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New Seasons and Portland Roasting, Old friends…

We are on sale this month at all New Seasons stores, and this week (started yesterday!) we are on double sale. June 8th thru June 14th you can get our coffees at a whopping $2.00 off per pound!

We feel blessed by the partnership we have shared with New Seasons since 2007. Portland’s “Friendliest Store” has certainly been a friend to us, and has included us in their coffee sets as they expand. Last fall we proudly joined them as they opened the Hawthorne location, and we anxiously anticipate the Progress Ridge and Vancouver, WA openings this coming fall.

You can often find our coffees being sampled at the Solutions counter in each store. The demo folks are so kind to us and we love supplying them with coffee to brew for you. Each year, the ever-popular Cookie-Coffee Tasting (or Cookie-Coffee Freakout as I like to call it)gives folks a chance to taste all of our blends side-by-side. Keep your eyes peeled in their Oregonian ad for that special event in September.
When you are in the coffee area, look for our Organic Honduras coffee in bulk and in 12oz bags. It replaced Organic Nicaraguan a few months back due to price and quality of the green coffee. It is a delicious, delicate coffee with subtle, sweet, citrus notes. You should check out the full line-up, you’re sure to find your favorite coffee profile.

We truly value all of our retail partners, but today we tip our hat to New Seasons Market. Cheers, friend!

'Old Friends'

A Visit to Chemex

On a recent trip to visit my sister, I had the opportunity to visit the Chemex headquarters in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. You might be asking yourself, ‘Where in the world is Pittsfield’? It is a small town located in Western Massachusetts, about 45 minutes outside of Albany, New York.

I just happened to be looking at the Chemex website and noticed their address was located in the same town my sister resides. I gave them a call and they were very friendly and said stop on by, so we did. The warehouse was much smaller than I imagined it would be. They had recently received a shipment of glass so we had to maneuver around the boxes to get a tour.

I was amazed that the operation was still family owned and run. It was actually very refreshing. They make the filters and also match the wood ‘collars’ at this warehouse. They also hand tie every collar on to the glass. Very impressive!

The tour and meeting makes coffee taste even better made in a Chemex. If you have never tried this brewing method out, you should give it a whirl. Portland Roasting is happy to get a Chemex ordered for you or your shop!

Oregon Convention Center ‘walks its talk’ by choosing local, sustainability-focused coffee vendor, Portland Roasting

International convention-goers and local event attendees can now enjoy craft specialty coffee from beans sustainably harvested and processed from around the globe at the Oregon Convention Center (OCC) thanks to a new partnership with Portland Roasting.
All catered events at the OCC, as well as the Portland Expo Center and Portland Center for the Performing Arts, began offering coffee sourced and roasted through Portland Roasting this week. Later this year, the company will open two newly-renovated coffee shops inside the OCC, currently occupied by Starbucks. The first is slated to open August 1.

“The Oregon Convention Center is considered the portal to Oregon’s bounty for visitors from around the world and we are proud to serve fresh, high-quality ingredients by vendors who share our commitment to practicing sustainability,” says OCC executive director Jeff Blosser. “Offering Portland Roasting allows us to improve the coffee-drinking experience for our clients while adding to our long list of green operations.”

Located within blocks of the OCC, Portland Roasting has earned a reputation as a sustainability leader and innovator while, at the same time, staying true to the small batch, craft-roasting ethic. The company has built long-standing relationships with farmers committed to stewardship of the land, supports international and local community-building initiatives, and utilizes products that are healthy for consumers and the environment. Portland Roasting uses compostable bags for cargo delivery and transports its products by bike through Portland-based B-Line Bikes. While the quantities necessary to meet the OCC’s needs may exceed bike capacity, delivery to the venues will remain emission-free as the company’s alternative mode of transportation, a new electric Nissan Leaf, is put to use.

“Being chosen as the local coffee of choice at the Oregon Convention Center is an honor in addition to a great business partnership,” says Mark Stell, managing partner at Portland Roasting Company. “We are thrilled to offer locally-roasted, specialty coffee to visitors. Good coffee is a cultural asset to Portland and to Oregon. Being able to align with the convention center, an operation that is making business decisions based on sustainability, is what Portland Roasting is all about.”

Media contacts:

Stephanie Soden, Metro Visitor Venues
503-797-1818 office
971-227-1195 cell
Stephanie.soden@oregonmetro.gov

Suzanne Strick, Portland Roasting
503-236-7378 office
971-563-0422
suzanne@portlandroasting.com

Colombian Barista

The world Barista Championship 2011 will be held in Bogotá, the country’s capital, early next month. I would like to share some information about someone that is involved in the local coffee shop business as well as the training side; someone that is more in contact with local environment and trends. I met with Julio, the master trainer of the Colombian Barista School with 7 years of experience, who provided me with facts about the current challenges and opportunities for developing this career in Colombia.

He organized a short session of espresso shots and provided some tips to improve this beverage made with only Colombian coffee. Julio started telling me about the difficulties to find good local coffees. “We know where to find specialty coffees around the country but getting them out of the farm or specific region may imply a high investment that most of the time we are not able to afford. There is not a system in place that could provide an easy and cheap way to buy small quantities of special green beans to prepare our blends.”Moreover, bringing green coffee from other Latin American countries or East Africa is still a dream.

He added, “Finding a broker within Colombia that is willing to sell a variety of specialty coffees in small quantities is rare.” Customer education is a big constraint—some national programs are in place to promote consumption of high quality coffee but a lot of work is still to be done. He emphasized that Colombian drinking culture has changed in the past years but has not embraced the espresso culture yet as a whole and unique concept of preparation. He adds, “We are a more traditional brewing and drinking culture” called “Tinto.”

In the Colombian coffee school we want to contribute to the increase of consumption of good coffee, and there are a lot of opportunities for growth; one way is to push this continuing education out, including members, staff, and visitors, such as growers as well as national and international students.

Julio provided the following tips to prepare or extract a good shot from a single Colombian origin:
“Start checking the cleanness of your workplace. The grinder chamber should be empty and ready to use with fresh coffee (De-gas roasted coffee for 48 hours to 72 hours at least). All the equipment must be fine-tuned. Check the equipment conditions periodically.”
A good shot, with only Colombian coffee, should be described as clean and smooth on the palate, balanced with sweet notes and a great body; in addition, the espresso should bring the flavors out of the beans. Grind size should feel less coarse than salt texture. Checking this stage is a key part of the process: if the grind is too fine the shot should taste astringent with bitter notes; too coarse and the beverage may taste flat and boring. Julio added, “With dark roast I grind more fine and with lighter roast a little coarser.”

More tips:
• Do not forget to purge your grinder
• Rinse then clean out the portafilter with a rag
• Check the temperatures of the machine
• Use 18 to 22 grs of Colombian coffee
• Use tamper #58 if available
• Tamped pressure on coffee should vary depending on grind texture and extraction time
• The shot should start 4 to 6 second after activation of the machine
• The extraction should finish after 22 to 23 seconds
• Drink your final shot in two or three sips
• Prepare at least two similar shots to compare the consistency of the process
• Analyze the puck quality to find inconsistency
• Enjoy your own shots