Our Blog
Beyond the Beans: Jessica Hurtado
By: Brittany Leslie – Wholesale Account Manager and Educator, Kéan Coffee This week I sat down with Kean Coffee barista, Jessica Hurtado. Jessica shares with us her coffee journey which started with café con leche in her family’s kitchen and has taken her all the way to a coffee farm in Costa Rica. For Jessica, working in coffee and interacting with the coffee community has created an atmosphere of learning and joy found in pulling the perfect shot of espresso while working with the best people behind the bar. What is your role at Kéan Coffee and how long have …
Beyond the Beans: Meet Mike Lilly
By: Brittany Leslie – Wholesale Account Manager and Educator, Kean Coffee This week we sat down with Tustin coffeehouse shift lead, “Coach” Mike Lilly. Since he started working with Kéan Coffee, Mike has become a senior barista and also a new dad! We talk about his coffee experience, what it’s like to be a coach in the coffeehouse and on the field, and more. How long have you worked with Kean Coffee and what is your position? I am a senior barista and shift lead. I have been working at Kean Coffee since 2016. I grew up in Tustin/Santa Ana …
Beyond the Beans: Thamer Bajjali
By: Brittany Leslie – Wholesale Account Manager and Educator, Kean Coffee This week I sat down with one of our wholesale Roastery team, Thamer Bajjali. Thamer found his passion for coffee after his first sip of a doppio cappuccino at our Newport Beach coffeehouse. From coffeehouse guest to wholesale delivery driver to now roaster, he has come a long way in his coffee journey. Read more about how he became a roaster and how his coffee knowledge has developed with time. What is your position and how long have you worked with Kean Coffee? I am one of our wholesale …
Beyond the Beans: Monica Tenorio
By: Brittany Leslie – Wholesale Account Manager and Educator, Kean Coffee This week we were able to sit down and talk with Kean Coffee Tustin senior barista and shift lead, Monica Tenorio. As a staff leader, local activist, mom, and student, Monica is constantly impressing us with her work ethic and the amazing attitude that she brings to the team and our guests each day she is at the coffeehouse. What is your position and how long have you worked for Kean Coffee? I am a senior barista and shift lead and I have been working at Kean Coffee for …
Beyond the Beans: Ike Coulter
By: Brittany Leslie – Wholesale Account Manager and Educator, Kean Coffee This week we were very happy to talk with one of our long-time baristas, Ike Coulter. Ike is a seasoned and skilled barista, having honed his skills over time whilst training under fellow Kean Coffee barista and barista trainer Mike Richardson and owner Martin Diedrich’s guidance, ensuring excellent, artisan crafted drinks with every order. His focus on quality is an extension of his caring nature and the high standards he upholds for himself and the coffeehouse. We are super lucky to have Ike on the Newport Beach coffeehouse team! …
Beyond the Beans: Mike Richardson
By: Brittany Leslie – Wholesale Account Manager and Educator, Kéan Coffee If you have ever been to Kéan Coffee in Newport Beach, it is highly likely that you have seen Mike behind the bar. Mike has been with Kéan Coffee since we first opened our doors in December 2005. Over those years Mike has become highly seasoned in his skills as a professional barista and grown close with our community in Newport Beach. Mike shares with us some of his many stories of how he first started as a barista, what it was like to compete and train under the …
Beyond the Beans: Meet Samantha Brewer
By: Brittany Leslie – Wholesale Account Manager and Educator, Kean Coffee In this week’s Beyond the Beans interview series, we get to know Newport Beach barista, Samantha Brewer! Living up to her last name, Samantha has been brewing coffee and bringing smiles to guest’s faces with her cheerful attitude since 2016. She has recently returned over the summer to Kéan Coffee after finishing up her studies at San Francisco State University and we are so happy to have her strong barista skills back on bar. She tells us about her history with Kéan Coffee and how communication plays a role …
Beyond the Beans: an interview with Stephanie Summerville
Beyond the Beans: Stephanie Summerville By: Brittany Leslie – Wholesale Account Manager and Educator, Kean Coffee First working at Diedrich Coffee and then continuing her journey at Kean Coffee, Stephanie Summerville has mastered the flow behind the bar. Stephanie is currently the assistant manager at Kean Coffee, Newport Beach, where she has spent 9 years dialing in espresso to perfection, building lasting relationships with our coffeehouse guests, and being everywhere at once. She explains how she manages the coffeehouse’s busiest times and what she does in her free time. What first brought you to the coffee industry and how did …
