[ORRando] 2nd Annual Coffeeneuring Challenge: 7 Cups, 6 Weekends

[William Alsup]

Couple corrections on the PDX coffeehouse recommendations:
 
1.  Maplewood Coffee & Tea (5206 SW Custer) is WEST of Gabriel Park.
10. Address for Courier Coffee Co. is 923 SW Oak St (not SE).
 
(Perhaps this is obliquely related to my getting so lost on the way back to Villaines-la-Juhel last Summer.)
 
Cheers, b.

--- On Thu, 10/4/12, William Alsup <billalsup at yahoo.com> wrote:


From: William Alsup <billalsup at yahoo.com>
Subject: 2nd Annual Coffeeneuring Challenge: 7 Cups, 6 Weekends
To: "ORRando at orrandonneurs.org" <ORRando at orrandonneurs.org>
Date: Thursday, October 4, 2012, 1:38 AM




Hello fellow Portland cyclists,

DC Randonneurs's Mary Gersemalina has come up with the perfect antidote to those long timed bicycle rides we've all work so hard at making it through. It's called the Coffeeneuring Challenge, and it involves riding slowly to seven different coffeehouses in the space of six weekends. It's kinda silly, but nevertheless fun, and has its own rewards. Also, it starts this weekend!

In the urban Northwest, we live in an incredible coffeeneur's paradise. So I'm hoping there'll be more representation from Oregonians this time 'round.

While you won't get any RUSA points for coffeeneuring, it is nonetheless rando-inspired (complete with documentation requirements). All the specifics are on Mary's blog at:
http://chasingmailboxes.com/2012/10/01/2nd-annual-coffeeneuring-challenge-7-shops-6-weekends/

It sounds like Susan O. & Lynne F. are planning to meet on Sunday at Insomnia Coffee Company in Tanasbourne (2348 Amberbrook Dr.) at 10:00 AM. I am presently hoping to join them.

However, if you're one of those Portlanders who likes their espresso closer to the Willamette, here are my top 10 PDX coffeeneuring/coffeehouse recommendations:

1. Maplewood Coffee & Tea, 5206 SW Custer (East of Gabriel Park) This place is in a low-traffic residential neighborhood, so its hours aren't as long as some places. But if you want a great beverage made with Sterling Coffee Roasters beans by a friendly barista, with copies of the NY Times and pleasant music/ambiance, this is your place.

2. Water Avenue Coffee Company, 1028 SE Water Ave. The barista here asked for the front door to be shut as she made a macchiato, because the draft effected the performance of the espresso machine. Lovely beverage.

3. Heart Coffee Roasters, 2211 East Burnside. There's a roasting machine in the shop. But what most endeared them to me was a sample of one of their roasts at a cupping at Barista. It was sooo smooth.

4. Caffe Umbria, 303 NW 12th Ave. This one caught me by surprise. But one friend called this the most European-worthy espresso shop in Portland. It's also the place where I received the best example of latte art.

5. Coffeehouse NW, 1951 West Burnside. Friendly. Accommodating. Sterling Coffee roasts. Most excellent.

6. Barista, 1725 NE Alberta St. One of the benchmarks in Portland espresso shops. Their NE Alberta location is better suited to bicycles (and related photographic documentation) than their Pearl location.

7. Stumptown Annex, 3352 SE Belmont. Stumptown has free daily cuppings at this location at 12:00 and 2:00 PM. It's like going to a wine tasting, where you get to smell, slurp, and sip coffees from 5 different plots of land (groves?) from around the world. Very informative! It's a practice usually done by growers and buyers, that Stumptown has opened up to the public.

8. Albina Press, 4637 N. Albina Ave. or 5012 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Both locations are most excellent. The barista on Albina Ave re-made my macchiato because I took too long picking it up after it had been made (futzing around with my camera or some such thing).

9. Oui Presse, 1740 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Had a lovely time here with Theo Roffe and his friend Kate.

10. Courier Coffee Roasters, 923 SE Oak St. Around the corner from where Veloshop used to be. Small with some "bike messenger" ambiance. They take their roasts very seriously.

Of course, there are many more worthy places, some of which I have yet to patronize. But if this helps anyone jumpstart their coffeeneuring endeavors, I'll be most pleased.

:]  b.


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