World Cup Coffee and Tea

After checking out the Sterling kiosk on Glisan, I decided to head toward downtown to find a place to sit and write. I didn’t make it very far. A few blocks down Glisan, I came across World Cup Coffee and Tea. I had been planning to try World Cup coffee, but I thought I would go to their café in Powell’s Books. However, since the opportunity presented itself, I decided to stop and check this one out. It turns out that the store on Glisan is World Cup’s headquarters and main café. The company has its offices and its roasting operation there.

World Cup from the outside

While waiting in line, I read some of the company’s literature and I thought I was at another café for coffee enthusiasts. Having visited many similar places, I expected the people in the café to be knowledgeable about the coffee. I walked up to the counter and asked the barista what their espresso was like. She paused for a second.

“It’s really strong. Have you had espresso before?”

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Sterling’s Kiosk

I intended to give Coffeehouse Northwest a review the other day, but when I arrived and asked what espressos they had available, the barista informed me that they only had Hair Bender (from Stumptown) available. Actually, they had two different Hair Benders available, each with a different roasting date. While it might have been an interesting exercise to compare how the roasting dates affected the flavors, I was hoping to try something different. The barista suggested I go to Sterling, a few blocks away on NW Glisan. She said it doesn’t have any tables, but that if I wanted to I could bring my drink back from Sterling and sit down at the café and hang out. Though it was a nice offer, I decided to come back to Coffeehouse Northwest another day.

It took me about five minutes to walk over to Sterling, and when I arrived, I found what appeared to be an old-fashioned coffee bar, built in the style of the 1920s (at least that was my impression). The kiosk was sandwiched into a small space by the entrance to a flower shop.

Small but classy (dressing up is optional)

Tim, the barista, greeted me and I asked him about their espresso. He recommended that I try the Ethiopian Yirgacheffe (YUR-guh-chef) coffee. It was a little more expensive than the house blend they had available ($2.50 for a double), but it was more interesting too. He described the espresso as beginning with blackberry flavors, continuing with a smooth middle and creamy finish that was like Baileys (Irish cream). That sounded interesting enough for me, so I ordered one and watched him prepare the espresso.

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Park Avenue Café

Of all the cafés  I have visited in Portland, there is one for me that feels like home more than any other. Located on the corner of Park Avenue and Market Street near Portland State University, Park Avenue Café has become something like a second home to me. The past two years I have spent many hours in there studying, hanging out with friends, drinking coffee, writing and just thinking about where to go next in life. It is the place my wife and I were drinking coffee one hour before my son was born and the first place we took him when we left the house the next day. The baristas know me well enough that they often have my drink ready when I get to the counter. The other day, instead of waiting in a long line, I sat down to write a little to wait for the line to clear. While I was sitting there, Jodine, one of the baristas, brought me my drink without even ordering. She made my day. 

Look for the red umbrellas

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The Honorable St. Honoré

I went back to explore Portland’s “Trendy-Third” (23^rd Ave) area this week. When I had earlier asked for café recommendations, one of my MIM classmates (Badih) recommended the St. Honoré Boulangerie. Had my French been a little better, I would have realized that it was more of a bakery, but since they have coffee available, it’s close enough for me.

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Caffè Umbria

With its high ceilings, large windows, hardwood trim and modern chairs, Caffè Umbria fits in well in the heart of Portland’s Pearl District. The modern coffee bar, decked out in brushed stainless steel, contrasts with the antique pottery sitting on top of it. These elements, modern and antique, combine to give the café an new-world feel with just a bit of the old.

At the corner of 12th and Everett

Caffè Umbria is a Seattle-based coffee company that has “invaded” the Portland coffee scene.

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Nor'West Coffee

My quest to find good coffee took me outside the city limits the other day. I traveled up the I-5 corridor from a city who’s catchphrase is “Keep Portland weird!” to a city that likes to say “Keep Vancouver normal.” While the cultures of the two cities are very different, one thing they share (besides the rain) is good coffee. Before any Portlanders reading this get upset, I want to make it clear that I’m not implying the two are coffee equals. So far, Portland has a clear lead. In fact, until the other day I didn’t even know that Vancouver was competitive.

However, yesterday a friend of mine from Vancouver, Tim Downing, introduced me to Nor’West Coffee and I found that there are a few coffee experts in the state to our north as well. Nor’West is a café that has been around for nearly three years. After roasting his own coffee for about seven years, Mike McGinness, the owner, began roasting commercially three years ago under the name Compass Coffee. The company has three retail outlets—one in downtown Vancouver (Compass Coffee), one in North Vancouver (Nor’West) and one in Beaverton (Java Nation) that it acquired three months ago.

Nor'West Coffee

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Seen Around PDX

Here are a few things I saw around town the last couple days. 

The Hawthorne BridgeBetween the blue sky and the blue water, I couldn't resist taking a picture.

At PSUBattles with (foam-covered) medieval weaponry. A PSU physical education class, perhaps?

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