It’s a way of life.

Annie, Spencer, and Aaron have opened up their darling cafe – and soon to be roaster – Matchstick Coffee.  It hasn’t even been a week since the paper was ripped off the windows and the doors opened, and their shop has already solidified itself in Vancouver’s coffee scene.  At the moment they are offering coffee from Calgary’s Phil & Sebastian, but as you can guess from the name and the pictures, the plan is to roast their coffee in house, something only done in a handful of shops ’round these parts.  The cafe defines the word “spacious” and has plenty of natural light, places to sit, vinyl to listen to, and a communal table you won’t forget.  Coffee is brewed to order via the Kone/Chemex duo, and espresso runs through a forest green Linea before it gets in your cup.  Latte art is included free with every milk drink.

As friends and teachers and former co-employees, I wish these 3 much success and a huge congratulations.

Where: 639 East 15th Avenue (Basically Fraser and Kingsway)
When: 8am-4pm every day.  (If you’re reading this a few weeks after publication – I’d check their website to see if they’ve shortened or extended hours)
Who:  @matchstickyvr
Why:  matchstickcoffee.com

I’ll have a black coffee please.

Last week we took to the road for a one and a half hour drive from Vancouver through farmland, over the border, and to just outside of downtown Bellingham to arrive at Onyx Coffee Bar.  It was opened just a couple months ago slightly under the radar by Mr. Edwin Martinez, a name you may recognize as being responsible for the widespread availability of the ever-sought after (and often elusive) Hario products, and for providing and guiding many roasters from around the world to truely wonderful coffees from Guatemala.

The story goes as follows:  Before opening, Edwin went around to a bunch of customers of local cafes with the question why they frequented the cafes they did, having options such as “coffee, location, service, price, etc” to choose from.  Contrary to what coffee people would hope, “Coffee” wasn’t even in the top 5 reasons (It actually came 7th).  What came first slips my mind at the moment – convenience maybe? – but none the less, he acknowledged the data and opened up his coffee shop.  Only he did the opposite of the data, and opened a cafe that focused solely on coffee.

That focus on coffee is presented not just by what they have, but perhaps even more so in what they don’t have.

What they have: an unparalleled selection of coffee.  When we were there we could have chosen from over 20 coffees, from 8 different roasters.  Each coffee is available via pour over or syphon, by the cup, or in a tasting flight of 3 coffees of your choice.
What they don’t have: Milk, or sugar, or a condiment stand of any kind.  And as for milk, that goes for both hot and cold.  There is an espresso machine, but it’s just for espresso.

Now with the above being said, the philosophy of the store is that every customer who walks in, walks out happy; whether they do so with a coffee, or empty handed with directions to another place.

And so now that you know the pre-story, you can view the images with it in mind.

The machine they use isn’t one that many people would be familiar with – but it’s really cool looking.  It’s Nuova Simonelli by make – a Nuova Simonelli Yacht Club.  (Type it into google if you think I fib.)  Obviously from the way it is situated on the bar you can’t see the back but it is paneled in wood (real or fake I don’t know) and is clearly designed with a “nautical” inspiration.  We stuck to drip coffee however, so I can’t tell you much more about the machine itself, or what was brewing.

The shop is small, with a few seats at the bar, and plays out more like a tasting room than your traditional cafe setting, which serves it’s purpose quite well.

“Pulpa” or cascara, from Edwin’s farm, that we tried cold and carbonated.  It was a work in progress he said, but very good none the less.  If you have access to any, you should give it a shot and see what you come up with.

Tim Wendelboe and Scott Rao neighbored one another on the bookshelf.

After the coffee gala, Edwin took out a suitcase and asked Evan to retrieve a key he had put behind the counter, and after stating, “no eyes had seen this yet”, he proceeded to tell us the story of how he came into possession of it’s internal contents and that they were older in years than he was.

Behold!

Beautifully rare and accurate relieved maps of the Huehuetenango regions.  Edwin gave us a guided tour through his finger, tracing along the map over the rough roads and mountains through various farming regions while narrating.  (Did you know you could be stuck in some areas for several days?  Or that going to the bank is a 1+ hour endeavour?)

