milnerb1 Senior Member Joined: 25 Sep 2002 Posts: 391 Location: Lake Tapps, WA Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Vivaldi II, Isomac Tea,... Grinder: Mazzer Mini, Solis Mulino Roaster: Behmor 1600, BBQ drum,...
Posted Mon Jan 19, 2004, 12:05am Subject: Olympia to Portland - Stumptown and Other Good Espresso
After spending the weekend in Portland and surrounding area, I feel obliged to report on my espresso quest there. It was good. I’ve spent the last year and a half searching out the best espresso all over Washington, Vancouver BC, and now Oregon.
I decided to focus on Stumptown since it is (allegedly) the best espresso in Portland.
Before I talk about Stumptown, I want to talk about my overall observations about Portland espresso. Not unlike Seattle, the city is peppered with those “coffee shops” that have orange signs and yellowed oak paneling. Those familiar with mid-80’s cafeteria’s will know what I’m talking about. The espresso at these places is almost invariably terrible. We’re talking about 1 month-old, overroasted coffee that is overextracted out of a dirty machine that hasn’t been backflushed in week. The result is scary, bitter, and pathetic… a vivid memory of college cafeterias and necessary caffine…but a true nighmare to a coffeegeek.
There are also those shops that look cool until you realize that they are proudly serving Lavazza or another Italian coffee that comes in a can that is usually not fresh. The only espresso shop that I've found in the Northwest serving good Italian coffee was Zietgiest (serving Illy)...but now even Zietgiest has gone to locally roasted beans.
To start off, I want to give a small cudos to Boyd’s coffee at about 14th and (about) Burnside on the west side of downtown. We went there in a pinch to get my wife her usual single short mocha with 3 packets of extra sugar. My original thought was that the coffee would be horrible, like something you’d get a a hospital cafeteria. We were pleasantly surprised. The coffee was fresh and came from a clean machine, although it was a fully automatic. It actually made a really nice mocha. I didn’t try their espresso. But, I was pleasantly surprised, finding it to be the best coffee I’ve ever had from a fully automatic machine. Mind you, this isn't saying a whole lot, since the best espresso I've had has come from a semi-automatic machine.
Another place I was curious about, but never actually tasted, was Espresso People…a place that markets itself as an unpretentious place to get “coffee without the attitude”. I didn’t actually try their espresso, but would like to try it. It remined me of a the typical big city chain coffee store that is trying to compete with Starbucks (a la Tullys or Seattle’s Best Coffee, but targeted more to working class ex-hippies...baby boomers). If anyone has an opinion on this place, please post.
Ok, now to Stumptown. I visited 2 of their 3 stores (45th and Division and 34th and Belmont), but drove by all three. My first visit was to the original location on 45th and Division. I must say that it was a familiar experience. Walking into this store felt like walking into one of the best places in Seattle. The place was non-pretentious, but with an artistic class. You won't find a lot of foo-foo items on the menu. In fact, the menu consists of a simple chalk board listing the 10-15 drinks that they offer. I must say this is the same type of experience one has when walking into Seattles best places, such as Lighthouse Roasters, or Hines Public Market.
Both of the Stumptowns had the top-of –the-line LM, 4 group machines…same as the machines found at Vivace in Seattle, with custom etched glass and stainless steel logos. These machines are invariably surrounded by Mazzer Super Jollys. In the same way that orange signage and 80’s oak interiors are a warning of a bad espresso experience, LMs and Mazzer grinders are a sign of good things to come.
There was no line at Stumptown when I ordered, and I ordered a double espresso. The barista was very nice and calmly took my order. However, immediately after taking my order, more people came into the shop, and a line began to grow. What was surprising was that the barista re-pulled my shot 5 TIMES before she got it right and found it acceptable to serve. She was having trouble getting the grind right for a nice double ristretto and kept pulling shots until she got it right, in spite of the growing line. That was very impressive.
When the shot finally came, it had a nice reddish brown color and was ristretto. How was the shot? It was good, very good. It was comparable to what I would expect at Zoka or Lighthouse. Fairly well balanced, and the typical Northwest Indo-heavy shot with some African for spice. This shot was not as good as the best I’ve had from Zoka, Vivace, or Hines. It had a tad bit of grassy characteristic in the late aftertaste and was a little dirtier than the best I’ve had. But it was really good and would definitely get me to come back. I think that the espresso beans were really good, but that the machine might have needed a quick clean. I also asked for Billy Wilson, cause I wanted to meet him, but he was not working that day.
On my way out of the shop, I personally thanked the barista for taking the time to make a great espresso. She didn’t have to do it and I don’t think that I would’ve gotten that good of service in Seattle. I was very pleased.
The next day, I visited the Stumptown on 34th and Belmont, and went there with my dad and stepmom, who were also visiting Portland at the same time. Again, the shop was typical Seattle-style in which there was a cool ‘vibe’ but no pretentiousness. I ordered my old stand-by drink, a double iced latte in a 12 oz. glass. It was another excellent drink, but again, there was a hint of ‘dirty machine’ in my shot. I may just be spoiled by my Isomac Tea , which is thoroughly cleaned every one or two weeks.
On the way home, we stopped at Lava Java about 10 miles north of Vancouver (Ridgeview? Exit). Wow…talk about an oasis in the barren country side…I was very impressed to find that they had the 3-group LM (same machine the Zoka has as well as the other top shops in Seattle). The walls of the shop are covered with World Barista Championship posters. The bathroom mirror has a Coffee Kids sticker on it. These are all signs of a place that is serious about good espresso. And the espresso didn’t disappoint. We had an awesome Stumptown latte there. This is definitely a destination spot for good espresso on I-5 between Olympia and Portland.
We also stopped at Batdorf & Bronson in Olympia. As usual, the quality was very good. I visited the less busy store over by the waterfront across from the Farmer’s Market. I like this store because there less attitude than the more busy store downtown. I’ve had a really snotty barista serve me a couple times at the downtown store. I was also shocked to receive an iced latte that appeared to be made from pre-made, refrigerated espresso during one visit to the downtown store during a busy time. It wasn’t very good either.
So, in conclusion, Stumptown is 90% of what it’s made out to be. They’ve got a really good thing going and I’ll definitely be going back next time I’m in the Portland area. Lava Java also rocks. Batdorf is very good, but next time I’m in Olympia, I think I’ll hit the Café Vita instead.
GrindingRoad Senior Member Joined: 23 Sep 2003 Posts: 55 Location: Ridgefield, WA Expertise: Professional
Espresso: La Marzocco FB70 Grinder: Robur
Posted Mon Jan 19, 2004, 11:47am Subject: Re: Olympia to Portland - Stumptown and Other Good Espresso
Mr. Milner –
Thank you for visiting Lava Java and for your feedback. Yes, we are located in nowhere land called Ridgefield (exit 14 off I-5). We look forward to having you again anytime you go south.
Did Stumptown re-pull the shot five times because that's just the way they do it or because you came across as a knowledgeable person so they wanted to make sure a good shot was pulled?
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