
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Connie Blumhardt
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

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