And when the the stories were done and the suitcase closed, it was back to the paved roads of Bellingham for us, over the border and into Vancouver.  But we’ll be back for certain.

If you’re looking for Edwin’s Hario (and more) page:  http://roustaboutproducts.com/

Onyx Coffee Bar:  1015 Railroad Avenue, Unit #105 (Bellingham, Washington State)
Hours of Operation:  Wednesday – Saturday, 10-6 (closed from 2-3 for lunch)
Website:  http://www.onyxcoffee.com/index.php
Tweeter: @onyxcoffeebar

Yawei and her brother Jarome opened a cafe back in November while I was temporarily living in Montreal and even though I’ve been a whole heap o’ times, I never seemed to have my camera in hand.  But enough is enough – It’s time to share with the world my love affair with Innocent Coffee.  There is a certain calmness that radiates through the entire 2 story building (cafe down low, art gallery up-top), causing anyone who enters to leave their worries on the doorstep.  The cafe is minimalist and rather adorable, which brought me back to the cafes I visited in Japan.  They serve up Origins Coffee, who roast the coffee only a 10 minute walk away, down on Granville Island.  They have an espresso machine and drip of course, with each cup made to order, via either press or pour over (kone or paper) and all their baking and food is done on site, right behind the counter – which means that every time you walk in you either smell fresh coffee or fresh baking.  I like those odds.

As a side note – due to health codez they can only do paper cup service.  If you think that could be an issue for you, bring your favorite cup from home.  #BYOC
Located at 1340 W 4th Ave.  Open from 7am-5pm, Monday through Saturday. Closed Sundays.  twitter//innocentcoffee

If finding things in Japan wasn’t already hard enough, add the rarity of third wave shops into the mix and you’re on a quest for Nemo. So when my friend Natsuko saw this coffee bar and said, “That place is expensive”, I wasted little time.

We found Cafe Cereza on the outskirts of a busy shopping district in Nagoya. The exterior, brightly lit, and beautifully simple, is contrasted nicely by a dimly lit interior. The interior, dark enough to be candle lit, transformed our friendly coffee into a fancy first date.

The decor might be described as minimalist, modern-jazzy. Paintings, retro-esque table lamps, and dark hardwood. Shelves of expensive porcelain line the walls behind the bar, and at each table lies a rose, sugar, and a sculpture.

We were seated, given warm hand towels, two beautifully chiseled crystal glasses with water, and a menu. The menu: all Kanji.

Thankfully, Natsuko, my friend date could understand it. The menu featured a Colombian, El Salvador, Blue Mountain Coffee, Kiyagichima AA ( give or take a few letters.. ), Guatemalan, Brazil Santos, and to my dismay no African coffees . Each coffee had a fair bit of information about origin, flavour profiles, and staff comments, proved Natsuko.

We ordered the El Salvador, which according to the description is their most popular. I was curious as to what type of brewing method they’d use, and it turned out to be a pour over. As we sipped water out of glasses only mothers might use on special occasion, we were brought coffee grounds, to smell the aromas. Nice touch, I thought.

When the coffee arrived, our excitement to taste it vanished as we were in awe by the porcelain we’d been given. Gold finished, beautifully hand carved, suit for a king and queen if I must say. Natsuko’s spoon was branded with Rolex, apparently they make spoons too, go figure.

The coffee was a classic El Salvador: dark, chocolaty, and full-bodied. I quite enjoyed it, and it tasted even better in that atmosphere, drinking out of that cup.

The El Salvador rang in at 800 Yen each, which for Canadian’s is roughly $9 a cup. Our bill was 1600 Yen, not cheap, but worth it. It’s nice to see coffee being served in an upscale environment, given as much respect and attention as a martini or wine bar might get. And it does wonders for some of the publics general mantra, “Coffee is coffee”.

For those trying to go there, I won’t try directing as the roads in Japan don’t quite make sense. However, it’s located in Nagoya and called Cafe Cereza. Say this, and you might get close, “Cafe Cereza wa doko dess ka?”

Every time I drive by it, I always say to myself that I need to check out Radio Station Cafe. Problem is I’m either always late for wherever I’m heading, or it’s closed.

