You Don’t Have to Know Beans to Be a Taste-Tester

Coffee tasting is definitely a fine art to its connoisseurs, many of whom claim to be able to distinguish the flavor of beans the way French wine tasters discern fine Bordeaux. I drink coffee regularly but can’t claim that kind of palate sensitivity. Still, this not-so-random sampling of the brew at five leading Orange County coffeehouses yielded interesting results.

Starbuck’s is a rapidly expanding Seattle-based chain, specializing in fresh roasted whole-bean coffees sold in bulk. In Seattle, where there are coffeehouses practically everywhere you turn, coffees are roasted extra dark, to bring out sugar and acidity and fully develop the flavor. Don’t come here looking for dishwater-weak Americano.

There are many, many ways to drink a cupful in Starbuck’s clean, bright Corona del Mar store, and the pricing structure can get confusing. Coffees are sold in eight-ounce, 12-ounce and 16-ounce sizes, and just a few of the prices are as follows: regular coffee is 85 cents, 95 cents and $1.15; cappuccino is $1.75, $2 and $2.50; coffee misto, American coffee with cappuccino-style steamed milk (a great little innovation), is $1.10, $1.20 and $1.40.

The chain’s free newsletter, “Inside Scoop,” keeps you abreast of the coffee world. Daily coffees such as the spicy, clean-flavored Estate Java and the full bodied, richly flavored decaf Sumatra are easily better than average.

The brand new Midnite Espresso, in the recently revitalized Main Street area of downtown Huntington Beach, is possibly the hippest looking new coffeehouse around. It’s an offshoot of the successful Belmont Shore store in Long Beach, but this one is bigger, sunnier and hipper, featuring a copper counter, zinc-topped tables and a high ceiling with exposed ducts.

The house coffee is Colombian, a light, easy-to-drink roast that partner Dino Tiritilli reluctantly reveals is procured from a company called Gavina. He wouldn’t divulge where his espresso comes from, but I’ll vouch for it. It is intense, slightly bitter and lingering in flavor. For $2.50, you can have something called a Midnite special--espresso with Hershey’s syrup, milk and whipped cream. For those who can’t make up their minds, cafe Milano mixes Colombian coffee with a single espresso (small $1.50, large $1.75). All of the coffees come iced at no extra charge.

Alta Coffee started humbly, as a wholesale roasting warehouse, but today it is Lido Isle’s quintessential neighborhood hangout. With its claustrophobic atmosphere, wooden tables and homey-looking pastry case, it’s practically everybody’s idea of what a coffeehouse should look like. Owner Patty Spooner sports a “Death Before Decaf” button, which should tell you something about the philosophy of this place.

The coffees are light but penetrating, not as dark as Starbuck’s, but nothing like Folger’s either. A 12-ounce coffee is $1 (75 cents if you take your own mug); cappuccino is $2.

If you want a mild coffee, try 31st St. Blend, a mixture of Central American and Indonesian coffee beans, not at all bitter, and not real acidic either. Alta’s espresso blend uses Guatemalan, Kenyan and Colombian beans, and the buzz from it won’t overwhelm you. All coffees are roasted on the premises, sold at prices ranging from $7.10 (for Colombian) to $30 (for Jamaica’s fabled Blue Mountain) per pound. The foam on the cappuccino could be a little denser, but otherwise, this is nearly a perfect place.

German-born Carl Diedrich, the founder of Diedrich’s Coffee, was raised on a coffee plantation in Guatemala. No wonder Diedrich’s Coffee is a local institution.

Diedrich was the first local coffee merchant to roast beans commercially on a large-scale basis, and his company even manufactures its own commercial-size roasters.

The Costa Mesa store is a bustling place, with a large outdoor patio and a good reading library. It’s also a marketing dream come true. Mugs and T-shirts are on sale behind the counter.

The store encourages customers to taste the house brews, slightly bitter, alkaloid coffees such as Nicaragua; lighter, nuttier beans such as Huehuetenango from Diedrich’s beloved Guatemala, and many, many others, depending on what day you drop by. There is no specific style of roast--it depends on what the bean demands. Literally dozens of coffees are on sale, all with their own colorful labels, starting at $7 per pound. Try a macchiato, espresso stained with foamed milk (8-ounce cup for $1.35, 12-ounce cup for $1.60).

The best-tasting coffee I had on this outing was at Regency Coffee Roast in Brea, a testimonial, in part, to Diedrich’s. Because even though their prominently displayed roaster is painted green with the Regency logo, a closer look reveals that it is one manufactured by Diedrich’s.

Regency Coffee Roast is a small, narrow place with one long counter and a few high, round tables. It’s favored by local police from surrounding cities such as Placentia and Fullerton, and one sip of this coffee should tell you why. Their delicious, complex and perfumey moka java is as good as brewed coffee gets; they make a great, frothy cappuccino, and the pastries are terrific. Scones from a nearby bakery (Beverly’s Best on Brea Boulevard) are light, flaky and incredibly good, maybe the best scones I’ve ever tasted.

There are four daily coffees at Regency, a light roast, a medium roast (like our friend the moka java), a decaf and a flavored coffee (yuk) such as hazelnut, chocolate mint or some other abomination. Coffee is $1 for a huge mugful; refills are 50 cents. If I lived near here, I’d be a daily visitor.