Food review: Where are the prettiest drinks on the Coast? They might be here

The Mississippi Coast has a budding scene of independent coffee shops. In the energy-infused arms race, a new player entered the game this year.

Beachy Bean Bar opened in February off Highway 49 in Saucier with a goal to bring a splash of the Pacific Northwest to South Mississippi. Owner Elizabeth Jocson moved from Washington state four years ago and noticed a surprisingly stark contrast in coffee shops here compared to her home.

She decided to do something about it and the Beachy Bean Bar was born. Together with her daughter Gabby Priebe, the pair operate a drive-thru trailer hidden within the Wortham Road intersection. It brings roasts from home and drinks popular out west, but hard to find down south.

And, of course, they make them as photogenic as possible. We took a look for ourselves.

What we tried

• Mud Bug dirty soda

Dirty sodas originated in Utah as a creative way for locals on a religion-based dietary restriction to have their own unique drink. You take a soda, you throw a bunch of stuff in it and then top it with cream foam. The mud bug is a Dr Pepper that’s been doctored (boo) with chocolate and vanilla and topped with strawberry cream foam.

If you’ve had a particularly rich chocolate-covered cherry, it’s a lot like that. Just in drink form. This new dirty soda enjoyer recommends.

• Dubai chocolate coffee

My wife stole this one from me so I don’t have much to add about it. I’d tell you what she said, but she mostly just glanced at me with a crazed look in her eyes and then burrowed herself into a cave. The drink has not been seen since.

• Blue Lagoon Red Bull spritzer

Want energy in a more palatable form than raw chemical citrus? The Bean Bar has you covered. One of the prettier drinks on the menu, the Blue Lagoon splashes Red Bull with strawberry, coconut and blue raspberry and puts a layer of cold foam on top.

The result is a red drink invaded by falling blue tendrils and a thick blue topper. It tastes as good as it looks.

• Blue raspberry frozen lemonade

This one earns a lot of camera time. Blue on blue and the perfect summertime refresher. It’s cold, it’s got a sweet bite and a big flavor. No wonder it’s one of the bar’s top sellers.

What else is on the menu?

There’s a taste for everyone on the chalk menus. Along with coffee, frozen lemonades, Red Bull spritzers and dirty sodas are smoothies, zero caffeine drinks like chai teas and foods that include bagels, cake pops and muffins.

Everything is offered in a sugar free variety and non-dairy options oat and almond milk are available for the coffees.

But what can you do with all of this? There are over 15 different ways to flavor your frozen lemonade. That includes pineapple, mango, banana, blackberry and whatever else they come up with, as they are constantly creating new combinations that sometimes don’t find their way onto the jam-packed menu boards.

There are 19 different dirty sodas across five different soda bases. The Seahorse Sipper tosses peach and lime into Coke, the Pirates Pearl mixes toasted marshmallow with root beer and the Manatee Mix swirls peach and green apple with Sprite.

Coffee comes in just about every known form with independent creations as specialty items. The Caramel Wave is made with white chocolate mocha and caramel, the Tropical Toffee with English toffee and Beachfront Mocha with hazelnut.

Their Facebook page is where they post the good stuff, though. New is the snickerdoodle coffee, sinfully tempting is the Reese’s peanut butter cup frappe and classically sweet is the new banana pudding frappe.

Address: 17071 W Wortham Road, Saucier

Hours: Monday to Friday 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

This story was originally published July 13, 2025 at 5:00 AM.

Scott Watkins

Sun Herald

Scott is the high school sports and Southern Miss athletics reporter for the Sun Herald.