On Saturday Chris and I were driving by once again, en route to Bump’n'Grind, when everything aligned. We happen to hit a red light at the corner streets upon which Radio Station Cafe is situated and voila! When I looked out the window and saw it staring back at me we turned off course and parked right away.

The reason most (at least outside the coffee community) haven’t heard about Radio Station Cafe is it’s on the corner of Hastings and Columbia, which is about a block up from Pigeon’s Corner – as in the heart of the Downtown East Side. Not exactly the best of areas, but little things like this can’t get in the way of a potentially good coffee can they?

Don’t answer that, it’s a rhetorical question.

We walked in and ordered two macchiatos – ‘for here’. The barista said they technically weren’t allowed to serve in ‘to stay mugs’ but, because he also thought having a macchiato in a paper cup would be disgusting (and how right he was) they let us use some of their own. As long as we promised not to sue them, that is. (actually.)

The cups didn’t match. And that glass one on the left was probably 10 or 12 oz – so it was half filled. But guess what? It was the most enjoyable mac I’ve had out in a long time. Nice milk temperature, great shots, but most importantly it was made with love. Well, you know what I mean. Chris agreed, ’twas good indeed.

When he put it up on the bar he said the shot dragged a bit, so the drink should be chocolaty but not too dark. He nailed it.

They use JJ Bean, a La Marzocco, and a grinder we didn’t recognize.

Check it out if you’re in the area or feel like a change of scenery.  It’s a diamond in the rough.  If you do, I would do them and yourself a favor and bring your own cup though.

A Robert Csar production.

Last Friday I met up at Main St. JJ to join in on Robert Csar’s self coined “critical mass cafe crawl”.  And crawl we did.The goal was to hit 5 cafes, take lots of pictures, and enjoy some of the best that Vancouver has to offer.

We went 3 for 3 baby.

When I arrived I joined in with 3 other JJ’ers – Robert, Jesse, and Manuel – and so it began.  Grady and Mike were behind the bar and started us on great notes (pun intended, as usual.), serving up some beautiful espresso jj.  The jj has been quite exceptional recently, and almost ‘on’.  Thank you Spencer.

We hit wicked on West 7th next, and had a beautiful shot of black cat from Adam.  Ristretto’d and uber thick.  You can tell just how thick it was from the line up the side of the cup from the pull.

We sat on the patio for a bit outside and another crawler was added to the mix, Sam, also from JJ.  By the way, it was 5 Nikons to 1 Canon, once again making Nikon the barista camera of choice.  Overall there were 2 D90’s, a D80, and D60, and a D50, and an almost-SLR-but-not-quite Canon.  I’m sure to the general public we just looked like a bunch of aspiring paparazzi rather than baristas.

While we were paying for our drinks, there was a sign on the cash that said the new wicked was opening up and free coffee was being offered.  Add another cafe to the crawl – obviously we had to go there too now.  But first:  Elysian.

Elysian was as good as always.  We all got espressos, which were written down as ’spros on the yellow sticky pad they write all the orders down on.  (Notice they have no bills/chits at Elysian?)  The reason I bother to mention this is that calling espresso ’spro’ right now is becoming pretty hip, incase you haven’t noticed.  

Things got pretty wild after we finished our ’spro.

As we were heading out one of the new guys behind the counter introduced himself as Troy, and I recognized that as a name that has commented on cleanhotdry before. Turns out it’s the same one, and he just moved up from Edmonton to workwith Elysian.  Welcome Troy.  

While we stood outside about to leave, John showed up, making us a party of 6.  

Next up was 49th, only a few blocks over.  Colter was pulling the shots, which for anyone who knows him means we inevitably had a great handful of drinks.  Always consistent and calm, he’s the ‘Cool Hand Luke’ of baristas.  And I haven’t even seen that movie.

New Wicked was next, and the sign on the front window confirmed the statement we had read earlier.

It’s on Hornby and Smithe, just a few blocks away from the bustling Hornby Artigiano across from the Art Gallery.  There is lots of wood and warm tones throughout – and a side wall full of Intelligentsia coffee and tea.
  

One of the first things that you see is this colossal sized graffiti-esque intelligentsia logo in the back corner.

