RESTAURANTS AND RETAIL : Costa Mesa-Based Company Is Discovering That Some Coffee Lovers Like It Cold

Cold is hot at Diedrich Coffee, the Costa Mesa-based company with seven coffee shops in Orange County.

Sales of cold-filtered coffee and Granita drinks soared at the company’s shops this past summer and are expected to “remain strong until at least mid-October,” said Chairman Martin Diedrich, who’s also in charge of developing new products.

Granita is an Italian dessert ice made of fine-grained, frozen crystals of coffee or fruit syrup. Consumers spoon the cold stuff into their mouths and let it melt.