a brief history of coffee roasting in portland, oregon

by Martyn Leaper
E
arlier this year, 16 Oregon
companies banded together to
form the Oregon Coffee Board,
an association dedicated to promoting
Oregon’s vibrant coffee industry. The
state, particularly the city of Portland,
has supported a strong market for coffee
a coffee
timeline
for portland
and beyond
1851
The city of Portland is incorporated.
1850s–1880s
More than 60 local merchants
establish Portland as a major West
Coast trading center.
1865
J.F. Jones launches his Portlandbased coffee and spice business,
roasting and trading for more than 150
J.F. Jones & Co.
years. Portland merchants developed a
1883
small but thriving tea, coffee and spice
trade back in the 1850s, shortly after the
Arthur H. Devers and Joseph Closset
establish the Closset & Devers coffee
roasting plant in Portland.
incorporation of San Francisco’s pioneer
Photo above: Boyd Coffee Co. wagons circa 1900. | photo courtesy of Boyd Coffee Co.
coffee roasters Folgers and Ghirardelli,
laying the foundation for Portland
a br i e f h i s t o ry o f
c o f f e e r oa s t i ng i n
portla nd, or eg on
to become a major West Coast coffee
importer. Today, roasters in Portland
and throughout Oregon continue to
Boyd Coffee Co. truck. | photo courtesy of Boyd Coffee Co.
play a leading role in the specialty coffee
1900
industry.
later Boyd Coffee Co. By 1907, Boyd
continued on page 42
P.D. Boyd founds Boyd Tea Co.,
is offering home coffee delivery
throughout Oregon and Washington.
40
roast
N o ve m b e r | De c e m b e r 2 0 14
41
A Brief History of Coffee Roasting in Portland, Oregon
tim eline contin u ed
1911
The first trade association for the U.S. coffee
industry, The National Coffee Association
PORTLAND’S
ROASTING
ROOTS
tim eline contin u ed
Portland grew up quickly from its initial
settlement in 1843 to its incorporation
1973
in 1851, and the city’s rapid growth was
driven by an array of merchants and
industries throughout the 19th century.
David and Susan
Portland’s geographic setting contributed
Kobos launch
USA, is formed. More than a century later,
to the diversity of its economy, as the deep-water port along the
the organization remains influential.
Willamette River bustled with ships full of goods fueling the California
The Kobos Co.,
gold rush. Merchant houses sprang up along SW Front and Second
Portland’s first
avenues near the river, and in two short years—from 1848–1850—the
1920
Coffee sales increase
significantly as
Prohibition takes effect.
1932
The Pacific Coast Coffee Association
is established to support coffee businesses
micro-roastery.
village of Portland became a trading center with more than 60 emporiums
selling everything from agricultural equipment to dry goods to coffee,
tea, spices and more. Coffee was sold in 1-pound paper bags, most of it
ground with large amounts of chicory.
J.F. Jones—recognized as one of the “early roasters in the trade of the
city” by William Ukers, the founding editor of Tea and Coffee Trade Journal—
frequently advertised his wares in The Morning Oregonian. In one such
better and goes further,” while Closset & Devers advertised their coffee as “Just
right!”
At the beginning of the Great Depression, Portland was home to several
advertisement, dated Nov. 1, 1866, Jones declared: “The public are imposed
coffee manufacturers, but these were difficult times and many businesses
upon regarding the article of Coffee, as Inferior grades are being imported
were failing. During the dark days of 1933, the Oregon Coffee Roasters
constantly from California. In order to prevent imposition, purchasers
Association placed an ad in The Morning Oregonian reconfirming its commitment
should always inquire for the Fresh Ground Java A and Chartres Coffee,
to aiding the unemployed: “We have complied with our President’s Re-
put up at the Manufactory of J.F. Jones & Co.”
employment Agreement and have put into effect the Working Schedule
Competition was stiff, and merchants such as Jones were engaged in
suggested. WE HAVE DONE OUR PART To Provide Employment.” This
on the Pacific Coast of the U.S. and Canada.
a constant struggle to stay ahead of the pack. The trading of goods was a
affirmation of solidarity was put forth by Closset & Devers, Colonial Coffee
high-risk business. Much of what was sold was charged to accounts, and
Co., Defiance Tea and Coffee, Dwight Edwards Co., General Grocery Co., and
1953
the supply houses in the East were hungry for their cut of the trade—in
Wadhams & Co.
