FROM THE PUBLISHER

I GREW UP in a small town, where most people have a lot of pride in the things that make that town special (go Wildcats!) and where most people believe that their small town has a lot to brag about. As I grew older and traveled more, I came to understand that other people feel the same way about their towns, so claims like “the home of the best corn in the state” or “world’s best cherry pie” are best taken with a large grain of salt.
      So when asked a while ago, “Is Seattle still the coffee capital of the U.S.?” my first thought was, “Not anymore—it’s now Portland” (Oregon—sorry, East Coasters). Of course, claims of hometown bias were hurtled at me, and I was forced to defend my response to the admittedly subjective question.
      What qualifies a place as the coffee capital? Certainly numbers are important, and with almost 40 wholesale roasters and an uncounted legion of home roasters, Portland may have one of the highest roaster-per-capita ratios of any city.
      More than numbers, variety and a willingness to explore new concepts in coffee prove a town is not coasting on reputation. A small sampling of some recent arrivals on the scene testifies to the vitality of the local scene in Rip City. A large coffee roaster recently opened a beautiful new retail shop called Public Domain, with a light, bright, state-of-the-art design. A small retailer with a long history of barista-competition success, just opened a second location named Barista, which sports incredible coffee sampling from different roasters under the watchful eyes of mounted animal heads. And while some towns can claim to have a new coffee shop with a large Probat roaster prominently displayed, none can brag about it being attached to a barista school (Water Avenue Coffee, attached to the American Barista School).
      By now, if you don’t live in Portland, you’re probably thinking about flipping the page to the Editor’s Letter, but wait. What really matters is not that Portland has a great coffee culture, but these questions: Why does Portland have a great coffee culture? Can other towns grow a great coffee culture?
      My thoughts? First, Portland has evolved a strong specialty food and beverage culture. The city supports microbreweries (perhaps the most per capita in the United States, and a variety of brewery sizes and styles); locally owned, quality restaurants (numerous James Beard Award nominees and “up-and-coming -chef” features in national media); and a thriving wine and spirits industry.
      Second, Portland has well-defined and unique neighborhoods. The diversity of neighborhoods and the sense of community that comes from seeing your neighbors at the local establishments (coffee or other) seems to lead to each neighborhood having its own style of coffeehouse and even coffee roaster.
      Finally, there were (and still are) the coffee pioneers of the city. There are companies that got people thinking about alternatives to supermarket coffee, like Boyd Coffee Company, Bridgetown, Coffee Bean International, Kobos and K&F. And there are companies like Stumptown that got people thinking nationally about micro-roasting.
      If you examine the list of things that make Portland a great coffee town, you might start to realize that these things can be present in any town. A strong local food and beverage scene is something that every coffee roaster can promote by supporting and even cross-marketing with local businesses, be they breweries, restaurants, bakers, distillers or vintners. Strong, unique neighborhoods often have grown or have been revitalized around these types of businesses. And, finally, if your town doesn’t have a long history of coffee pioneers, look in the mirror—it’s you.

      Warmest Wishes,
      Connie