Diamond Espresso Long Beach Prices: Is This the Best Coffee Deal on the Washington Coast?

There aren’t many coffee shops on Pacific Avenue in Long Beach, Washington. That’s just how things are in a small coastal town where the number of people grows during the summer and drops off during the rest of the year. In fact, this is likely why Diamond Espresso, which is hidden at 1105 Pacific Ave South and only has a drive-thru, has built the kind of loyal customer base that most coffee shops in cities spend years trying to achieve but never quite achieve.

Since it changed hands, the new name for the shop is Diamond Delights Espresso. Most drinks cost between $4.00 and $6.50. Most espresso drinks and flavored lattes cost between $4.75 and $5.25. The Mexican Mocha costs $5.25, the Caramel Macchiato costs $4.75, and the Fluffy Bunny, which is a mix of marshmallow, salted caramel, and white chocolate that has a cult following, costs $5.25 as well. If you’re used to paying more than $7 for a specialty latte in a city café, those prices are hard to argue with. Costs may be kept low enough by being near the beach and having a drive-thru to keep prices stable. Customers will notice no matter what the reason is.

On both ends, the range is long. On the lighter side, fresh muffin tops cost $3.50 and come in flavors like lemon poppyseed, banana nut, and double chocolate chip. It costs $4.25 for toasted bagels with cream cheese. The Atomic Bomb, priced at $6.50, is both the most expensive and the most interesting thing on the menu. It’s made up of four shots of white coffee that have the same amount of caffeine as fourteen regular espresso shots and can be served in any flavor you want. That kind of thing either makes perfect sense or sounds way too much, depending on the morning. People still order it both ways.

You should know about this deal: any large drink, hot or cold, is only $1. With that discount, the most expensive drinks cost about the same as a regular drink somewhere else, even if they were already around $6.50. It costs $5.75 for the Fit Frappe, a blended drink with 130 calories that has protein and caffeine. Lotus Plant-Energy drinks cost $4.75. They are botanical energy mixed with sparkling soda, and you can choose from more than fifty syrups. It costs $5.75 for a breakfast sandwich with sausage, egg, and cheese on a French toast croissant. The menu has more items than a quick drive-thru look would suggest.

It’s difficult not to notice that most of the reviews are about the experience and not the coffee itself. People who go there often say that the baristas remember their orders, are friendly at the end of the day, and can make complicated drinks correctly without having to be told again. One reviewer said they stopped by right before they closed and were greeted like they were the first customer of the day. That’s not a promise, since some reviews say the shots are bitter and say the drive-thru line is sometimes slow, but the fact that most of the reviews are positive says something. If you think the coffee on the Washington coast is as good as coffee in Portland or Seattle, you might want to change your expectations. Instead, Diamond Delights sells items that are reliable, carefully made by hand, and made with love. That’s a fair trade for a beach town stop.

The menu changes with the seasons, which is fun. In the spring, I tried a Maple Butter Latte, a Snickers Cold Brew that tastes better than it sounds, and a Honey Vanilla Shaken Espresso with breve and salted honey. The Supermom Breve, which smells like coconut and lavender, seems like a stretch, but more than one customer has talked about it with the kind of specific excitement that comes from something that really worked. Seasonal items usually stay around the same price, but you should call ahead if you want to plan your trip around a certain drink.

Every day at 5:30 a.m., the stand opens. This is early enough for the working people who keep a small coastal town going during the off-season, and late enough, at 6:00 p.m., to catch the crowds of people leaving the beach for their rental in the afternoon. Diamond Delights has quietly become the standard in a town with few other choices. It’s still unclear whether that will turn into something bigger. It’s clear that the new owners are working hard. The menu is getting longer, you can now order from your phone with the app, and the weekly deals are still going on. It’s still not clear what this ceiling looks like. But the groundwork has already been done: good drinks, fair prices, and staff that treats customers like they’re regulars.