In this noder's opinion, here is to be found the best coffee in Portland, Oregon. What makes Stumptown so great? Well, let's see:
- They roast their own coffee in small batches, using some special kind of machine no-one apparently uses anymore.
- They get these fantastic beans from all the usual places, my favourite by far being the Guatemalan, which one employee says to be one of the best coffees in the world (and I've never had any evidence to the contrary).
- They use french presses to do their house coffee.
- The baristas are all fantastically talented. For example, Stumptown is the only place I've been to on the West coast that can constistantly make a cappuccino to my standards. It sure impresses the heck outta me.
As of now, there are three Stumptown locations (ranked in order of how much I like them, and coincidentally when they opened):
- SE 45th and Division, which is also where they roast a lot of their coffees. Very cozy, and nice employees. A bit too small at times; it can be hard to find a table on the weekends or if it's raining.
- SE 34th and Belmont. A bit trendier than the Division spot, which is a major turn-off for me, but YMMV.
- SW 3rd and Ash, right downtown. This one just opened in April 2003, so I haven't been there much. They're good if you're on the west side and need your fix, I guess. They also serve beer and wine, and correspondingly take plastic. The other locations are cash-only.
P.S.: No, I don't work for them. I wish I did, though.