Brad, who owns Wicked, was on sight and happened to be talking to my dad as we walked in.  I met him for the first time and he told us all a bit about the place.  As he pointed out, this Wicked has 2 of everything.  2 espresso machines, 2 sets of 2 grinders (Mazzer E doserless grinders for caffeinated), and 2 clovers.

The black cat was looking mighty fine here as well.

mouse tails.

Arthur was pulling us shots on one machine, while Kylie (spelling?) was training someone on the other.

The area between the 2 machines is designated for drink pick up.  It’s very inviting.

I give it a month or two before it has people lining up out the door, and you can count on me being one of them.  If you’re downtown, or even if you aren’t, I’d highly recommend checking it out.  I actually went back the very next day with Spencer and Tyler (buzz coffee, nanaimo) and took a couple more shots, from both the camera and Arthur.

After Wicked we walked a block or two down to the final stop, Hornby Artigiano.  The line up reach the door’s entrance as usual, and the place was packed.  We somehow nabbed a 6 seat empty table at the back and sat there in a daze, recapping our day.  The effects of the espresso were kicking in fast, and hangover like symptoms were being felt by everyone.  

The worst part of it was that Jesse and I had to head straight out from Artigiano to work a shift, him back at Main St. and me at crema.  I could barley even look at or smell the espresso without getting ill effects while on bar the rest of the day.  

Probably the best part of all this is that Chris and I ended up joining Spencer and Tyler the very next day for another coffee crawl, clearly not having learnt my lesson from the preceding day. 

But you know what?  Just like the day before, it was totally worth it.

Other points of view:  Robert, Jesse, Chris.

During a recent road trip to California, we made a few important stops along the way.

Now, while this road trip’s main theme was not coffee, it certainly was a very enjoyable sub-plot. As usual, all the coffee was great at all these places (otherwise we wouldn’t have gone in the first place) so instead of boring you with espresso reviews I’ll focus more on the photos and other points of interest. The main characters are Navid (who works at crema), our good friend Shahin (who doesn’t really drink coffee) and yours truly.

While passing through Seattle we stopped at Vivace and Victrola. We got a pressed Kenyan (can’t remember from which region though) for the road.

I spotted this outside Victrola -

In Portland, we went to the Ace Hotel for Stumptown (and the atmosphere). Shahin got a tea that the barista described sort of as a mate (as in yerba mate). He also said it would taste like dirt, but that it is really good for you. Let me tell you first hand that it smelt and tasted identical to a horse stable/manure. I believe when I tasted it my exact words were, “this tastes like falling into a pile of manure with your mouth open.” I say this not really so much as a bad thing either because while these aren’t qualities I look for in my preferred taste profile of tea (or anything), I’ve never tasted something so perfect. It was such a vivid and obvious taste that you can’t do anything but appreciate it. I wish I could remember what it was called but I can’t.

The next day we went coffee-less but were rejuvenated a day later when we arrived at Ritual Coffee in San Francisco.

simple & clean logo.

It was about 6 pm when we wondered in, and the place was packed. It’s the busiest I’ve ever seen a cafe at that time, and people just kept on filing in. Eminem was blasting violently throughout the shop, and all the staff and customers looked more like rockstars than anything else. Instead of going to work, these guys are just playing gigs, everyday in their hometown. I love it.

What was perhaps even more rediculous than the amount of people getting coffee at that time was that there was only one barista on bar. It probably took about 15 minutes to get my mac and espresso, but all the better, that just meant getting to spend more time there. It was also one of the few places that I thought a chalk board menu looked good, even if it was just for whole beans.

sweet jar labels.

They roast their own product, and the bags were scattered throughout the back. Seeing the bags and things like this are always a nice little reminder that the journey a coffee bean takes starts far far away, not just at your local coffee shop.

While taking some pictures of the cafe one of the baristas who was off shift engaged me in conversation. His name was Ryan, and later on in the week while reading some coffee blogs I actually saw a few pictures of him. Ryan, if you’re reading this – Spork was great, and you were right, there was no vacancy in San Francisco.

We left San Francisco later that night, but we planned to stay a few nights on the return trip – don’t worry, we wouldn’t disrespect San Fran with only a few hours of visit.