Folgers constructs a state-of-the-art
roasting plant in northwest Portland.
1963
The International Coffee Organization (ICO)
some cases more than 60 percent of total revenues.
Portland’s early days as a mercantile center were not only cutthroat,
Most of the pioneer coffee roasters of Portland’s early merchant days
would eventually disappear from the industry’s landscape. One by one, each
becomes Coffee Bean International, the
specialty coffee division of Farmer Bros. Co.
1982
The Specialty Coffee Association of
the forces of national crisis and competition.
America (SCAA) is formed to develop and
although his place of business was razed, he was able to live another day
Boyd Coffee Co.—originally called Boyd Tea Co. and now commonly
and set up shop at his home, placing the rest of his roasting and milling
known as Boyd’s Coffee—was founded in 1900 by Percival D. Boyd. The son
equipment in a neighboring iron works facility.
of pioneers, Boyd struck out on his own after working for a time as a grocery
By the 1880s, Portland had become an established port of call
clerk. He understood the power of brand identity and set about creating his
which became extremely popular, and by 1907 his company was delivering
make his fortune. He arrived by stagecoach, and in 1883, he bought
coffee throughout Oregon and Washington.
1971
company Coffee Bean Distributors. It later
editorial in The Oregonian. There was one company, however, that endured all
coffee market and promote a sustainable
California.
Eugene, Oregon, to Portland, renaming the
into the Willamette River to save it from being destroyed by the fire, and
own blends from premium coffees. P.D. Boyd developed the Boyd Blend,
Coffee & Tea in Berkeley,
Coffee Bean Roasters (est. 1972) from
of the young town to the ground. Jones was forced to throw his roaster
at Folger, Schilling & Co., left San Francisco and came to Portland to
Alfred Peet opens Peet’s
Jeff Ferguson and Gary Talboy move
company slipped into obscurity, their fates often decried in an article or
and a regional trading hub. Arthur H. Devers, a former office clerk
1966
1976
but in danger of total destruction. The great fire of 1873 burned 20 blocks
is established to strengthen the global
coffee economy.
David Kobos, 1974 | photo by Susan Kobos
Boyd Coffee Co. delivery truck circa 1940. | photo courtesy of Boyd Coffee Co.
into a partnership with Joseph Closset. The two men set up business in
Boyd Coffee Co. became famous for its horse-drawn red delivery wagons,
promote the specialty coffee industry.
1987
Howard Schultz purchases Starbucks,
implementing organizational changes that
downtown Portland and, in Devers’ words, “Mr. Closset and myself were
which were eventually replaced with red trucks. During the company’s early
not only the owners, we were the entire force. He sold coffee on the road
days, Boyd’s trucks delivered goods from house to house, but by the 1920s
will lead to the company’s phenomenal
and I remained in the house. I was manufacturer, salesman, bookkeeper,
consumer purchasing habits changed, and more and more people were
and general manager.”
shopping at grocery stores. This change forced many coffee companies to
growth.
For 28 years, the Closset & Devers coffee roasting plant remained at
SW Second and Ankeny. Devers noted in a 1929 Morning Oregonian article,
“In our early years we obtained the bulk of our coffee through the Port
revise their marketing strategies, and by the 1950s, Boyd’s had introduced
vacuum-packed coffee for sale in supermarkets.
