harmonicaman Senior Member Joined: 20 Nov 2007 Posts: 4 Location: Huntington Beach, Cal
Espresso: cuisinart electric pump Grinder: capresso Drip: capresso
Posted Tue Nov 20, 2007, 3:43pm Subject: Orange County, Ca roasters?
New here. Anyone from "the OC" have a favorite roaster? I'm going to visit Kean Coffee this afternoon, in Newport Beach. It's run by Martin and Karen Diedrich. Haven't been there yet, but am looking for good coffee beans in the area.
Posted Tue Nov 20, 2007, 10:19pm Subject: Re: Orange County, Ca roasters?
I go to school in Irvine, and from what I've seen, Kean is the only game in town. If I buy locally, it's from Kean. I'm from San Jose orginally, so whenever I go back, I grab a pound from Barefoot Coffee (my personal favorite). Other than those, I usually buy online.
There's always Intelligentsia, but that's all the way in LA. I hope to make the trip up there soon, for the espresso, beans, and some demitasse cups.
caeffe Senior Member Joined: 30 Aug 2007 Posts: 225 Location: socal Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: NS Oscar & Pavoni... Grinder: Mazzer Major / PeDe Moka Drip: Krups Moka Brew / Bodum Kona Roaster: I-Roast 1
Posted Wed Nov 21, 2007, 11:36pm Subject: Re: Orange County, Ca roasters?
If you can go 30 minutes north to San Dimas there is Klatch Roasting - they boast the Barista World Champion: Heather Perry. Although i think Heather is based out of their Rancho Cucamonga store. www.klatchroasting.com
They don't roast their own beans but I've bought beans from them as well as their espresso - http://www.kaffainc.com/ Their espresso is awesome, they grind per shot, they've got a La Marzocco machine with 2 Super Jolly's and their cappucino's are classic italian style, 8 oz with microfoam and latte art to boot. If you ask they might tell you who their roaster is.
Posted Tue Mar 4, 2008, 11:14am Subject: Re: Orange County, Ca roasters?
On Monday February 18, Presidents Day, my wife and enjoyed the ocean in Newport Beach and we also visited Kean coffee located in the same city. I bought a 12oz bag of Sumatra Blue Batak and Panama Kotowa to pull some shots with at home.
Posted Tue Mar 4, 2008, 11:15am Subject: Re: Orange County, Ca roasters?
Kean coffee is a beautiful coffee house. I love these branches with yellow flowers on them. Espresso was bright and fruity but did not have that much complexity.
Posted Tue Mar 4, 2008, 11:16am Subject: Re: Orange County, Ca roasters?
The Sumatra Blue Batak pulled amazingly sweet tasting shots. On the bag it says Full Roast which I think means full city roast, just before second crack. I've had Blue Batak from other roasters before but I like this roast the best.
Posted Tue Mar 4, 2008, 11:18am Subject: Re: Orange County, Ca roasters?
The Panama Kotowa shots were quite acidic fruity shots. Barefoot sells both the auction and non-auction Kotowa. I haven't tried the auction version yet. Now I'm curious to try it out.
Posted Tue Mar 4, 2008, 11:20am Subject: Re: Orange County, Ca roasters?
I was curious what the Kotowa would taste like as drip coffee. The taste was clean and acidic but I didn't get much fruit out of it. I'll use the rest of the beans to pull espressos.
harmonicaman Senior Member Joined: 20 Nov 2007 Posts: 4 Location: Huntington Beach, Cal
Espresso: cuisinart electric pump Grinder: capresso Drip: capresso
Posted Mon Mar 10, 2008, 2:29pm Subject: Re: Orange County, Ca roasters?
Thanks, Gary and all for your replies. I haven't been reading here for a month or more, so I just caught up. I've tried Kean's, in Newport Beach, and like their coffee selection. Right now, we are financially distressed, and can't justify the cost in gas, so am back to brewing Starbuck's Ethiopia Sidamo, at least for the next week or so.
At Kean's, my wife seems to enjoy the Panama the most, so far. We've tried about 1/3 of their offerings so far.
But she's funny. Every time I buy a new coffee, she goes into this "exultant" stage, saying,,"This is the BEST coffee I've ever had!!"
The only time she didn't do that was when we did a comparison, and "cupped" two coffees from Kean's, the Panama and the Costa Rican. She definitely liked the Panama more. She said that the Costa Rican was too "lemony".
As a side note, we ran into a friend of ours at Kean's. He seems to be working there as one of their roasters. His name is "Jesus" (Hay-zeus), and is very handsome, like Antonio Banderas with long, curly hair. Say "Hola" to him if you see him. Tell him Bob and Cathey, from Stephen's German class said "Hi".
christiang Senior Member Joined: 14 Dec 2007 Posts: 38 Location: Berkeley Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Mini Gaggia Grinder: Mazzer Super Jolly,... Vac Pot: Yama Drip: Ceramic Cone, Bodum Eileen,...
Posted Tue Mar 18, 2008, 8:31pm Subject: Re: Orange County, Ca roasters?
Kean is definitely the best in the OC that I've found so far. They really are friendly and super helpful, but I do have to say that the few coffees I did try there all started seeming very lemony to me after a while. I'd also second Kaffa Coffee. They use City Bean roasters from somewhere more west in LA so obviously they don't roast their own, but they have those Frieling press pots that keep you coffee super hot, and their espresso is quite good as well. I've written more about both these spots on my blog (check my profile page for a link).
If anyone has any other suggestions, I'd love to hear them. Roasters or cafes. I'm often down in the OC so I'd love to hear about some other spots.
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