2 days later we made it down to L.A. with the plan of stopping over at Intelligentsia before heading over to Navid’s cousin, who lived about an hour further down south. When we finally got to where it was supposed to be, the whole street was blocked off for some kind of fair, and the only way to get in was with a wrist band that cost 20 dollars. We heard the coffee was amazing, but I didn’t think we could justify 20$.

As promised, about a week later we caught it on the return trip, and had I known it was going to be as good as it was, I may have just paid the 20$ extra the first time ’round.

Maybe it was because we hadn’t had an espresso in almost a week, or maybe it was all the excitement of finally making it to the cafe, or perhaps it was the orange plated synesso, but for whateve reason, Navid and I both agreed it was one of the best espressos we’ve ever had. Ever. I can’t even remember what it tasted like, except that it was all we could have asked for, and maybe more.

Shahin got tea.

not actually slanted in real life.

Do not be concerned about the above picture. The tables are not actually slanted in a downwards direction at Intelligentsia. This is a camera effect.

We all bought a ton of merchandise, including mugs, t-shirts, and even a skateboard deck. I haven’t had this black cat bar yet, but I’m looking forward to it. It’s a chocolate bar that has actual black cat espresso in it, and a recipe on how to make a drink with it on the back.

Another beautiful thing about “Intelli” was the lack of inside seating. While there were a few seats inside, the patio was the main feature thanks to year round sun – must be nice.

I know there are other shops in L.A. that would have been nice to check out but we just didn’t have time this trip – next time.

Also, while we were in San Diego we went to Starbucks for breakfast and wifi (they were sold out of the breakfast sandwich I wanted and the wifi didn’t work) and we saw the new espresso machines. I don’t know if we have them here yet or not, so here’s a picture. I keep thinking of UFO’s when I look a it, but I also think of UFO’s whenever I see a Mistral from Marzocco too, so that isn’t saying much – except maybe that I have UFO’s on the mind too much.

It’s lower, so you can see the person making your drink better now. Nothing new though, as every other espresso machine company does this already, and has been for years.

On the trip back we returned to San Francisco as promised, and while there we stopped at 2 places. The first was a place beyond highly recommended to me by Aaron De Lazzer, that goes by the name of Philz Coffee.

They have been in San Francisco for 35 years according to their website, and their motto is simple: One cup at a time. Take that Clover. I always forget the names of these things but I believe they make the coffee using a pour over station. Please correct me if I’m wrong.

From my understanding, all their blends (you have a choice from 20) are secret. Only Phil and his son know the coffees inside them, and we just get to know what they should taste like. How cool is that?

We didn’t know which blend to get, so we just told the barista to pick one, and to make it however it was meant to be drank. She added sugar and cream to them, threw on a mint leaf, and handed them to us. I have no idea what the proportions were.

Now, I’ve never had a coffee with cream and sugar, so I can’t give a fair comparison – but I can tell you this – It was dessert delicious. It tasted more like a mocha to me than a brewed cup of coffee. Navid said it tasted like a signature drink. I concur.

You can find out more about these mystery coffees by clicking here.

The last stop in San Francisco we made was to a place that, no matter who is reading this right now, I can say you probably haven’t been too just yet. That is because it only opened August 22nd, (thank you coffeed). From what I’ve read and heard, they used to pump out coffee in a back alley on a cart, but as of 2 weeks ago, they have opened up a real indoor shop.

We went pretty late (around 8pm) but there were still a few people hanging around. The space is quite large and open – like a warehouse. The entrance has big doors, with equally big street windows. One thing that isn’t large is the menu. Kudos to them for that, too. And no, there is not a separate tea menu, that is everything, as poor Shahin discovered. He opted for a macchiato instead. Four Barrel is all about the coffee, and none about the anything else. Good for them.

look ma, no tea.

There are 2 three group mistrals in the shop, each with custom “four barrel coffee” engravings on the front. They are stationed on these tables that swivel and adjust in height too.

One of my favorite things about the whole shop was the exterior of the bathroom. I know the picture below doesn’t give you the best idea of what is going on, but basically above the door there is a giant, wide-screened window that showcases the funky lights up top.