With each decade that passed, Boyd Coffee Co. has continued to grow
of San Francisco, but now most of it comes to us at Portland by direct
and innovate. The company was among the first in North America to obtain
steamers.”
organic certification and to import Rainforest Alliance-certified coffees. Most
1980s–1990s
Dozens of craft roasters set up shop in
recently, in 2013, Boyd’s became the first U.S. coffee roaster to import and sell
Portland, establishing the city as a leader
The first Starbucks opens in
companies. Wadhams & Co., Defiance Tea and Coffee, and Dwight
Harvested by Women-certified coffee, which seeks to benefit women working
in coffee production.
in the specialty coffee trade.
Seattle’s Pike Place Market.
Edwards Co. also laid claim to what was quickly becoming a coffee town.
From the early 1870s to the early 1900s, local and regional papers were
Closset & Devers and J.F. Jones & Co. were not Portland’s only roasting
festooned with coffee ads placed by the ever-growing assortment of local
roasters. Dwight Edwards Co. touted “dependable coffee” that “tastes
42
roast
“We didn’t achieve these firsts because we wanted to show off,” says
Michael Boyd, the company’s coffee buyer and P.D. Boyd’s great-grandson,
continued on page 44
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A Brief History of Coffee Roasting in Portland, Oregon
tim eline contin u ed
On October 22, 1973, David and Susan
“but because we knew our customers deserved the level of quality
Kobos opened the city’s first micro-roastery
inherent in these innovations.”
1992
in a specialty mall at John’s Landing in
Back in 1955, Portland’s large coffee roasting companies
southwest Portland.
collectively were processing more than 50 million pounds of coffee
Brothers Dane and Travis Boersma
“The store was very successful, but our
every year. Folgers had come to town in 1953 and constructed a large,
open their first Dutch Bros. Coffee
state-of-the-art roasting plant in the Guild’s Lake industrial area
emphasis was on selling beans,” David Kobos
of northwest Portland. This new addition contributed greatly to
recalls. “We sold no beverages, but gave away
the ever-expanding local output. (Folgers sold their Portland plant
samples of brewed coffee. We bought our
to MJB Coffee in 1963.) A 1954 Sunday Oregonian article recognized the
green coffees primarily from B.C. Ireland
company now operates nearly 200
extraordinary achievements of the local coffee industry by declaring,
and Harold L. King & Co. Erna Knutsen
“Portland is quite a coffee-roasting center, and coffee imports
[who opened Knutsen Coffees, Ltd., in 1985
drive-through locations in seven states
represent a substantial share of the incoming cargoes at the port
after leaving B.C. Ireland] pioneered the
here.”
importing of Sumatran, Celebes, and Yemen
mocha coffees. One of our first problems was
Coffee in vacuum-sealed cans became the typical consumer’s
cart in Grants Pass, Oregon. The
serving Northwest-roasted coffee.
Bud Dominguez cupping in
the early 1950s.
photo courtesy of K & F Coffee.
2000
preference, and the competition between manufacturers had
whether we could sell our specialty coffees
never been fiercer. This eventually led to coffee production being
at over $2 per pound. In 1977, we experienced
concentrated among a few large national firms. The economy and
another great challenge—a frost in Brazil. Green coffee prices shot up from 80
The Roasters Guild is established
cents to $2 per pound.”
under the auspices of the SCAA.
convenience of vacuum-sealed coffee, however, appeared to be
claiming a heavy toll on America’s consumer habits as consumption
The interior of the original Kobos Co. store. | photo courtesy of Kobos Coffee
Old Town, Beaverton and downtown Portland. Kobos notes that before his
of brewed coffee decreased significantly.
George Boecklin, then president of the National Coffee
Association, was quoted in The Oregonian on July 29, 1979, saying,
“There has been a complete change in lifestyles. The new generation
didn’t latch on to coffee. It moved fast, it was outdoors a lot, it liked
new beverages packaged for picnics and barbecues, pop drinks, pop
wines.”
Boecklin’s observations underline the despair many coffee
professionals likely felt during the 1960s and ’70s. For some, the
craft of roasting and selling quality coffee appeared to be dead. The
miracle of instant goods gripped the collective conscience of America’s
homemakers and seemed to run in conjunction with the nation’s
preoccupation with technology and progress. A growing minority
among the younger generation, however, rejected the status quo
of conveniently processed foods and beverages, turning instead to
healthful, flavorful gourmet alternatives.
