At The Cupping Table: Ristretto Roasters

Back in the heat of August, I think it was, Ristretto Roasters set out the blue dishes and little white bowls at their N. Williams location for a cupping of three of their roasts.

(I took many photos of the event and then promptly lost my data cable so I was unable to upload the photos for this blog post until now.)

Ristretto Roasters is led by Din Johnson who has put together a great team of baristas some of who were on hand to take me and many other devoted Ristretto fans through the steps of a professional cupping.

And I say "professional" because also on hand were some of the farmers and coffee experts from South America who joined us in the sniffing and slurping. These guys are the ones growing the beans Ristretto uses and they were a lot of fun to hang out with. They handed out shirts to lucky cuppers and showed us all up when it came to the slurp.

When we arrived we were all given a sheet of paper to write down our aroma and tasting notes on the three roasts on the table. There was a Guatamalen, Brazilian and Ethiopian roast if I remember correctly.

All three were very different from each other from the first dry sniff (grounds only), to the last slurp.

What has always amazed me is how a single coffee can travel over many different aromas and flavors by going through a hot water pour, agitation and finally a cooling off period. Each step brings out different pieces of the coffee's personality that some people would comment that while they thought they knew which coffee they would enjoy most based on the dry sniff, but once they slurped the cooling coffee, their opinion totally changed.

In the end it was the Guatamalen roast that was the crowd favorite. Nobody much cared for the Ethiopian, but that may have had something to do with our biased South American guests.

Ristretto puts on quite an impressive cupping with great care given to the coffee and they really let the participants feel out the coffees for themselves and share what they liked and didn't like.

While it could be easy for coffee professionals to simply dictate to the cupping newbie what they should taste and smell, I think it's important to listen to all the participants' opinons. We are the ones buying the coffee, and we may not be coffee experts, but we know what we like.

I've heard some people in the coffee business dismiss the public cupping because for some roasters the subtle differences in a coffee just don't come across an untrained palate. Or that there is just too much information to distill in such a short time with a coffee that there really is no point.

But even if we bumble our way through a cupping or two, I think a lot can be learned and appreciated in a public cupping.

Ristretto will be holding more cuppings in the future so look out for those. Kudos to Din and the staff at Ristretto for putting on a great show.

Neighborhoodie Coffeehouses: The Clearing Cafe

A lot can be said about the big-name coffeehouses in Portland. The Goliaths like Stumptown, BARISTA, and The Albina Press always sneak their way into The New York Times or national foodie blogs.

I think what makes Portland such an interesting place to live and drink coffee is that those big names can saddle up next to the smallest of the small coffeehouses and everyone can be successful.

So begins my small series on finding the "neighborhoodiest" of all neighborhood coffeehouses. The "neighborhoodie" coffeehouses are those that don't even rely on much advertisement or perhaps don't even have a website or blog. They do just fine with their surrounding homes or businesses and have carved out a specific niche market.

These businesses may not grab headlines but they are a necessary part of their hyper-local community. And what's Portland if not a patchwork of small communities sewn together to create most colorful and wonderful place to live?

The Clearing Cafe

2772 NW Thurman St.
Portland, OR 97210
(503) 841-6240

Monday - Thursday 6:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Friday 6:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Saturday:7:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Sunday:8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Located at the foot of a busy Forest Park trailhead, The Clearing Cafe is a small coffee space in the quite, colloquially known, "Nob Hill" neighborhood. (Technically it is the Northwest District neighborhood.)

This spot serves up Ristretto Roasters coffee, toasts Kettleman's bagels, and treats its customers to pastries from Nuvrei. In addition, there are some wholly nutritious "Essential Bowls" that will surely bring you back from the brink after hitting the Forest Park trails.

What I especially love about neighborhood locations are the little details that you won't find anywhere else. At The Clearing Cafe you can enjoy a drink called the Honey Cardamom Latte. This great, warming drink is kind of like a chai with a shot of espresso. The coffee takes a backseat to the cardamom and the honey smooths everything out making for a great sipping drink on rainy day.

If you're not spending your time working or visiting with friends, The Clearing Cafe has an interesting selection of books to pass the time. Most notably, I found a small, well-curated pile of poetry. A nice little find considering nowhere else will you find Robert Frost at the ready.

There are many nice little finds scattered all through the city and while The Clearing Cafe is not a flashy destination spot for tourist, it is certainly a must-see for any Portlander.

Ristretto Roasters

This past summer, while biking down Vancouver Ave. to work, I knew that Ristretto would be opening its second location on Williams any day. It was a bright morning and all of a sudden I found myself being pulled east toward Williams to see if Ristretto was open yet and what do you know?

It was their first day of business. Well, it was day zero, really. They were giving away coffee for free. The coffeehouse equivalent of a "soft opening."

Do I have a coffee sixth sense or what?

Now PDX Coffeehouse Journal readers are well aware that I feel a diplomacy to all those coffeehouses out there, each offering it's own unique recipe to the city. Well, there is diplomacy no more.

Ristretto Roasters is my most favorite coffeehouse in Portland.

I've visited their Fremont location before, but it is really out of the way for me. But now, with quality coffee, nice space and a convenient location it takes the top spot on my coffeehouse hierarchy.

Does this mean I have eschewed all other coffees for this one location? Not really. There is no fun in that. I do still believe that all shops out there have something special to offer. I'm just going to be enjoying Ristretto's offerings a lot more now.