Cheers Portland!
Our last day in Portland and we are in love with this city….oh the tears. We started things off at Crema Coffe & Bakery.
Delightful! In-house pastries, Stumptown Coffee, and a busy cafe with outdoor seating….not a bad way to spend a Saturday morning. We dug this place.
So now it’s time to drive north to Seattle, but on the way we cash in on a tip and stop in Ridgefield Washington to check out Lava Java. This is the home of former U.S. barista champion Phuong Tran who is not behind the bar (it is Saturday). Dang! We still were able to get a couple of solid shots of single origin Costa Rica Finca Los Manantiales. A well rounded espresso with thick chocolaty notes.
Alright Seattle…we’re coming to wrangle!
Ristretto, The Annex, The Beach
Time to wrangle something other than the hairbender (the espresso of choice here in Portland). So we headed to Ristretto Roasters where they have a in-house roaster and their very own espresso blend.
Ristretto’s is a quiet and pleasant place. Like all of the indies here Ristretto’s display local art which attributes to a quaint and aesthetically pleasing atmosphere. Ristretto’s, however, did provide us with our first bottomless portafilter experience in Portland.
After Ristretto’s we wrangled our way back to the Stumptown Annex to have some coffee from the Clover and to purchase a couple of the single origins that we cupped the previous day. But you can’t be at the Annex without trying something else from their smorgasbord of coffee goodness…..C.O.E Colombia La Esperanza and Ethiopia Tega & Tula for the road.
There’s nothing quite like ending the day on the Oregon coast (Manzanita!) after a long, hard day of wranglin’.
Stumptown Annex
Day 3 and behind on the posts….relax, we’re busy….we decided to wrangle the Stumptown Annex. I (the Wrangler) have been anxiously awaiting this day!
The Stumptown Annex is a buffet of some of the finest coffees in the world. These gems are all on display and available to cup and/or drink until your heart’s content! Twice a day everyday the Stumptown Annex hosts free public cuppings. These cuppings provide an educational platform where you can ask questions and sample several different single origin coffees.
Some of the coffees we cupped: Ethiopia Tega & Tula, Ethiopia Yirg Wondo Co-Op, Panama Esmeralda, Nicaragua los delirios, two from Guatemala finca el injerto, and Guatemala Maragogype.
The cupping process brings out the distinct differences that each lot brings to the table.
We finished off the day at Coffeehouse Northwest on West Burnside. Our first Synesso experience (a new and much hyped espresso machine) and a fine tutorial from a fellow coffeegeek.
The Albina Press
Check it….Day 2….we trekked to The Albina Press to check out the digs and juice up. We met Rita who was pulling the shots and it just so happens that Rita is from Wisconsin by way of Milwaukee. We had a nice chat since blood runs thick in the Midwest. We talked about the Hairbender (the Albina Press uses Stumptown Coffee) and how it was tasting this week and how Albina is experimenting with teflon portafilters and steam wands. Rita also gave us lots of ideas on where to head to next. She was awesome and she pulled the best Hairbender of the trip so far.
Bugsy and the Wrangler travel to Mecca
Here we are….in Portland! The next few posts are brought to you by your hosts and humble coffee consumers…Bugsy and the Wrangler. We’re just exploring the city of Portland in search of good coffee and friendly people (to geek out with).
Our first day we flew into Seattle and drove to Portland…yeah, well, it makes sense to us….we’ll be back in Seattle shortly. To begin we headed over to Stumptown on Division Street in Southeast Portland. If you don’t know it yet Stumptown Coffee Roasters is sort of the Godfather of coffee in Portland. Most of the indies are pulling Stumptown’s Hairbender espresso blend and selling their stellar single origins.
More to come….
Waypoint Benefit Concert @ Brewed
We are making an exception to our no live music in the summer, to host singer-songwriter Anjuli Dawn, in a concert to benefit Waypoint Services. It’s Thursday, July 26,  from 6:30 to 8 pm. Take some time in your week to relax, hear great music, and do something good for a local nonprofit. (Waypoint provides shelter and support for women and children in crisis and quality child care to over 400 children daily.)
Farmers Market a Smashing Success!
We are one of many vendors participating in this summer’s farmers market which began June 2nd. We were thrilled with the turnout! We sold homemade biscotti, chocolate oatmeal bars, various scones and breads, granola and coffee cake to name a few. And TONS of brewed coffee!
Come and see us for the next farmers market on Saturday, July 7 from 7:30 AM to 12:00 PM. Downtown Cedar Rapids, Corner of 2nd Ave and 1st Street (in front of the Alliant Energy building).
Downtown Farmer’s Market
Guess where you can find your favorite coffeehouse this Saturday? We’ll be branching out with a table at the Downtown Farmer’s Market. We’ll have brewed coffee(iced and hot), cold press toddies, lemonade & our delicious baked goods. Plus, you can come get a $1 off coupon for our regular store. Our table is located at the corner of 2nd Ave. and 1st St. Hope to see you there!
Yirga-Great!
Our friends from Victrola Coffee Roasters have sent us some stellar Ethiopia Yirgacheffe. This Yirg is floral, crisp, clean and full of lemon zest. We want you to have some extended time with it…..so enjoy some in a french press for the next week or so. It will be available daily!
More to come soon!
Check back here soon for daily specials and more in-depth information about our coffee!