PORTLAND
ROASTING’S
SECOND
WAVE
David Kobos first came to Portland in
1965, after graduating from Harvard
University. While attending Reed College
in southeast Portland, Kobos fell in love
with the city and the state.
“I loved the city and all the outdoor
opportunities the state offered,” he says.
“I became a serious hiker and mountain climber.”
After earning a master’s degree and teaching history for a spell
at Milwaukie High School, Kobos returned to the East Coast. During
Left: Harry Lewis
Cafe circa 1943.
Bottom: Boyd’s
product display
circa 1953.
photos courtesy
of Boyd Coffee Co.
this time, he and his wife, Susan, explored New York’s gourmet food
culture. They soon returned to Portland with a plan to open a gourmet
store featuring coffee, tea, spices and cookware.
“We arrived in Portland in the summer of 1972,” David Kobos
recalls. “Our plan originally was to ask Boyd’s to roast for us. We
soon decided to go a different way, and I ordered a 12-kilo Probat from
Germany through their agent in New Jersey.”
David Kobos was mentored by J.K. (Bud) Dominguez, who later
founded K&F Coffees with his son, Don.
“Bud Dominguez was then a public weigh-master and had a
sample roaster in his office,” Kobos explains. “On a rainy Saturday
morning, he gave me my first roasting lesson. There was a large
MJB roasting plant in northwest Portland and Bud introduced me to
its plant manager. I got to visit and see a huge continuous-process
roasting machine in action. It was in the shape of a long, 30-foot tube,
perhaps 3 feet in diameter. The blend consisted of 20 different coffees.
At the far end of the machine, every few seconds an arm would ‘kaching,’ dumping about 20 pounds of green coffee into the tube. At the
front end, cooled roasted coffee spilled out. The entire process took
seven minutes.”
44
roast
The Kobos Co.—now Kobos Coffee—went on to expand with locations in
company opened espresso bars in 1980 and 1981, Nordstrom’s espresso cart
was the only place in downtown Portland that served lattes.
In 1972, Jeff Ferguson and Gary Talboy founded Coffee Bean Roasters—
which would later become Coffee Bean International, the specialty coffee
2001
The first annual Roasters Guild
division of Farmer Bros. Co.—in Eugene, Oregon. It was one of the nation’s
Retreat is held at McMenamins Grand
first storefront specialty coffee roaster-retailers, according to Bruce Mullins,
Lodge in Forest Grove, Oregon.
a longtime employee of the company. Like Kobos, Ferguson and Talboy were
drawn to the creative intricacies of the gourmet coffee culture.
Mullins, now vice president of coffee culture for Farmer Bros., recollects,
“Unlike today, when we were founded in the early 1970s, there were
virtually no trainers, books, classes or Internet to facilitate learning to
roast. Fortunately, Alfred Peet, the founder of Peet’s Coffee in Berkeley, was
2007–2013
Stumptown Coffee Roasters,
generous as a mentor, spending countless hours with our guys teaching them
which began in Portland in
to roast, buy green, and cup fine coffees.”
1999, sets up shop in Seattle
Coffee Bean Roasters moved to Portland in 1976, changed its name to
Coffee Bean Distributors, and opened several stores in the Portland area.
(2007), New York (2009) and
Along the way, the company would become a charter member of the Specialty
Los Angeles (2013).
Coffee Association of America (SCAA) and change its name once more to
Coffee Bean International (CBI). Today, the company continues to evolve
with market demands and industry trends as the specialty coffee division of
Farmer Bros. Co.
“We’re doing some innovative things here to improve roasting and reduce
our environmental impact,” Mullins says. “In fact, we operate the only LEEDcertified roastery in the Pacific Northwest and are striving to achieve zero
waste-to-landfill by next year.”
2012
The SCAA Event is
held in Portland.
