The coffee scenes in Portland and Seattle differ more than you might think, especially considering that the two cities are less than three hours apart by train or car, and share similar demographics, climates, &  cultural attitudes.  Sam Lewontin touches on what the Seattle coffee scene could learn from Portland and what it might take to catch up.

The opening of Heart Coffee Roasters in Portland, Oregon has garnered a huge amount of buzz in the Northwest coffee community, and it’s easy to understand why: It’s clear that a great deal of money and attention to detail were lavished on building out the space. It’s a polarizing design, certainly (sparse seating, cool colors, cavernous ceilings, very industrial chic), but there’s no doubt that it’s a work of care and precision. Love it or hate it, it’s hard to deny that it’s audacious and interesting.

Thing is, it’s not particularly out of the ordinary in Portland. Beautiful, well thought-out spaces have been opening left and right in the past two years: Ristretto Roasters’ café on Williams, Barista in the Pearl district, Coffeehouse Five and the Red E in North Portland—to name just a few. There’s almost no part of Portland that’s without an ambitious, forward-thinking café. It’s little wonder that the coffee scene there is widely considered to have eclipsed the scene in Seattle, long considered the birthplace of modern specialty coffee.

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Did you know that the SCAA sponsors a poetry contest each year? It’s true. I only learned this fact on the last day of SCAA Atlanta, when I happened to overhear an announcement over the din, “Best Poem of 2009 to be awarded in 15 minutes.” [Note: Turns out the winner is only announced at SCAA, but the contest is sponsored by Roast Magazine.]

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Ever notice how projects that you’ve been working on for a long time can seem to reach their conclusion in a burst?  All the elements that go into realizing that vision of the perfect espresso machine come together at last, and you are there . . .

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Are you from the Pacific Northwest or do you live here (I mean in the vicinity stretching from Seattle to Portland and surrounding areas. . .  this region is sometimes referred to as Cascadia by sociologists, marketers, and even liberal separatists)?  If your answer is yes,  then this is not for you. This is for everyone else, the people that live in the rest of the world.

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I have attached a picture of the BOSCO espresso machine now in place at the Caffe Vita in Fremont.  

This machine is a classic lever machine.  The use of a spring instead of a pump to provide brew pressure is the main difference between lever machines and conventional, traditional-style espresso machines.  The BOSCO lever has no pump and motor–so brewing is quiet.  

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Are you opening a cafe or planning to in the near future?  if you are, then I may have the perfect location for you:  right next door to Starbucks! 

Pictured here is a location that is actually available right now.  It offers the opportunity to go head-to-head with the industry’s Goliath–and your new store is smack in the heart of Seattle.  The Dragon’s lair, if you will!

At first this may seem utterly counter-intuitive.  Who in their right mind would open a competing cafe next to the biggest, most successful specialty coffee retailer in the world? A company identified as one of the most powerful brands on the planet by Brandz.  

The answer of course is You!  And especially if you plan to open a Third Wave Cafe–with a focus on quality products and training, and a hands-on approach to preparing coffee and serving customers.

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The announcement at Starbucks’ annual shareholders meeting that the company is taking over the Ballard-based Coffee Equipment Company, popularly known as Clover, is a big deal for our our industry.  From Starbucks perspective it is a brilliant, but logical move.  But does it undermine the efforts of the independent coffee roaster/retailer?   

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For me the question of affordable luxury leads down a winding, scrambling, path of discussion around the word “luxury” itself. Like any conversation about coffee this discussion is also hopelessly mired in considerations of culture and society.  The United Nations defines the “forced isolation” of human beings as a form of torture, in certain cases.  Extended periods of isolation can lead to neurosis, resulting in severe mental illness or even death.  In contrast, traditional coffee rituals are social acts.  They bring people from a community or family together in often elaborate, though usually informal, ceremonies in which the beverage is prepared and shared according to prescribed methods, sometimes handed down through generations. This does not make coffee rituals an antidote to anything.  But it does make them a key part of healthy human behavior. In this context, the word luxury doesn’t seem to fit. The type of social ritual surrounding the preparation and enjoyment of coffee — and I would argue even when coffee is prepared and served in a commercial setting – is not really optional human behavior.  It is a fundamental requirement for living well. 

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News has reached us that Dr Ernesto Illy, the founder of Illy Coffee (as-we-know-it), has died at age 83.   I met Dr Illy only once–back in the early 1990’s, when specialty coffee equalled Starbucks, at least in Seattle.  At that time, if there was one other company that stood out for its fanatical integrity around coffee, it was Illy.  Illy was an enigmatic brand because it’s name represented far more than just a lightly roasted espresso blend from Trieste.  It represented a man–Dr Illy. 

Dr Illy was a surprising mixture of product promoter and scientist.  The famous book he co-authored, Espresso: The Chemistry of Quality, is seldom read but often quoted.  This is because ( I assume) it is a highly empirical work, based on extensive laboratory studies, in a realm that far prefers the Art to the Science of espresso.  Terms like polyphasic colloidal foam (meaning crema) make his book a conjurer’s guide for anyone who wants to approach coffee from a scientific angle and impress friends and neighbors with a magical coffee lexicon.  Yet anyone who takes even a few minutes to learn something from Dr Illy’s work stands out in a field where most people like to talk about “tiger striping” and detect hints of blueberry syrup in their roasted beans. 

As much as Dr Illy brought science to the general field of coffee, and especially espresso, he also brought good will to the Illy brand of coffee.  I remember one time at Olive Garden in South Center, Dr Illy ordered an espresso after dinner, because Olive Garden was a large client of Illy USA.  When the slightly insecure waiter brought the sloppy concoction to the table, Dr Illy tasted it, smiled knowingly, and proclaimed it, “excellent”.   I just loved that because it was the right thing for him to say at that moment, for that less-than-perfect coffee, and he knew it.  The waiter left the table with new found confidence.    

Dr Illy was a wise, good man, with a big streak of fun that ran right to his very core.  He will be missed and remembered for as long as espresso is prepared and enjoyed.  (Eric)

I am firmly of the belief that we are in midst of dramatic change in the specialty coffee industry – whereby we will see an end of the ‘average’ coffee house.

The 3rd Wave cafe has created a gap between themselves and what used to be good…or  good-enough. They’ve set the bar so high that you either need to follow suit and or get out of the way – because as we know, once you’ve tasted the best…there is no going back.  So, I believe that we will see the middle fall out of the specialty coffee scene and we’ll be left with amazing 3rd wave cafes…and those who compete on price/size/convenience (read: McDonalds & such).

By now – you have likely heard that Starbucks is testing the idea of the $1.00 coffee with free refills in a few Seattle locations. In my opinion – this is a sign of the beginning of the end for Bucks. Not that the company is going away – but that their perception or cache in the industry is done. Starbucks blew it when they moved away from manual espresso machines and dipping your toe into the ‘free refill’ arena is a slippery slope.

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