Beyond the Beans: Kristin Lerner
By: Brittany Leslie – Wholesale Account Manager and Educator, Kean Coffee Meet Kristin Lerner. She has demonstrated her coffee skills by becoming certified through the SCA as a Brewer and Barista. We knew of her talent even without the certification, as she has been a long-time member of the Kéan Coffee family and trainer at our Tustin coffeehouse. Her years of training new and experienced baristas, world traveling, and having a sparkling personality make her an amazing teacher and communicator. Her expansive knowledge allows her to not only tell you what makes our Rwanda single origin so wonderful and the …
Beyond the Beans: Michael Bingham
By: Brittany Leslie – Wholesale Account Manager and Educator, Kean Coffee From Barista, to Production Member, to Roaster. Michael never expected that his curiosity towards specialty coffee as a young teenager would end up setting him on the path of building a coffee career. Through 8 years of hard work and demonstrating his skills as a barista and Roastery team member, Michael continues to gain more coffee experience and knowledge that makes him a valuable member of our Kéan Coffee family. He shares his Kéan Coffee story with us and dives into his passions outside of the coffee realm. Can …
Making your home a Coffee-house: An Introduction to Home Brewing
Staying at home does not mean that you must give up your morning ritual of drinking fresh specialty coffee. This article will help home baristas and coffee newcomers alike. We will go over the procedures and brewing techniques for a home brewer, Hario v60, Chemex, and French Press.
Adventures in Coffee Growing – by Martin Diedrich
Sunday morning coffee harvest today. I picked coffee from just one specific tree, a Garnica Arabica variety. We have about 14 different Arabica varieties growing on our small Costa Mesa coffee farm. The Garnica tree was full of ripe, sweet fruit, of which the seed is the bean one makes coffee from. The Garnica variety is a hybrid that was developed in Jalapa, Veracruz, Mexico in the 1960’s. That region is now the only place it grows commercially. We are told it is a hybrid of Arabica varieties, Mundo Novo, and Caturra. Its fruit is particularly sweet, which inspired me …
TED’S ADVENTURES IN AFRICA
Our head roaster Ted Vautrinot represented Kean Coffee in Rwanda this summer as a judge for the Rwanda Cup of Excellence competition. Below is a preview of his travel blog, which will be published in it’s entirety very soon. I stepped off the plane onto the rolling aluminum stairway straight out of 1969 and was enveloped by the close, wet heat of Central Africa. It was 7pm and it still felt like we’d walked into a hot, damp, wool blanket. I was grateful for the conversation of my friends and fellow cuppers Thomas and Anika as we waited in the …
Meet the Barista: Ten Questions with GARRETT O’CONNOR
This is an ongoing series in which you will get to know a little bit more about the fine young men and women who prepare your coffee at Kean Coffee through a set of random interview questions. Garrett O’Connor has been part of the team at Kean Coffee Newport for a little under a year. Garrett loves working with people and honing his craft as a barista. He is multi-talented, multi-faceted, and witty. If he doesn’t pursue a career as a stand-up comic, he will certainly entertain those around him despite it. Garrett can always be counted on for a …
Meet the Barista: Eight Questions with MEGAN HERRERA
This is an ongoing series in which you will get to know a little bit more about the fine young men and women who prepare your coffee at Kean Coffee through a series of random interview questions. Megan Herrera has been a valuable part of our Kean Tustin team for over two years. Megan’s love for basketball helps her shine as a barista as she applies her multi-tasking, fast-paced, high energy maneuvers on the court to our fast-paced coffeehouse environment. At Kean Coffee just as on the court, Megan is small but mighty. That’s why we love Megan! KC: What …
Meet the Barista: Eight Questions with MANUEL RODRIGUEZ
This is an ongoing series in which you will get to know a little bit more about the fine young men and women who prepare your coffee at Kean Coffee through a set of random interview questions. Manuel “Manny” Rodriguez has been with Kean Coffee for two years, as a barista in our Newport coffeehouse. In addition to being an awesome barista, Manny is a successful college student who aspires to become a teacher. Whatever he is doing, Manny works hard and always strives for excellence, while at the same time keeping a great attitude. That’s why we love Manny! …