During the late 1970s, specialty coffee found a firm foothold on both
coasts. In the 1980s, canned coffee prices rose in response to crop failures
in Brazil and revolutions in Central America. Many consumers started to
question the value of canned, processed coffee when for a slightly higher
price they could purchase quality arabica whole beans. Once again, consumer
purchasing trends ruled the market, and a new day dawned for the specialty
coffee industry.
As noted earlier, Bud Dominguez and his son, Don, founded Kittridge and
Fredrickson—or K&F—Coffee Roasters in 1983. The Dominguez family boasted
2014
Sixteen Oregon coffee companies
form the Oregon Coffee Board to
promote the state’s coffee industry.
continued on page 46
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45
A Brief History of Coffee Roasting in Portland, Oregon
1976. His experience as a chemical engineer for
grandfather, Captain Sven Fredrickson, sailed
General Foods and Folgers eventually led him to
profession we could be passionate about,”
around the world visiting coffee producers
become a powerful advocate for specialty coffee.
she says. “It was an easy decision as we
during the late 19th century and was a well-
46
roast
tried to find a business that would inspire
in 1989 by husband and wife Winfield and Joy
us to excel and saw it was one we could
roasting companies.
Durham. At their previous roasting company,
develop together.”
Coffee Express in Sitka, Alaska, the Durhams
World Cup Coffee & Tea (formerly
THE
THIRD
WAVE
Portland’s roasting
community witnessed
explosive growth
throughout the 1990s and
2000s. In 1990, Don and Sue
Jensen opened Bridgetown
Coffee, drawn to the craft of specialty coffee
Bud, grew up learning from the master roasters
had roasted coffee on a 2-pound machine. After
Office Coffee Service) got its start
of San Francisco. Bud later became a buyer for
moving to Oregon, they began roasting on an
distributing locally roasted coffees to
Folgers and directed quality control for the
L5 Probat—with a capacity of 5–11 pounds per
offices in the Portland metro area during
markets, Saturday Market, micro-breweries
company, setting many standards that helped
batch—in a tiny 600-square-foot shop.
the mid-1980s. For many years, founder
and health-conscious people, the general
Don Welch and his son, Dan, featured
consumer was expecting more,” says Kirk
shape the future of the coffee industry. During
Winfield Durham recalls, “I quickly
roasting by their passion for good food.
“Between the expansion of farmers
the early 1980s, K&F Coffee Roasters was one of
upgraded to an L12 as demand grew, and
coffee from local micro-roasters Kobos,
Jensen, the company’s chief operating officer
only three specialty micro-roasters in Portland,
now we have an L25.” In 2011, Sisters Coffee
K&F and CBI. In the early 1990s, they
and Don and Sue’s son. “People weren’t
but the stage was set for a vibrant new roasting
Co. opened a second location in northwest
began roasting their own.
satisfied with just the ordinary. There was a
community.
Portland’s Pearl District.
Elsewhere in Oregon, several small
Sisters Coffee Co.’s first shop circa 1989.
photo courtesy of Sisters Coffee Co.
Sisters Coffee Co. was established in Sisters
known supplier of fine coffees to San Francisco
According to Don Dominguez, his father,
Hood River Coffee Roasters started as a homebased business in 1990. | photo courtesy of Hood
River Coffee Roasters
“We realized we had stumbled upon a
a long history in the coffee trade. Don’s great-
Another husband-and-wife team, Mark
“Coffee roasting was a natural
A Coffee Bean Roasters store circa 1976.
photo courtesy of CBI/Farmer Bros. Co.
need for good coffee. Don and Sue believed the
progression as we had a ready market for
flavor of coffee was best if it was fresh. They
roasting businesses sprang up, including Sivetz
Hudon and Peggy Thompson-Hudon, started
our specialty coffees,” says Dan Welch.
compared it to eating a fresh fish out of one of
Coffee, Sisters Coffee Co., and Hood River
Hood River Coffee Co.—now Hood River Coffee
They rebranded as World Cup Coffee & Tea
Oregon’s rivers. If you can roast your coffee and
Coffee Co. In 1981, Michael Sivetz founded
Roasters—in 1990. Thompson-Hudon worked
in 1995 and opened several retail outlets
consume it within a day or two, the profile just
Sivetz Coffee as a small retail shop in Corvallis.
for a short time at Los Gatos Coffee Roasting
soon after.
tastes better.”
