Jerusalem Roastery

While its name suggests that coffee might be its primary focus, Jerusalem Roastery is far more substantially focused on other Middle Eastern treats than beverages. Look closely and you’ll spot six coffee bean dispensers nestled on shelves between a large collection of gorgeous kettles and tea sets, all but hidden behind more conspicuous displays of colorful chocolates. But this is really a place to visit for Arabic pastries, spices, nuts, and European/Mediterranean candies, all of which are comparatively abundant in this Garden Grove shop, notably located 15 minutes away from Orange County’s Little Arabia district.

In addition to numerous baklava variants and fresh knafeh, a large vertical display case features plates of ready-to-slice Turkish Delight logs, while horizontal cases hold overflowing trays of individual and mixed roasted nuts (pistachios, hazelnuts, cashews), seeds (pumpkin, watermelon, and squash in regular and BBQ versions), spiced chickpeas, and candied nuts ranging from Jordan almonds to golden or red velvet chocolate almonds.

Jerusalem Roastery creates walkable aisles using covered bulk-style containers to hold colorful spices – sumac, falafel and fish seasonings, kabsa, mendi spices, and many others – as well as candies. Gummies, individually wrapped chocolates, and similarly wrapped Turkish Delights are just some of the many great choices, affordably priced by the pound. While you can easily spend more on nuts, several nice candies will likely only set you back a few dollars.