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Thursday, August 5, 2010

Drugs / Food Cawfee Tawk

Posted by Noah Dunham on Thu, Aug 5, 2010 at 2:14 PM

So during a recent conversation with an acquaintance, the topic of over-caffeination came up—something that I had never heard of, nor could understand. "I have at least five to six cups a day," I explained. "Does that count as being overly caffeinated?"

Coffee: Is this image an animated .gif? Or am I having eye spasms again?
  • Coffee: Is this image an animated .gif? Or am I having eye spasms again?
"Jesus!" She replied. "Do you just hang out at Stumptown all day?"

To which I replied, "Stumptown? Pish posh, madam, there are so many other fine coffee roasters to try in our fair city. There's..." And I began listing some of them off. Which for some reason made her go all cross-eyed and she soon left the table. So much for our first date.

Anyway, despite my acquaintance-now-turned-enemy's rudeness (she left a half-drunk quad americano on the table, for pete's sake) she did get me thinking: Wowzers! There sure are a lot of amazing micro-coffee-roasters in Portland. And while I know some, I want to know about more.

So how about it, Blogtownies? Shall we start a conversation about the best-of-the-best roasters in Portland? See my picks after the jump, and leave your own picks in the comments below.

PDX Coffee Roasting Picks:

Image of Extractos beautiful four group La Marzocco
  • Image of Extracto's beautiful four group La Marzocco
Extracto, 2919 NE Killingsworth & 1465 NE Prescott, Suite B

For me Extracto is the cream of the crop. From what I've gathered they easily have the best straight cup of drip coffee in town, and their well trained staff are always helpful, polite, and will never give you any PDX-Coffee-Snobbery. Also, a big bonus has been their 14th and Prescott location that features an amazing pour-over bar for anyone who wants to venture out for one of the smoothest cups you'll find perhaps in the country.

RistrettoRoasters.jpg
Ristretto Roasters, 3520 NE 42nd & 3808 N Williams

I've spent some time at the Ristretto locations, but not a ton. I've found their coffee to be pretty great, although a bit on the strong side when made in a press. I think their espresso is the way to go and I wasn't disappointed by just a simple americano, which is usually my litmus test for most coffee places I'm trying for the first time. Worth checking out.

greycoavalogo.jpg
Coava Coffee Roasters , 1300 SE Grand

OMFG these guys have got the goods and they've only been around since 2009. I have yet to make it down to their location on Grand but I almost always opt for their beans when getting a cup at Red E Café on 1006 N Killingsworth. Their Ardi, Ethiopia Sidama is easily one of the best beans I've encountered in Portland and you owe it yourself to check these guys out.

All right, that's what I got. What do you got? Leave 'em in the comments.

 

Comments (12) RSS

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1
Coava and Ristretto are some of my faves.

Mudd Works Roastery is awesome, too. They serve coffee and sell beans at a Lair Hill coffee shop at SW Bancroft and Corbett. Pick some up, for sure.
Posted by ($8239f8h248cerfehjf23@&*@ebdjhb23f237OCDBO#BD*(# on August 5, 2010 at 2:25 PM · Report
2
Schondecken in Westmoreland has been around longer than most. I haven't been there for years, but the owner used to be very focused on buying and roasting good quality beans.
Posted by Steve R. on August 5, 2010 at 2:31 PM · Report
3
Village Coffee in Multnomah Village is an awesome little cafe thats definitely worth checking out.

http://maps.google.com/maps/place?hl=en&sa…
Posted by Keeganpdx on August 5, 2010 at 2:33 PM · Report
4
courier coffee roasters just opened at 923 SW Oak. Joel's coffee is the best in town.
Posted by miguelaron on August 5, 2010 at 2:40 PM · Report
5
Sterling Coffee Roasters on NW Glisan next to Trader Joe's. Damn delicious and operated by friendly, knowledgeable people.
Posted by dark on August 5, 2010 at 2:47 PM · Report
6
I bought a bag of Ristretto at the Hollywood Farmers Market (they no longer sell there, alas) which the person who sold it to me said had been roasted the previous evening. Came home, made some (in a press) and thought it was the best cup of coffee I'd ever had.
Posted by Michael M. on August 5, 2010 at 2:58 PM · Report
7
Sterling-Heart-Coava-Public Domain-Zbeans (Hillsdale Farmers Market)- Whole Foods Allegro espresso (don't knock it 'til you've tried it)
Posted by pearce77 on August 5, 2010 at 3:53 PM · Report
8
Oooh, I forgot about Heart. I love their espresso.
Posted by ($8239f8h248cerfehjf23@&*@ebdjhb23f237OCDBO#BD*(# on August 5, 2010 at 3:54 PM · Report
9
Public Domain and Heart.
Posted by pdxMB on August 5, 2010 at 4:40 PM · Report
10
Water Avenue Coffee Company is new and pretty good.
Posted by dirigibleduck on August 5, 2010 at 8:42 PM · Report
11
Coava. Courier.
Posted by alexm on August 6, 2010 at 1:16 AM · Report
12
Oblique Coffee Roasters 3039 SE Stark St. obliquecoffeeroasters.com

Schondecken Roasters 6720 SE 16th Ave. The place smells like heaven.

Water Avenue Coffee Company 1028 SE Water Ave (I still think they are really on Taylor Street). wateravenuecoffee.wordpress.com They also run a WAC van at farmer markets
Posted by Rosy on August 6, 2010 at 1:52 AM · Report

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