Stumptown Roasters©Sean Davis/Flickr
Stumptown Roasters
If you are thinking Portland, you must also be thinking of coffee, which is a great thing for your next stop at Stumptown Roasters. This cornerstone coffee shop was founded by caffeine connoisseur Duane Swenson, a true Portland pioneer in coffee who has been innovating, revolutionizing, and refining the art of coffee brewing and tasting since 1999.
There are four such cafes in Portland (as well as two roasteries and two more tasting annexes) as well as two more in Seattle, two in New York, and one in L.A. The owner, Mr. Swenson, prides himself in his personal relationships with local farmers and brewers, making a name for himself in his green pursuit for the best coffee. He visits the farms and pays, at times, two to three times the fair trade price, in order to ensure that he always has the very best beans in the business. Mr. Swenson is considered to be the start of the ‘third wave of coffee movement’, as well.
Once inside the cafe you will be able to taste, learn about, and shop for the best coffee and coffee making traditions available. See the most ancient ways of making coffee to the most technologically advanced ways, Chemex’ and Kalita Ware to French Press and Espresso. See how Dens Press, Bee House, Filtron, Hario V60, and the Vacuum Pot are used, and taste the difference in the fine beans among them all. You will soon easily understand why this establishment/owner has received Roaster of the Year before, and you will even learn about the man behind the business’ charity work, including donating cargo bikes for cooperative coffee growers in Rwanda! Portland knows coffee, and Swenson knows Portland!
