Page 62 - #47 English

Report

Story: Sutdrip
Photo: Coffee t&i Thailand
Cafe Hopping in the US

This summer in Asia, I was assigned to attend the World Barista Championship. This is how CTI magazine had
a chance to bring you along with us to our first cafe hopping in the US! In this cafe tour, we covered Portland, Seattle,
San Francisco, and Los Angeles! Though, it is on the same side, but they were all incompatible.
First of all, getting there, the US visa part was a bit of a headache for all of us, though, we got through with the
right preparation and a few times of going back and forth the embassy as usual! More than twenty hours including transit,
we hopped on the plane and got there with the worst jet lag (me, always falling asleep at 7pm! For nearly a week!).
Portland

The first city we are taking you to is: the city where the name was chosen after a coin flip, Portland, Oregon. If
the other side of the coin was landed face up, it would have been named Boston! In Portland, the most famous cafe was
originated! This is “Stumptown Coffee,” where it is also a nickname for Portland. The nickname “Stumptown” originates
from a side effect of Portland’s rapid growth. In order to expand, trees were cut down very quickly, but there wasn’t
enough time to remove the stumps so they were left behind. It is well known in the coffee culture that, at any given mo-
ment you are within sniffing distance of a cup of Joe and they take that seriously. Portland has over 40 coffee roasters
within the city limits alone, the vast majority of which are dedicated to producing meticulously sourced, small-batch,
artisanal coffee. It’s also home to champion baristas (yes coffee-making is a sport, and unlike basketball and soccer, it’s
one Portland is actually good at), three national coffee magazines (Fresh Cup, Barista Magazine, Roast Magazine), the
hottest coffee gear inventor (Able Brewing), and one of the best coffee equipment stores (Clive Coffee) in the country.
A year 2011 study found 876 coffee shops brewing in town. That means two things: You will never go un-caffeinated
and “barista” passes as a profession. Talking about the scenes, it is a city full of bicycles and very very big bicycle lanes.
Everyone with ironic mustaches, full of hipsters, and everyone seems to like being weird, someone told me, not to stare,
because it will only encourages them. Yes, it rains here. But that doesn’t stop us from enjoying the great coffee here.

Stumptown, Portland Stumptown, Portland Stumptown, Seattle
th
Downtown ACE Hotel 12 Avenue
Stumptown (www.stumptowncoffee.com)

Stumptown is still worthy of its legend, still one of the finest roasters in the country, they said. Each of the roaster’s
four cafes has its own flavor (the downtown location blasts heavy metal at office workers, while the O.G. Division Street
outlet is more of a neighborhood hangout for hippy moms and the underemployed), but if you really want to experience
Stumptown at its best, skip the cafes altogether and head your way to the company headquarters, which hosts free public
Cuppings at 3pm Friday - Monday. There, you will sample their beans and learn a ton from one of the company’s top
baristas, all for free! Unlike single-origin espressos, the ones we tried at Stumptown was the blend of Latin American,
East African, and Indonesian beans combines five to eight coffees together, with notes of chocolate, caramel, jasmine,
Meyer lemon, apricot, and pineapple. It was really a great pleasure buying souvenirs there too!
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