name of a dish or drink is so beautifully clear, and so wonderfully straightforward, that you have to pause and decide if what you're hearing is a complicated but catchy handle signifying something totally different — an ironic name, if you will — or if the named product is actually that thing in the name.
Take cheese tea, which is tea topped by cheese.
At first glance, such a pairing might seem a little unusual, before you consider how often slices of cheese are actually consumed, along with crackers or cookies, while brimming cups of hot tea steam nearby.
But this sippable delicacy, which is served cool or hot, isn't about separating the dairy element from the made-with-leaves part of the libation; rather, the cheese, which is "a decadent, creamy cheese foam," sits atop the sweet tea, which might be matcha or oolong or milk or green or another variety.
It's a favorite beverage in several parts of Asia (think Singapore, Hong Kong, and a number of other locations), with a distinctly boba-like character, and it can be found at Little Fluffy Head Cafe on 7th Street in downtown Los Angeles.
Cafe founder Jenny Zheng was studying bioengineering when she discovered cheese tea while visiting Asia. Knowing that the interesting texture combination, and the meet-up between creamy cheese foam and tart tea notes, would intrigue people, Ms. Zheng decided to open a shop dedicated to the memorable drink in Southern California.
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Memorable, and, you bet, Instagrammable.
The shop's tempting menu is full of marvels-in-a-glass, from chedd-cha matcha (the foam atop the iced matcha latte is cheddar cheese cream) to a peach oolong to a jasmine green tea.
If you order a drink that includes boba pearls, and it is topped with creamy cheese, will it feel a bit like a full-on snack? A cup that offers a bit of fortifying flavor as well as refreshment?
Try and see, at Little Fluffy Head Cafe, where the cheese isn't on slices on a plate next to the teapot, no siree. Rather, the creamy delectable serves as an airy topper to the liquid, be it matcha or oolong or another tea, directly below.