The Boars’ heads added to the atmosphere, as well as the slightly dimmed lighting. (There must be some back story I don’t know about as to what they represent.)

Like Ritual, they roast their own coffee right in the back end of the cafe. I’ve read that they used to use Stumptown while operating from the cart but now are roasting their own beans. (Again, please correct me if I’m wrong.)

pitcher rinser

I introduced myself to the barista, who I figured was also the owner (and was right.) and found out his name was Jeremy. A week later, here I am typing in “four barrel coffee” into google and reading article after article about him. Jeremy Tooker, unlike his shop, is not new to the coffee world what so ever. In fact, turns out he used to be a partner in Ritual. Who knew…

All the success to Jeremy.

We tried to go to Blue Bottle after, but they were closed. This marks the second time I’ve gone to San Francisco and Blue Bottle was closed. Here’s to the 3rd time working out.

Friends, meet Moja.  Moja, meet friends.

I finally got to check out Moja today along with my dad.  Andrew has come in a few times to crema and I’ve been hearing little bits about them the last little while.  The roaster/showcase cafe is in North Van, just behind the Canadian Tire at Park and Tilford.  It’s on the corner and not too hard to spot the giant red lettering from the street that you see in the title picture above.  

I honestly wasn’t expecting anything too special before we got there but was immediately corrected the moment we stepped in.  I gather it’s pretty new, (not the business, the location) and they’ve done a sweet job on it.  A few of the blends/single origins Moja offers sit along the back of the counter in these monster cookie jars and are very inviting.  Reminds me of Stumptown actually.  The cafe is also super clean and very simple.  And white.  

The thing that really shines though (no pun intended) is the 3 group lever espresso machine.

What a beautiful piece of handmade, traditional machinery.

Andrew let us pull a few shots on it to try it out for ourselves and it is pretty fun.  It really brings a new (or should I say old?) technique for pulling shots, with full hands on control over the espresso.

The levers are practically begging to be pulled down.

And check out the pitcher rinser – flush with the counter.  Gotta like that.

After a few shots we had a little tour of the roasting section and got to see and hear what Moja is all about.  It’s about really good things, incase you are wondering.  Stay small, and keep the quality first.  And keep trying new things.  (I know that’s what every business says, but these guys are actually doing it.)  Andrew said he likes to bring in African coffee’s and try out different ones all the time, and I’ve said here a few times that African coffee is my favorite as well.  Actually, Andrew had a single origin Rwandan espresso in the mazzer when we came in, which was great.  They even had some beans from Cuba that they were going to be roasting.

Here’s their website, www.mojacoffee.com.  You can find out more about the actual business there, but definitely check it out.  

I'm Rwandan.

It’s so refreshing to see people trying new things and changing it up every once in a while. 

We just went to Seattle and Portland and did some quality crawls.  Both cities have their own vibe and style but in the end it’s clear – coffee is king.

The first night we arrived in time for dinner and then had time for one cafe before they all closed – anyone care to guess where the first stop was?  Here’s a hint:  It rhymes with tamagotchi.

We went to the “new” Vivace just off the I-5 and it was great as usual.  We didn’t end up making it to the roasting location on this trip, which is too bad because it’s closing down next week, but what can you do.  I’ve been there enough times to know of it’s greatness.  I believe a new Vivace will be opening up in September though

Next day the real crawl began, and it started at Stumptown.  It was the first Stumptown experience for most of us so I was pretty pumped, and it didn’t let down.  Stumptown is just so ahead of the gang in coffee culture.  You could cut these guys and espresso would bleed out – although I do need to say I didn’t like the fact that we walked in and pretty much every table had one person to it on their mac laptop, or pc laptop with a mac sticker.  Not exactly the cafe vibe I like to hang out in myself, but I guess you can’t win ‘em all.

Next up was Victrola.  Cool interior, relaxed environment – I like Victrola.  Who doesn’t?

The poster above was on the door window and it’s of a reporter interviewing a Victrola Barista and says

“Can Starbucks win back Seattle?”
“I don’t think so.”

I’m pretty sure I first heard the quote in a tv interview some Seattle station was doing after Starbucks announced it would have bad quarterly earnings for the first time or something of the sort.  