A coffee pioneer in his own right, Sivetz is most
Co. in California before the couple opened their
famous for patenting the fluid-bed roaster in
own roastery in Oregon.
continued on page 48
CBI’s Paul Thornton in Guatemala circa 1991.
photo courtesy of CBI/Farmer Bros. Co.
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A Brief History of Coffee Roasting in Portland
Mark Stell, co-founder of Portland Roasting Coffee, developed
his fascination for coffee during college.
“I was involved with the first Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro,
Just as David Kobos sought to bring gourmet coffee culture to
sleepy Portland in the early 1970s, more than four decades later,
coffee creatives continue to keep the movement alive and relevant.
Brazil, and discovered the export side and growing side of coffee,”
In 2007, Jeremy Adams and Andrea Pastor started selling their
he says. “I set a goal to someday have a business that would take
coffee at farmers markets. In 2008, they opened a cafe with their
me back to places like that.”
roaster in the cellar—hence the name, Cellar Door Coffee Roasters.
That was 1992. A year later, Stell started Abruzzi Coffee
“I really enjoyed the recipe testing challenge of it,” says Andrea
Roasters, a small retail roaster in northwest Portland. In 1996, he
Pastor, describing her initiation into the craft of coffee roasting. “I
and partner Todd Plummer opened Portland Roasting Coffee.
found it’s a lot like baking, which I love. It’s fun to be highly nerdy
“Our goal was to pioneer the first sustainably focused specialty
coffee roaster in Portland,” says Stell. “We saw a need and a niche
in the Portland market and nationally and decided to go for it.”
In 1995, Dahna Maskell started her own roasting business,
about something so delicious.”
Coava Coffee Roasters was launched the same year as Cellar
Door, with a focus on single origins.
“I created Coava because I wanted to independently taste
becoming one of the region’s first female master roasters. In 2001,
all the coffees that went into blends offered in Portland at the
Maskell brought her roasting expertise and her roasting business
time,” explains owner Matt Higgins. “I also wanted all of Coava’s
to McMenamins, a well-known Northwest pub, brewery and
producers to receive independent recognition for their extremely
hotel chain. McMenamins continues to operate Maskell’s original
hard work.”
roastery in north Portland, distributing their small-batch coffees
to all 60 of the company’s locations.
The punk culture of the 1990s resonated with Gen Xers weary
Heart Roasters and Water Avenue Coffee Co., which were
founded within three months of each other in October 2009 and
January 2010, respectively, exemplify Portland’s new-wave roasting
of globalism and the endless tide of crass consumerism. Portland
and cafe culture. Heart Roasters founder, Finland native Wille
and Seattle stood out as beacons of hope for youth seeking what
Yli-Luoma, retired from professional snowboarding and moved to
the mass media coined an “alternative lifestyle.” Portland’s indie
Portland to set up a roastery with a Scandinavian cafe vibe. Water
rock scene attracted droves of young people looking to embrace
Avenue Coffee Co. founders Matt Milletto, Bruce Milletto (Matt’s
creativity and become part of a community and a movement for
father), and Brandon Smyth brought decades of experience in
positive change. Stumptown Coffee Roasters’ indie, do-it-yourself
specialty coffee to their roasting venture.
aesthetic and dogged approach to quality and sustainability made
it an instant hit with Portland’s growing youth culture.
Duane Sorenson founded Stumptown Coffee Roasters in 1999,
“We decided to purchase a vintage French-built Samiac roaster
from a company in Switzerland and set about building a new
business around it,” says Matt Milletto. “A big part of what makes
after working in a number of Northwest cafes, bars and roasteries.
