A PDX Coffee Adventure-Part 3

After our talk with Matt, Sam and I decided to walk up to Coava Coffee, just a few blocks away. I had been planning to stop by and talk to them about their new Kone filter that was just released for sale. Coava has been very effective at creating a buzz (pun intended) in the social media sphere. They are very active on Twitter, and the Kone was recently reviewed favorably by The New York Times and Gizmodo. I was hoping to talk to them about their marketing strategies and to try some Kone-poured coffee.

The rain was falling steadily and a hostile cold wind was blowing as we walked to Coava. We were relieved to get inside the café and out of the weather. I was glad to be back in one of the first PDX coffee shops I stumbled across in my exploration of the area’s coffee scene.

We walked up to the counter and started talking with Matt, one of the co-owners, about the Kone filters. Keith, the other owner, was busy boxing up Kones for shipment while Matt was taking care of the bar. They’ve been very busy lately with getting their products ready to ship.

Kones in waiting

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A PDX Coffee Adventure-Part 2

Sam and I left Public Domain and headed south for Pioneer Square. As we reached the square, a newsman from Channel 8 asked if we wanted to be on the news. I hesitated for a second and then thought sure, why not? It never hurts to get some practice time in front of the camera. The station was looking for “on the street” responses to President Obama’s compromise on the tax cuts. I shared my opinions and we moved on. It had already been a more interesting day than I had planned.

We walked through downtown over to the riverfront area, crossing the Hawthorne Bridge and dropping down to Water Avenue (It would have been quicker to take the Morrison Bridge, but I only realized this after we reached the café). We arrived just as the rain started to fall. Inside, the barista warmly greeted us, and he described his espressos with ease. We ordered, and while we waited, I glanced around for the roaster that was supposed to be in the café. It was behind the wall just behind the front counter, but it was not in use at the time.

Attention: fresh-roasted coffee nearby

Sam and I sat down by the window and looked around. I took a couple of pictures and when I did, Matt Milletto, the owner, came over to talk to us. He was just making sure we weren’t up to anything sinister (I don’t blame him—we probably looked suspicious). Sam introduced himself as a co-worker to someone who Matt knew. Matt quickly recognized the name and offered us a tour if we could wait a couple minutes. Sure, we replied.

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Links for Week of December 4-10

Dutch Bros. is standing by its barista who killed a would-be robber, even though carrying weapon was against company policy (link)

Sumo wrestler in Fukoka, Japan, tries to rob coffee shop by sneaking in through open window (must have been a big window). (link)

Kraft’s and Starbucks’ divorce keeps getting uglier. Kraft has petitioned the courts for an injunction against the termination of their relationship (link)

Oprah really stepped in it when she decided to promote McCafes in Australia (link)

Kuma Coffee in Seattle is disclosing the prices it pays for green coffee beans in an effort to combat the perception that Fair Trade coffee is always better (link)

Interesting marketing idea from the UK: free coffee for finding and returning a café’s coffee mugs which had been spread out over town (link)

Cheap and convenient: Nestle is selling instant coffee (with sugar and cream) in small packets to increase sales in Africa (link)

Tufts University in Somerville, MA, has hipsters too (No, PDX, it’s not just you) (link)

Howard Schultz has been nominated as CEO of the Decade by MarketWatch, though if I were to bet, I’d put my money on Steve Jobs. (link)

A PDX Coffee Adventure-Part 1 (of 3)

Tuesday was a day that a coffee connoisseur would have enjoyed. I ended up at three different Portland cafés—Public Domain, Water Avenue Coffee and Coava Coffee—not quite the original plan, but it worked out well.

After participating in a webinar about social media, I had to hustle to catch the bus to downtown. I arrived at the #19 stop just as the bus did. The ride took about 35 minutes and dropped me off at Pioneer Square. I crossed the square and headed toward Public Domain. Located on Broadway and Alder, Public Domain is a café owned by Coffee Bean International, one of Portland's larger specialty roasters. You might not know much about the company, since much of what CBI does is produce private label coffee for other companies. CBI’s own brands are Panache, Public Domain, Café Tierra and Un Momento.

Public Domain

I walked into the brightly-lit shop and looked around for a minute. I asked the barista about the available espressos. He pointed me to a sign on the counter. There were two available: an El Salvador single-origin from Sterling and CBI’s own Prometheus blend. I chose the Prometheus and went  to sit down.

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Friday Afternoon Links-December 3rd

Here are a few things that went on in the coffee world this week, in case you missed them.

Starbucks is working on recycling all their cups (Link)

In Munich, Germany, Laundromat+Coffee Shop = Laundrocafé (Link)

Instead of selling Fair Trade coffee, Illy educates and train its growers (Link)

More bad weather in Colombia could mean higher coffee prices in 2011 (Link to BusinessWeek article)

The barista from Dutch Bros. who killed a man who attempted to rob his kiosk will not face charges (Link)

Costa Rica is importing green coffee beans for the first time to satisfy domestic demand (Link)

Rumor has it that Starbucks is thinking about buying Peet’s Coffee (Link)

Coffee grown in California? Yep. (Link)

The Restroom Association of Singapore (that’s not a misprint) has granted 5-star status to a coffee shop’s commode in Singapore’s Tampines area (Link)

Equator Coffee and Teas is working with the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves to improve the lives of their coffee growers (and others) (Link)

By making coffee buying decisions easier, Seattle’s Best is hoping to reach more customers (Link)

Interested in the history of the Moka express pot? Do you even know what a Moka express pot is? Here’s a quick explanation (Link)

Show Your Patriotism—Drink Coffee!

Today I want to bring you a little coffee history. I was reading Starbucked by Taylor Clark and one of the stories he tells about the history of coffee in America caught my eye. I thought I’d share it with you. But first, a little background (I promise there is a point to this story—it just takes a little while to get there).

I don’t know how many of you grew up drinking coffee before Starbucks became popular. It may be that for most of you, you never cared about coffee before the big green apron came along. I didn’t drink much coffee myself until fairly recently. To be honest, I don’t know if I ever went into a Starbucks before 2002. Growing up, I had an occasional cup after church (a Methodist tradition) maybe once a year, but I was never really what you would consider a coffee drinker. During high school, I remember some older friends telling me that there was no way anyone could make it through college without drinking coffee. They were wrong about at least one person.

My own personal connection with coffee really began in 2001 on a trip to Italy. While staying at a hostel (Casa Olmata) in Rome, we were given a ticket for a complimentary breakfast—a cappuccino and a croissant—at a nearby bar (café) that was across the street from Santa Maria Maggiore. We found the bar about 8am and walked in, a little unsure of ourselves. It was my first trip to the country and I couldn’t speak much Italian. We handed the tickets to the barista and he immediately set to work on the drinks. I stood there waiting, looking around and taking in everything around me.

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Chilling at the Cloud Seven Café

It was a cold, rainy day when I visited the Cloud Seven Café. Cloud Seven is located at the Northeast corner of Jamison Square, in the same space where Sip ‘n Kranz used to be. I had hoped to find a warm spot to cozy up to an espresso (or two), but it didn’t quite work out that way. I was disappointed when I walked in and found the café to be quite cold. In fact, it didn’t seem that much warmer than outside. I could feel a very cool breeze blowing from the café ventilation system. I wasn’t the only one who thought it was cold inside either. Behind the bar I could see one of the baristas shivering. After a while, I was shivering too.

Just below cloud nine

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