Trip to Portland

[nunu]

Im currently in the U.S. visiting my folks, and have taken a micro-tour of the Portland coffee scene. Yesterday, the Finance Minister and I visited 3 coffee gems in the city of Portland.

Pictured below is The Albina Press. Had a little chat with Billy Wilson (2006 USBC (2nd), 2005 USBC (3rd), 2004 USBC (4th)), and one of his apprentices. The apprentice pulled a very nice double. Too bad he didnt take the time to examine the crockery, as mine was cracked, did I mention it was good?

[nunu]

Re: Trip to Portland

The following pic is of the now-famous Stumptown, original branch on 45th and Division.

Doppio was excellent. Seems some customers dont really know what espresso is, coz the SO was asked what was in ours. When she said just coffee, the person replied no sugar or anything? If I remember correctly, the lady ordered some iced milk/coffee drink with flavoured syrup.

Wanted to take a picture of the Probat, but the place was teeming with people.

[nunu]

Re: Trip to Portland

Heres a pic of me enjoying a doppio outside another reccommended coffee shop, Crema.

All of the places visited used Stumptowns Hairbender blend. The differences were obviously the machines used, freshness of the coffee, and operator variables.

Near my feet, youll notice a familiar vessel of coffee roasting, the dog bowl. Filled with water, this one is for people walking their pooches.

[poundy]

Re: Trip to Portland

so they all use the same beans, what was the quality differences like? Awesome way to test the barista/machine/training variables

[nunu]

Re: Trip to Portland

Personally, I preferred the coffee from The Albina Press. Whilst the imperfect crockery was a little downside, the coffee was great.

Crema was my wifes pick. Their coffee was nice, but I found it a bit too soft.

Stumptown was packed, and I expected the quality to dip a little. However, the cup was still way above average.

I didnt have much of an opportunity to talk to the guys at Stumptown and Crema, but I do know that The Albina Press was running a LM FB-70.

[scoota_gal]

Re: Trip to Portland

Hey nunu, that all looks great and is really interesting.

Could you please give us a bit of a geography lesson as to the location of Portland and how big it is?

[Javaphile]

Re: Trip to Portland

Hey Scoota gal,

Ill take a stab at answering your question. Portland is located about 50 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean on the Oregon/Washington State border in the northwest corner of the continental US.

The population of Portland is estimated to be 556,370 as of July 1, 2005, and that of the surrounding metropolitan area is approximately 2 million (the 24th largest in the United States).

For more information heres the Wikipedia article on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland,_Oregon

Java "Over on that side of the world" phile

[Bullitt]

Re: Trip to Portland

Hey Nunu,

Great pics, great to be able to put a face to the name.

Seriously,... Im missing the tasting notes that you are so good at with each new lot of beans, dont spose you could zip back home for a few days to help us out?

Regards
Bullitt

[nunu]

Re: Trip to Portland

Sadly, I havent ordered any beans this month. Ill have to wait until the next poll.

Other than the small coffee nirvana tour of Portland, Ive been out touring the Pacific coasts of Oregon and Washington. Ive been a bit squeamish on trying an espresso from the plethora of drive through espresso shacks on every corner.

Im starting to miss my beans and machines :-/

[Javaphile]

Re: Trip to Portland

Other than the small coffee nirvana tour of Portland, Ive been out touring the Pacific coasts of Oregon and Washington. Ive been a bit squeamish on trying an espresso from the plethora of drive through espresso shacks on every corner.

You might give those little shacks a try. When I was out in that area a few years back the best java I had was from one such little shack.

Those little shacks tend to be a one person business with the barista also being the owner.

With the pervasiveness of espresso businesses in the area competition for customers is quite high and a kiosk whose coffee isnt up to par is generally soon out of business. When I was out there many such businesses offered extra little touches to attract and keep customers, such as a fresh homemade scone free with any order or a dollop of fresh made real whipped cream on a cuppa.

After being dissapointed with the quality of the cup at 2 traditional coffee houses I started hitting up the little corner kiosks and I must say that the quality of the coffee served by them was much better than what I had received in the bigger coffee houses and was lower priced as well.

Java "Support the independents!" phile