Coffee Confidential
Five coffee connoisseurs rank the Northwest’s finest roasts. May the best sip win.
By Mike Thelin
PORTLAND MAY HAVE the lowest rate of churchgoers of any American city, but that doesn’t mean our citizens don’t worship—it’s just that our ministers are called baristas, and they pontificate from the pulpit of $12,000 espresso machines. And whether the faithful prefer Emerald City giant Starbucks, its popular indie brother Caffé Vita, Italy’s Illy, or Portland’s own Stumptown, converting coffee drinkers from one brand to another is about as easy as persuading Louis Farrakhan to eat pork.
So to test the influence of the reigning sects, Portland Monthly assembled a group of local food-and-drink high priests. With the cups free of logos, catchphrases, and hipper-than-thou reputations, this was a lesson in blind faith. And with regional barista champion Charlotte Deason pulling perfect espresso shots and whipping up creamy cappuccinos, and one of the country’s top coffee consultants—Matt Milletto of the American Barista & Coffee School—policing the entire affair, our crusade was clear: find Portland’s supreme bean.
1. THE COFFEES
Caffé Vita One of the original so-called “third wave” coffee companies, the Seattle-based outfit is finding love in Portland despite its fierce rivalry with Stumptown. The company has a Portland café in the works, and is the exclusive coffee of all Bruce Carey Restaurants (23 Hoyt, Saucebox, Bluehour, and Clarklewis).
Illy Before Stumptown arrived, Illy was the longtime go-to brand for Portland’s upscale restaurants. Many good PDX eateries still hold tightly to the Italian company.
Stumptown Outside of fixed-gear bikes and indie rock, Stumptown Coffee Roasters is Portland’s most renowned contribution to hip popular urban culture.
Caffé Umbria In the beginning there was Seattle’s Torrefazione, a private company owned by the Bizzari family. It was swallowed by Seattle’s Best, which was gulped down in turn by Starbucks. The Bizzari family debuted Umbria in 2002.
Starbucks Say what you will about the jolly green giant—it’s probably the most widely consumed coffee in Portland. Stumptown has five Portland venues. Starbucks? Hundreds.
2. How They Rated
The judges critiqued each coffee on a scale of 1 to 5 for flavor, finish, mouthfeel, and overall enjoyment. Final scores reflect the average of the categories. (Criteria developed by Matt Milletto, a frequent judge of international barista competitions.)
See the results!
Published: May 2010
THE JUDGES
Adam McGovern Evangelical coffee geek and owner of Sterling Coffee Roasters, as well as the revered Coffeehouse Northwest, where he serves Stumptown.
Matt Brown Celebrity bartender, Facebook friend to thousands, and partners with Tommy Habetz and Nick Wood in the upcoming Bunk Bar. Brown drinks Stumptown.
Adam Berger A slick, fast-talking New York transplant and owner of successful Portland restaurants Ten 01 and Tabla. Both serve Illy.
Cheryl Wakerhauser Trained in Southern France, Wakerhauser co-founded SE Division Street’s Pix Pâtisserie, a catalyst for the evolution of Portland desserts, in 2002. She serves beans from Seattle roaster Caffé D’Arte.
Kristen D. Murray Arguably Portland’s top pastry chef, Murray worked in some of the country’s best kitchens before moving to Portland to bake for the short-lived Lucier restaurant. Now at Fenouil, she swears by Vita.
ah… you should have added courier coffee company… it may have won, and if not it defiantly would have taken second!(but I think its way better than stumptown!)
I feel like this is the beginning to Rocky III, where Sylvester Stallone is fighting mediocre boxers in order to just stay on top. Why not put Stumptown up against some of the hungry, newer local roasters, like Courier, Spella, Sterling, Ristretto, et al? Is it to make sure Stumptown won or just to keep from having to say something negative about a truly local product?
I wish Peetes would have been invited for a twist…whats in roasting anyways, I think these green(light) roasters are all pouring something boring Courier and Stumptown specifically.
So how can you measure effectively when each coffee producer has different production specifications? Was each coffee prepared in the manner proscribed by their respective roaster OR were all the coffees prepared exactly the same?