FROM THE PUBLISHER

I AM NOT SURE what surprises me about my hometown more: that each year a number of new coffee roasters and roaster/retailers open their doors for business in Portland, or that so many of these new businesses are thriving among what would seem to be astonishing competition. My back-of-the-envelope count shows 25 coffee roasting businesses in a metropolitan area that supports a population of about two million. And that doesn’t count those new roasters that are opening their doors, or planning to open their doors, even as I write this.
     The point of all of this is not to proclaim Portland as some geographically isolated Galapagos Island of coffee, with web-footed, genetically evolved coffee creatures roaming the puddled streets. Underneath the piercings and tattoos and rain-drenched hair, Portland people are not so different from people in Detroit, Dallas or Kansas. And the Portland roasting economy is not so different from those in other metropolitan areas.
     Perhaps it’s only that Portland has reached a tipping point where it has become the norm to reject mass-marketed, poor quality foods and beverages and to embrace quality, locally crafted products. Or perhaps it’s that consumers are tired of big businesses and, especially in larger cities, they crave the comfort and sense of community they find at small, independent roasteries and coffee shops.
     Many, or should I say most, other small and large cities are moving along the same path, and I believe this means there is room for tremendous growth for both new and established coffee roasters.
     What’s truly heartening is that successful members of this new crop of roasters in Portland and elsewhere are focused on the right things: buying quality green coffees, roasting and delivering the freshest product possible and providing education to their retail or wholesale customers. It is also encouraging to see some of the ideas that are differentiating these new roasters, whether it is combining excellent coffee with other locally produced quality food, such as a bakery or a brewpub, or whether it is taking the concept of locally produced to the micro, neighborhood level.
     Established roasting businesses do not necessarily need to fear this trend. Competition in a stagnant market is brutal; competition in an expanding market is healthy. However, if you are a roaster who enjoys a profitable, growing business because there is little competition, you’d better get your company ready—the new roasters are headed your way. You can’t miss them—they’re the ones waddling in on their webbed feet, bearing quality coffee and big dreams.

Warmest Wishes,

Connie