We all sat at the giant table in the middle and enjoyed all the drinks, as usual.  We had all been a to Victrola enough times to know the drinks were going to be good, it’s just become part of the Seattle routine now.

Next up was Vita – at first we went to the one just up the street from Victrola and Stumptown but we hadn’t been to any of the other locations, so we decided to go there instead.  After a 20 minute drive through the maze that is Seattle, about 8 wrong turns, and cursing at the GPS, we found it.  Or, it found us. 

It was in a pretty funky Seattle neighborhood that seemed to be made up of just houses and cafes and little eateries.  Very nice.

This Vita location was particularly special because they had a 5 group lever espresso machine.  It’s the one in the title picture, and below as well.  It is beautiful, and massive.

The barista calmly made about 5 espressos and a few macchiatos while chatting and he guided us to Lighthouse, which was the next stop.

Lighthouse was smack dead on the corner and gives a new definition to the word “neighborhood” cafe.  It was so close to houses around it and had that kind of vibe to it where I bet the baristas knew almost everyone who came in by name.  But I could be way off.  They roast their own beans, and had bags stacked upon bags right there by the seating area.  While Alistair was over at crema servicing the Synesso this week, he said Lighthouse had a lot of history.  We didn’t talk much about it, but this is where the founder of Stumptown Duane Sorenson first roasted.  I had no idea. Knowing that now, every time I think of Lighthouse I keep thinking of it as some kind of magic, eery, sacred place.  Somewhere you go for coffee enlightenment or something before a journey – like visiting the Oracle in the Matrix.

After Lighthouse my dad and I headed to a place we didn’t know much about, called Stickman Cafe.  The others were too caffeinated and opted to stay in line for must have been the busiest Caribbean sandwich place ever.  It was a 25 minute wait after you ordered, and there was about a 10 or 15 person line up when we went.  I think the whole neighborhood was eating there.

Back to Stickman.

The fun thing about Stickman is that it’s almost impossible to find.  It’s tucked away sort of at the bottom of this alley way that much resembles Diagon Alley from Harry Potter – only replace the wizards with baristas.

Stickman is the smallest cafe I’ve ever been in, and was awesome for a few reasons.  Number one was that they had a pour over station.  The second was that they were using a Mazzer for their regular espresso, and an Anfim for their decaf.  Yes, you read that right.  And the 3rd reason was their patio, which was actually in the back and surrounded by 4 art/graffiti filled walls.  It was hard to capture it with the lens I had on my camera, but you can see some pieces of it.  

Lighthouse was the end of the Seattle crawl, and we were so over caffeinated at that point that it took everything I had not to pass out from the nausea.  We even pre warned the barista at Lighthouse before we ordered that we would not be finishing the espresso/macchiato we were about to order.

Fast forward 2 days through a baseball game, some shopping, and a 3 hour drive on the I-5 South to Portland.  Add in 2 cousins of mine who drink at Stumptown at the Ace Hotel regularly, but had never been on a coffee crawl, and repeat.

We started off at Stumptown:  Ace Hotel.  

There is no need to say much about it.  It is the best espresso bar (note:  it’s not a cafe, it’s an espresso bar) I’ve ever been to.  The Ace Hotel creates this kind of haunting ultra cool retro atmosphere that you could only understand if you go, so I will leave it at that.  

Stumptown's Counter Panels

The picture below is of this communal table in the lounge area of the Ace Hotel, about 20 feet from the bar at Stumptown.  You can take your coffee wherever you like around the hotel lounge, and there are plenty of public, and private spots.

Extracto was next on the list.  I liked it.  Ritual Coffee’s website recommended it, and it turns out they had just started roasting their own beans about 2 months prior.  I couldn’t see it for some reason at the time, but looking back at the pictures I took, the cafe really has a playground/school design to it.  

Above is the front patio/entrance.  Right across the street were houses, as it was smack dead in the middle of a Portland neighborhood.

I Will Not Serve What I Would Not Drink Myself I Will Not Serve What I Would Not Drink Myself I Will Not Serve What I Would Not Drink Myself

All I can think of when I see this menu is Bart Simpson writing “I Will Not ___________________” a hundred times from The Simpsons intro.  (This is the 3rd film comparison I have dropped in this post, don’t ask where it’s coming from).