Water Avenue Coffee special is that it is a place where information
He held down several jobs to earn the money for his first vintage
and education is shared with not only the staff, but with our
roaster, and the rest, as they say, is history. Stumptown captured
customers and cafe patrons. Our mission is to get people excited
the imagination of many creative souls, and its unique, indie-
about coffee, and in our industrial neighborhood, we have a very
chic profiles continue to inspire coffee enthusiasts and food lovers
diverse clientele.”
alike.
Today, Portland exudes an extraordinary passion for the craft
of coffee roasting, with more than 50 roasting companies calling
the city home.
“The Portland and Oregon-in-general coffee roasting
community has brought a respect and passion for the bean like it
hasn’t had in the past,” says World Cup Coffee & Tea’s Dan Welch.
“For me, it is the volume of roasters located in Portland that make
IS
PORTLAND
ROASTING
STILL HOT?
Clearly Portland has a strong and
dynamic roasting tradition, but is
it a particularly good place to be a
coffee roaster?
Adam McGovern of Sterling
Coffee Roasters, established in 2010,
offers this thought: “Portland is
that statement unique. Around the nation and the world, you’ll
a perfect city for coffee roasters because we each contribute to a
find passionate roasters everywhere. In Portland, there seems to
quality-focused food and beverage scene that has made Portland
be a higher focus not only in the industry but in the general public
nationally celebrated, but from a purely technical standpoint, I
as well. Roasters diligently cup to adjust roast levels, seek out the
imagine every city would be a good place to roast coffee.”
flavor profiles of a single origin, hunt worldwide for a spectacular
Adds Jared Durham, director of Portland operations for Sisters
bean. Many roasters have taken their passion beyond the roaster to
Coffee Co., “As a roasting town, Portland is special because it
the farm level and have begun a more linear practice in sourcing.”
offers a broad range and history of coffee roasters. From fourth-
Welch adds, “While I talk about established small roasters,
generation Boyd’s to the tiny nano-roaster community, we have it
there is also a happening home-roasting community led by Mr.
all. It’s a diverse roasting landscape, which creates a unique and
Green Beans as a supplier and teacher of coffees and home roasting
educational roasting environment.”
and brewing equipment. This is where a lot of the new innovation
and creative competition will come from in the future.”
48
roast
continued on page 50
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49
A Brief History of Coffee Roasting in Portland, Oregon
Din Johnson of Ristretto Roasters,
established in 2005, focuses on how
Portland’s roasting landscape has changed
P
make the same mistake twice. Basically, we
play nice in the sandbox.”
For innovative roasters continuously
when he notes, “Portland is getting more
honing their craft, enthusiastic customers
expensive. Starting a coffee roasting
add to Portland’s appeal.
business is still approachable, but costs are
“While there is a segment of the market
ortland’s appeal as a coffee town extends
rising due to the city’s growing popularity.
that is dedicated to ‘their’ shop, there are
beyond coffee roasters, as illustrated by
Also, you have a market that’s getting
also a ton of customers that want to go to
the recent and potential migration to the city
pretty saturated. You have a lot of roasters
a different roaster every week,” says Aaron
of some influential coffee-related nonprofits. In
in Portland now, albeit some are part-time.
Baker, wholesale director for Water Avenue
So yes, it is a good place to be a roaster, but
Coffee Co. “They are really looking to check
it’s getting more and more competitive and
out the best of what everyone has to offer
harder to stand out.”
and are willing to try new things.”
October 2013, the Alliance for Coffee Excellence
(ACE)—the folks behind the Cup of Excellence
program—opened an office in northeast
Portland. They plan to move the organization’s
headquarters to the Rose City from Missoula,
Montana, by the end of this year.
Portland “is really a coffee hub for the
Portland Roasting Coffee’s Mark Stell
agrees.