Meet the Barista: Eight Questions with RAMONE VALERIO
This is an ongoing series in which you will get to know a little bit more about the fine young men and women who prepare your coffee at Kean Coffee through a series of random interview questions. Ramone Valerio has been a barista at Kean Coffee Tustin for close to two years. Aside from being an awesome barista, Ramone is also a talented musician, and an extremely creative and all around great guy. When he isn’t making amazing coffee drinks for our guests, Ramone can also be found playing music with his fellow musicians in the coffeehouse. A true Renaissance man. That’s …
Meet the Barista: Eight Questions with BYRON PIERCE
This is the first in an ongoing series of blog entries in which you will get to know the fine young men and women who prepare your coffee at Kean Coffee through a set of random interview questions. We first shine the spotlight on Byron Pierce, a barista and shift manager who works at both our Newport Beach and Tustin coffeehouses. Byron has also recently begun acting as a barista trainer for Kean Coffee wholesale accounts, to rave reviews. Byron is extremely dedicated and passionate about what he does. Don’t let this tough guy in the photo fool you, Byron …
2012 Trips to Origin: Mike’s adventures in Costa Rica – a first person account
Mike Richardson has been with Kean Coffee since our doors first opened in late 2005, first as a barista, then becoming a manager and barista trainer. Mike is passionate about coffee and about what he does, and has participated in several barista competitions- three times competing in the Western Regional Barista Competition and the Ultimate Barista Competition, and once judging the WRBC. Below is his fascinating account of the trip to Costa Rica he went on this past April along with our roaster Ted Vautrinot, who was invited to judge for Costa Rica Cup of Excellence. Enjoy! Everyone has been …
Judging Guatemala Cup of Excellence 2011 – by Ted Vautrinot, Kean Coffee roaster
There is a special magic wafting through a room filled with passionate coffee professionals intent on finding the absolute best coffee from Guatemala’s crop this year. Every sniff, every slurp is carefully evaluated and scored- descriptions of honey, cherry, chocolate, caramel fill the margins as each coffee gets a meticulous assessment before moving on to the next possibility. I was fortunate to return to Central America to be a judge for Cup of Excellence Guatemala. Our 22 member international panel hailed from Japan, Germany, England, Australia, Russia, Korea, Canada, Morocco, Norway, and the U.S. Our purpose was to identify the …
Yemen Haraazi Supreme – a coffee pictorial from Martin Diedrich
The steep, rugged Haraaz Mountains of Northwestern Yemen are a world apart from the rest of the country. The terrain is dramatic, wild, rocky, and often inaccessible.The area has resisted the modern world and in the hinterlands one can still feel the pulse of medieval times. Ancient fortified hilltop villages of stone houses cling to the steep slopes, creating a near bibilical panorama. Rocky mountain slopes are carved with ingenious centuries-old stone terraces to preserve the scarce soil and precious rain in this dry region, in order to grow coffee. Approximately 500 families, living throughout the region, continue an unchanged tradition …
Musings of a Nicaragua Cup of Excellence Judge – by Ted Vautrinot, Head Roaster for Kean Coffee
April 26, 2010; Ocotal, Nueva Segovia, Nicaragua. Twenty four judges, all coffee professionals, focus beyond the 90 degree heat and humidity in the classroom/cupping lab to give their undivided attention to flight after flight of the very best coffees Nicaragua has to offer. Every detail is scored to a strict protocol on the journey to find the ten absolute best coffees in Nicaragua this year. The event is Cup of Excellence Nicaragua, and I am one of the international judges discovering these often stunning coffees. The panel hails from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Central America, and the …
Yemen Mocca: Coffee, not Chocolate – by Martin Diedrich
If coffee were a tribe, Yemen Mocca would definitely be the shaman. Cappucino, Cafe Latte, or Cafe au Lait are unmistakably coffee beverages, while Cafe Mocha is thought of as a hot chocolate with coffee or espresso, or generally a chocolate based drink spiked with coffee. To get to the point of setting the record straight on this matter we must travel back intime to a distant corner of the globe. At the very Southern tip of the Arabian Penninsula, flanked by the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, is the remote country of Yemen. Coffee Arabica was named for …