Anybody starting to see the classroom design now?  

They had t-shirts for sale with their logo that I wanted to buy, but they were sold out.  Next time.  Extracto gets a good report card.

One of the baristas from Extracto recommended a place called Ristretto Roasters, so onward we went.

By this time my cousins are starting to see the differences between espressos and using some describing words that are dead on.  Fast learners.  Enter in beginning of over caffeination, part 2.

First off, let me just say that Ristretto Roasters had good coffee.  What I didn’t really get about Ristretto though, was their design/branding.  After seeing this entrance sign we thought we were going into this super bright, upbeat fun place that plays Mika’s “Life In Cartoon Motion” all the time. 

On the contraries though, it was really low key and almost dark.  Not a bad thing, mind you – just not what you would have thought.

A lone barista was running the show, and took his time making our drinks.  I love that.  I don’t see the point in a barista going Mach-5 to try to get a drink out on the pass bar when we are staying around to sit and chat anyway.  

Not Posing.

Nice coffee from Ristretto.  

During the car ride over to the final cafe, The Albina Press, it became aware to me that the espresso from Ristretto was the knock out blow for me.

After quite a bit of navigating we finally stumbled upon it.  I had heard lots about it, and had seen Billy Wilson compete (I think it was him…) back in October in Seattle at coffee fest, so I knew it was going to be good place.

As soon as we neared the front door, all those thoughts were confirmed.  This was a good place.  The first thing you see is what my dad proclaimed as, “living art”.  

The moment you walk into Albina, you are hit with a refreshing draft from the open garage door and this is what is facing you. It’s just a giant hedge across the street, but it is really cool to see from the cafe.  I wish I had a wider angled lens to really capture it, but I don’t yet.  You’ll just have to head over and see it for yourself.

As I said before Ristretto’s espresso finished me off, so I couldn’t have a drink here, even though I really wanted one.  Once again only one barista was running the show here, but was totally in control.  She was really engaging and got to talking about the industry with my dad and then gradually the conversation turned to the barista competition.  Turns out she had competed previously and was now judging.  She gave me a few helpful tips and her email, should I have any questions about anything.  My dad said the shots he had were great, and I’ll have to take his word for it – but I believe it.  She was super comfortable with everything going on, even talking to us while making drinks during a 3 person line up.  A true baristar.

And that is that -

The crawl wrapped up nicely with a smooth finish and a nice notes.  My cousins learnt a lot, and so did I.

I’m continually amazed at the culture that has been built around this thing we call coffee,  I really am.

Last week I had the chance to go to the ethical bean roastery and cafe with my dad and a friend and, lucky for us, the first person we saw when we walked in was Jeff Linton, the Foodservice Manager for ethical and our coffee rep at crema while he was still with JJ not too long ago. Needless to say, we were greeted with open arms and the “25 cent tour”, as Jeff called it, began.

The first thing you notice about ethical bean is the less-is-more design and bright colours. Neon greens and pinks are sprayed throughout the cafe and roastery, usually contrasted nicely with silvers a la stainless steel and metallic espresso bags.

In case you can’t tell by the name, ethical bean is a certified fair trade organic coffee roaster that is highly involved in the green movement and a number of charities and overseas donations, which you can find more about on their website (as always, link will open in a new window).

When we walked into the roastery (which, ps – wordpress seems to think is a typo. is roastery not a word?) we were shown the actual roaster, which I believe Jeff said roasted 100 lbs. of goodness at a time. The mouth watering title picture captures it in action.

After that, we walked a few steps over and saw some of the staff packaging what must have been a few hundred pounds worth, all getting ready to be shipped over to Costco. Sweet.

Next we saw the testing room, where beans from all around the world and competing companies are tried and tested, and were shown the reception area and meeting rooms. Pictures of kids they have helped or are otherwise connected to adorn the walls.

We finally went back out to the bar where the journey began and had some espresso and macchiatos, courtesy of Jeff, and on top of all that we were given 2 lbs. of coffee to play around with back at the shop.

I love coffee. culture.