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Downtown Portland Coffee Crawl
Sample Portland’s (other) brewing scene at these downtown cafés.
Kit Mauldin
In Portland, coffee is the new wine, baristas are akin to rock stars and only the most tricked-out espresso machines are trusted with unique house roasts. With breakout local successes like Stumptown Coffee Roasters, which now boasts satellites in Brooklyn and Seattle as well as a burgeoning line of bottled cold brews, the city seems poised to take over (or at least over-caffeinate) the nation.
Run by a three-time winner of the Northwest Barista Competition, Billy Wilson, Barista coffee shops feature beans from some of the best roasters in the country.
In the meantime, visitors will find Portland’s bean scene is as accessible as it is diverse. In fact, you don’t have to leave downtown to sample some of the best cups. Here’s a short list that’s bound to get you buzzing.
Courier Coffee Roasters
Owner Joel Domreis starts most days with a 4 a.m. roasting session, cooking up to 100 pounds of fresh green beans before switching to baking duty in his minimalist storefront at Courier Coffee Roasters. Behind the bar made of locally sourced walnut, cold brews steep for 24 hours and light- and medium-bodied single-origin varieties are filtered through 23-karat-gold-plated cones. Domreis’ cannelés also have a dedicated following.
Barista
Run by a three-time winner of the Northwest Barista Competition, Billy Wilson, Barista coffee shops feature beans from some of the best roasters in the country, like San Francisco-based Sightglass. Wilson selects robust espressos, and the AeroPress brewing method employed here delivers cups with lots of body. Barista also has a location in the Pearl District.
Stumptown Coffee Roasters
Portland’s most famous coffee export has four beautiful, bustling locations around the city, with two right downtown, at the Ace Hotel and on Third Avenue. More than a dozen locally roasted single-origin and blended roasts — including the company’s most popular, the aptly named Hairbender — line the shelves. Grab a bag of whole beans or sample a select few via single-cup pour-overs from the bar.
Case Study Coffee
Nestled across the street from the Central Library, Case Study Coffee is the perfect place to hunker down on a winter’s day. Not only will the beautiful wood-paneled interior and many windows keep you feeling cozy, but the in-house roaster and stellar gourmet mochas (with house-made syrups highlighting fine ingredients) can also help bring your body temperature up a degree or two.
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