San Diego — Ever wonder what Southern California would taste like in a coffee cup? Fifty local java-lovers were the first locals to find out this past weekend in private “cupping” sessions of the first-ever locally-grown coffee at Bird Rock Coffee Roasters in Mission Valley.
“I tasted nougat, maple syrup, burned butter and tobacco,” said Alex Stabrawa, a Clairemont resident who shares her java passion on her Instagram page @Coffeeandvegan. Ernst Kneubühler, a barista and coffee machine technician vacationing from Switzerland, said he detected notes of vanilla and citrus and a pleasant finish of chocolate powder “that stayed with me for a while.”