“Portland was a great place to thrive
“Our customers are interested in
taking the journey with us,” agrees Celeste
Brady, who opened Extracto Coffeehouse &
Northwest and has easy access to Asia, so
early on as a specialty roaster,” says Stell,
Roastery in 2006 with her husband, Chris.
it made perfect sense,” says Susie Spindler,
“but when we started there were only 10
“They enjoy new offerings. They are often
executive director for ACE. “Portland has a very
roasters in the area. Now there are over 50
interested in the backstories of coffee and
vibrant coffee scene. It is close to Seattle and can
and counting. It is very difficult to grow
really appreciate quality. It’s fun to be part
also be a very easy stopover for any of our Asian
just on local consumption, but Portland and
of the amazing culinary community and to
Oregon have such a great food and beverage
get to hang out with creative folks who also
scene, our efforts are growing nationally
love coffeehouses.”
members coming into the U.S.”
In addition to the city’s geographic appeal,
she adds, “Portland and unique coffee go hand in
hand. Portland has such a unique hand-crafted
culture that special coffees and really talented
coffee roasters just seem to fit.” The Specialty Coffee Association of America
now.”
It’s important to note that competition
has its perks.
“Competition is chiefly responsible for
Portland’s long and fascinating journey
as one of the country’s most influential
coffee towns continues to make history.
From its scrappy beginnings as a frontier
driving improvement here,” says McGovern.
trading port to the heady days of the mid-
nonprofit working globally to improve coffee
“For instance, Stumptown’s top-quality
1950s to establishing itself as a dominant
and the quality of life for coffee producers—also
coffees set the bar for every micro-roaster
player in the specialty coffee world,
are working toward opening a joint office and
to subsequently define themselves in terms
Portland seems poised to enter a new phase
certified training lab in Portland.
of it. Our single-origin espresso program
of innovation and development. The recent
was meant as complement and contrast to
incorporation of the Oregon Coffee Board
Stumptown’s pervasive Hair Bender blend.”
should serve to unite the state’s roasting
(SCAA) and the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI)—a
“The SCAA has been working on a plan to
staff regional offices that allow for a greater
connection on the ground with local coffee
communities,” says SCAA Executive Director Ric
Rhinehart. “We are actively looking for good
collaborative space in Portland that could house
an SCAA lab and regional office, and where we
There’s also a strong spirit of
camaraderie among Portland roasters.
“The fraternal spirit within the coffee
community in Oregon is remarkable,” says
companies in an organization that can
promote the local industry nationally and
globally.
And while Portland has earned its
Bruce Mullins of CBI/Farmer Bros. “We are
reputation as a prominent coffee town,
coffee nonprofits. We are especially interested in
all competitors, yet we are also all good
most folks involved in the local roasting
continuing our long-standing relationship with
friends and love helping each other out.”
community remain focused on maintaining
could share space and resources with other
CQI, and are open to and interested in other
collaborative partners.”
When the new office opens—likely in spring
2015—most of CQI’s staff will be housed at the
Portland location. The SCAA administrative
offices will remain in California.
“Portland has a great coffee culture, is an
“Oregon absolutely works and plays
together quite well,” agrees World Cup’s
the integrity of the specialty trade and
continuing to produce exceptional coffee.
Dan Welch. “It may sound strange and
unnatural to others that as competitors
we can share a beer, talk about things
that affect the business and still go home
MARTYN LEAPER’s passion for and interest
in the coffee industry was handed down from his
without a concern. Of course, we are all
grandfather, Cyril Joseph Kenrick, who worked in
jockeying for some of the same business,
coffee and tea in Kenya for more than 40 years. Martyn
but that’s the thing that will keep our
has been roasting coffee for eight years and currently
independent businesses at their peak.
manages the coffee program for McMenamins. He’s
and a vibrant community of next-generation
Competition will only improve what you do.
also an avid history reader and a singer-songwriter for
coffee entrepreneurs.”
If you lose, then figure out why and don’t
the indie pop band The Minders.
extraordinarily livable city, has great public
transportation and is appealing to many of the
folks who work in coffee nonprofits,” Rhinehart
says. “Portland has both a long tradition of coffee
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