This is it, kids.
Portland, Oregon has been where I've been for these last few days, and where I'll be through Saturday, when the Oregon Manifest will come to a close. I wanted to see that before I stopped my loafing, though I often wonder why, and in so wondering come up with a series of perfectly reasonable answers. That's why; that's why; that's why. Yeah, all of those. I'm here because the search for meaning has always brought me to the refinement of things; to beautiful art that you can use. So I'm here, and while I'm here, I've been making the rounds at some of my favorite galleries: the finer coffee shops. A few of the highlights include:
Sterling Coffee Roasters, where the espresso was served with seltzer water in a tall shot glass, and the mug was on the large side, accentuating the ristretto shot. Lovely body that lasted all the way through the end of the cup. The coffee was great, but I think I caught a hint of some sort of cleaner, like an otherwise good shot I had in Hamburg (but much lighter here). The price is also a little stratospheric. I would have liked a better place to sit.
Public Domain, where the two back-to-back machines are each flanked by three Mazzers, whose actual utility I wonder at since they only had two choices for espresso beans. The shop is new looking, and the Machines are placed low, which is cool because you can really see what's going on, but it looks uncomfortable for the baristas, who didn't seem like the friendliest bunch. Shot quality was excellent, though I'd just as soon not have the shot poured from one cup to another before serving. The Pellegrino was a nice touch, again in a tall shot glass (I'm not convinced that this is the best format).
And finally, Barista, where the shot was truly exceptional. They use various roasters' coffees, and I like that--it seems it might allow them to really focus on getting the most out of a wider variety of beans. The water they serve with the shot is in a larger tumbler, much like the treatment you get in Ashland at Noble as well as Case (though both of those serve seltzer water), but the water was just tap water and had a strong chlorine flavor. Nonetheless, the shot was quite something. I was kind of spacing out when I ordered and the dudebra at the counter didn't tell me that there were three choices of beans, but when the shot arrived, the barista, who was friendly, had chosen the Guatemalan that I had been eyeing once I found the board of options. I would say she chose well! The shot had good crema, but wasn't overly-concerned with it: the rest of the shot was a syrup of amazing glassy-smoothness that reminded me of something like honey without the biting sweetness. Really quite something. I wonder if she let the first few drops go to the drip tray because this was seriously the first shot ever that I would describe as a honey shot. Well worth the trip: just bring your own water!
One thing that I have marveled at here in Portland is the type of machine that most places seem to be using: they are mostly unmarked, though at Barista, they were using a La Marzocco Strada; but they all have the mechanical paddle brew groups that the Strada has. Odd to me that I haven't seen this paddle-thing anywhere else, but it seems like it's more of a visibility thing in these machines, as I'm seeing that others have it too, though thy don't stick it out there the way these do. Anyway, I don't think I could claim to have seen any better results than those of the other LMs that Noble, Case, and Flying Goat (the the machines are all GB/5s at those places, from what I remember), but the coffee's certainly no worse! I'm interested to find more out about these, and probably won't any time soon, but it's always fun to go coffee-snobbing and find something that I don't have any experience with: it highlights both the absurdity, as well as the fun, of what I'm doing.
I guess I should note that I don't think it's worthwhile trying to describe the coffee more than I already have. These three have made it into the category that only one place in my three months in Europe, and only three other places that I've tried on the West Coast have, which is to say that the coffee was in each case a variation of perfection.
So Portland has a lot of this sort of thing to offer.
The coffee is good; there seem to be some good bakeries; there is good fresh food, and an interest in local agriculture; and there is also a profusion of fine bicycles: there is, in short, an appreciation of art in its many forms. I really like that, and I'm disgusted by that at the same time. I guess I find ways to be conflicted in all areas of life! What a wacky ride this is! But I think I could go on about how amazing Portland is, and how I'm still planning on going to SF because that's where the slide leads, but I won't, because that's not the point here at all.
Sometimes I think that if you enjoy part of the game, and it's not really harming anyone, you might as well play it. I wonder, though, if it doesn't get taken a bit too seriously sometimes.
Sterling Coffee Roasters, where the espresso was served with seltzer water in a tall shot glass, and the mug was on the large side, accentuating the ristretto shot. Lovely body that lasted all the way through the end of the cup. The coffee was great, but I think I caught a hint of some sort of cleaner, like an otherwise good shot I had in Hamburg (but much lighter here). The price is also a little stratospheric. I would have liked a better place to sit.
Public Domain, where the two back-to-back machines are each flanked by three Mazzers, whose actual utility I wonder at since they only had two choices for espresso beans. The shop is new looking, and the Machines are placed low, which is cool because you can really see what's going on, but it looks uncomfortable for the baristas, who didn't seem like the friendliest bunch. Shot quality was excellent, though I'd just as soon not have the shot poured from one cup to another before serving. The Pellegrino was a nice touch, again in a tall shot glass (I'm not convinced that this is the best format).
And finally, Barista, where the shot was truly exceptional. They use various roasters' coffees, and I like that--it seems it might allow them to really focus on getting the most out of a wider variety of beans. The water they serve with the shot is in a larger tumbler, much like the treatment you get in Ashland at Noble as well as Case (though both of those serve seltzer water), but the water was just tap water and had a strong chlorine flavor. Nonetheless, the shot was quite something. I was kind of spacing out when I ordered and the dudebra at the counter didn't tell me that there were three choices of beans, but when the shot arrived, the barista, who was friendly, had chosen the Guatemalan that I had been eyeing once I found the board of options. I would say she chose well! The shot had good crema, but wasn't overly-concerned with it: the rest of the shot was a syrup of amazing glassy-smoothness that reminded me of something like honey without the biting sweetness. Really quite something. I wonder if she let the first few drops go to the drip tray because this was seriously the first shot ever that I would describe as a honey shot. Well worth the trip: just bring your own water!
One thing that I have marveled at here in Portland is the type of machine that most places seem to be using: they are mostly unmarked, though at Barista, they were using a La Marzocco Strada; but they all have the mechanical paddle brew groups that the Strada has. Odd to me that I haven't seen this paddle-thing anywhere else, but it seems like it's more of a visibility thing in these machines, as I'm seeing that others have it too, though thy don't stick it out there the way these do. Anyway, I don't think I could claim to have seen any better results than those of the other LMs that Noble, Case, and Flying Goat (the the machines are all GB/5s at those places, from what I remember), but the coffee's certainly no worse! I'm interested to find more out about these, and probably won't any time soon, but it's always fun to go coffee-snobbing and find something that I don't have any experience with: it highlights both the absurdity, as well as the fun, of what I'm doing.
I guess I should note that I don't think it's worthwhile trying to describe the coffee more than I already have. These three have made it into the category that only one place in my three months in Europe, and only three other places that I've tried on the West Coast have, which is to say that the coffee was in each case a variation of perfection.
So Portland has a lot of this sort of thing to offer.
The coffee is good; there seem to be some good bakeries; there is good fresh food, and an interest in local agriculture; and there is also a profusion of fine bicycles: there is, in short, an appreciation of art in its many forms. I really like that, and I'm disgusted by that at the same time. I guess I find ways to be conflicted in all areas of life! What a wacky ride this is! But I think I could go on about how amazing Portland is, and how I'm still planning on going to SF because that's where the slide leads, but I won't, because that's not the point here at all.
Sometimes I think that if you enjoy part of the game, and it's not really harming anyone, you might as well play it. I wonder, though, if it doesn't get taken a bit too seriously sometimes.
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