Kéan Coffee Goes The Extra Mile

There are many options when it comes to finding the perfect cup of Joe, but if your preference is attention to detail, you might find what you’re looking for inside the mugs that are dished out at Kéan Coffee in Newport Beach.

Located at 2043 Westcliff Dr., Kéan Coffee is one of the few coffee houses locally that roasts their own beans in-store. They have a wide variety of global beans for customers to purchase. Beyond that, Kéan employs certified quality cuppers with refined palates that can detect different flavor profiles and aromatics of coffee that have been sourced from some of the best, most remote coffee producers around the globe. The process of cupping is similar to that of wine and chocolate tasting. Quality cuppers can be seen sampling the coffee in-store, which adds to the upscale and eclectic vibe of Kéan Coffee.

"I like that the style of their coffee had a little touch of personality," Ziad Pepic, of Huntington Beach, said. "It's different from the generic brands that are a franchise type of brand. It's made by someone who really knows what they're doing."

The process of finding the right coffee bean is arduous and requires that Kéan representatives travel to remote locations in order to find not only delicious, but ethically conceived crops. Coffee is sampled on location. If the crop shows promise, a sample bag of raw beans will be shipped to the store, roasted and brewed.  The quality cuppers will then determine if the bean can yield a cup of coffee that scores greater than 84 out of a 100-point scale. But the competition is cutthroat and not every bean will make the grade. In fact, during the year of 2011, out of roughly 600 different samplings, only 40 were bought, roasted, and sold out of Kean Coffeehouse.

The high quality of the coffee isn’t the only specialty of the house. Order your coffee “for here” and what you find in your mug may surprise you. Kéan’s baristas know how to deliver an artful cup of coffee, known as Latte Art, or espresso topped with cream that is poured in playful designs that deliver big on creativity and flavor. Despite their craftsmanship, the baristas do not take themselves too seriously and have even participated in Latte Art Throwdowns. More than a coffeehouse, Kéan truly celebrates everything coffee and the people who love it. 

"The vibe here is really cool. There's a good mix of all different kinds
of people and the coffee is just better," Jill Newman, of Newport Beach, said. "You can tell they spend more time making their drinks."