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Coffee

Caravan Coffee

by Mike on July 19, 2010

From Caravan Coffee - The Willamette Valley is dotted with wonderful wineries and the town of Newberg is home to many of them. Newberg is also the home of artisan coffee roaster Caravan Coffee. Our Roastmaster uses two San Franciscan to roast small batches of coffee in a 20 pound traditional drum. We ship our artisan roasted coffee the day it’s roasted to ensure optimum freshness and flavor.

We source our coffees from all over the world and are proud to carry an extensive selection of relationship coffees as well as shade grown and Organic coffee. Our proprietor, Pete Miller travels the world to develop relationships with farmers and search for the best coffees.

In June we received a much anticipated shipment of Organic Ethiopian Amaro Gayo, a coffee with distinct blueberry notes. This coffee is rich, full-bodied and velvety smooth. It is one of the best natural-process coffees we’ve ever tasted! We are also delighted to offer a treasure from Hawaii; natural Maui Red Catuai. This coffee is light in body and coats the mouth with satiny smoothness. It is slightly nutty at the beginning and finishes with a sweet, ripe tropical fruit flavor.

These two coffees are among a dozen we feature in our Tasting Room. Our Tasting Room is a great place to try artisan roasted coffee via a fresh pour. In July we added a new coffee bar to the Tasting Room. The bar was rescued from a basement and lovingly restored by Pete before finding a home at Caravan!

In addition to the Tasting Room we offer weekly cuppings that are open to the public. Each Friday morning Roastmaster, Paul Allen leads the complimentary cuppings as part of his mission to raise awareness of great coffee. On any given Friday up to 15 people gather to explore the fragrance, aroma and flavor profiles of two varieties of coffee. Cuppings are an easy way to explore new coffees and to meet fellow coffee enthusiasts! After cuppings everyone gathers in the Tasting Room for fresh pours of the coffee we’ve cupped.

Our Tasting Room is open on Saturdays this summer; offering wine lovers access to a remarkable cup of coffee and adding value to their visit of the Willamette Valley!

Mon-Thu 8:00 a.m. -5:00 p.m.
Fri 8:00 a.m. -3:00 p.m.
Sat 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.*
*Memorial Day through Labor Day

2750 E. 9^th St.
Newberg OR 97132
503-538-7365

Web: www.caravancoffee.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/caravancoffee
Twitter: www.twitter.com/caravancoffee

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Big Mountain Coffee

by Mike on July 13, 2010

When I was at Depoe Bay Winery to take pictures for yesterday’s post on Ray Shackelford, Angie told me about Brent at Big Mountain Coffee. I talking to her about how interesting I thought Ray Shackelford is and she said I should meet Brent Duering just up the road between Depoe Bay and Lincoln City.

I walked in and Brent greeted me with a smile. Brent had an abrupt career change that you hear about all too often in the corporate world. He, along with his wife Carla, spent two and a half years learning and studying about everything there is to know about coffee roasting and brewing. He takes it very seriously and obviously it became a passion.

After learning everything he could, he decided to open his coffee shop. While he lived in Eugene he realized that they were already well-established coffee shops and roasters. No reason to compete and step on toes, it’s just not his way. They picked 18 cities as possible locations for Big Mountain Coffee.

They were fans and frequent visitors to the coast and after looking at all of the cities they selected Depoe Bay, but there was still one more thing to do. They went to the coffee shops in town and asked their permission for Brent and Carla to set up shop. That’s why he didn’t stay in Eugene. He wanted to be sure there was room for everyone but on top of that he wanted that the other shops believed there was enough room for a new coffee shop.

He set up in Depoe Bay and quickly had fans and a successful business. They moved north four or so miles up HWY 101 after someone else didn’t have the same sense of karma that Brent did and moved into Depoe Bay. His clients followed while his mail order business grew. He sells his bags of coffee to out of town customers and usually on a regular basis.

Brent sells his coffee by the bag but he doesn’t sell to other coffee shops. He wants to assure quality control when brewing the coffee that he roasts one pound at a time.

The retro decor of “The Warehouse” houses three roasters, as well as a full coffee bar. And a spectacular cup of coffee isn’t the only thing that customers will enjoy. The Warehouse also focuses on the performance arts. This location features a stage area with live music and entertainment offerings. The Warehouse offers a a wonderful venue for musicians and performers to play for the customers.

“Our gourmet and organic coffees have a smooth taste that is low in acidity. Once people taste these coffees they won’t want to go back to the ground coffee bought in the grocery store,” comments Brent.

That was the experience the Duerings had when they first tried fresh-roasted coffee. And, that was when they started thinking about opening their own coffee shop

“We wanted to open a coffee house roastery, where our customers could come in and relax, refresh, and rejuvenate, while enjoying a coffee drink”.

You can visit Big Mountain Coffee at:

3930 Hwy 101
Lincoln Beach, OR 97341
541-764-2195

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World Cup Coffee & Tea

by Mike on June 1, 2010

From World Cup Coffee & Tea :

Portland, Oregon is one of the greatest places on the face of this earth to live. There are several aspects of everyday life that make life here so grand. There is the scenery, the activities, the community, and the beverages. At world cup coffee, we focus on the last two. There is no shortage of great coffee houses in this city, but at World Cup Coffee & Tea, you will find all the best aspects under one roof.

World Cup Coffee is a family owned business that serves the greater Portland area. We have two café’s and provide coffee service for hundreds of local businesses. We love the city that supports us and give back to the community as often as possible. We buy our beans from all over the world and carefully select them for the fullest flavor and aroma. Our coffee is roasted to optimize its potential and character by hand daily. Jill Purdy heads up our all girl roasting team and freshness is her passion.

Our most notarized café is located inside of Powell’s books. Through this location we serve hundreds of book enthusiasts daily. We also have a cafe in the corner of our main location on NW 18th & Glisan. From this location we serve some of the best beverages Oregon has to offer. In addition to our award winning coffee, we serve local micro-brews and an ever-changing line up of Oregon wines. The wine and beer are the latest addition to this café and we welcome input or suggestions as to ways of improving our selection. All beverages are served from a great cast of baristas that lack only one thing, the shwarmy attitude. The café manager (Mike Smith) has worked diligently on hiring only the best and friendliest baristas from a sea of skilled coffee experts.

From this main location, World Cup Coffee operates its Office Sales division. We distribute to companies all over the Portland area with coffee roasted the day before it’s delivered and prices that are very competitive. We supply these companies with the finest commercial grade equipment including brewers, thermal air-pots and flavor seal canisters all at no charge. We also can supply grinders, water filtration systems and dispensers for a minimal usage fee. Our delivery drivers stop by on a regular pre-determined date to stock, clean, organize and sanitize the equipment. Our mechanics are constantly ready to repair or replace any malfunctioning equipment. We don’t charge for delivery, service or maintenance and we never use contracts. We rely on our service, reputation and product to keep us in business and they have served us well. Please contact Ken Howell (khowell@worldcupcoffee.com) if you have any further questions about this service or have questions/comments about your existing service.

We truly are proud of our community and pride ourselves in being a part of this city. We are always anxious to here feedback or answer questions so please feel free to contact any of our managers by dropping by, calling the main office or send us an email.

Follow them on Twitter and Facebook.

1740 NW Glisan
Portland, Oregon 97209
Map It
503-228-5503

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Starbucks vs The Independent Coffee Shop

by Mike on May 27, 2010

Americans really love their coffee but I was surprised to learn that coffee consumption is about half of what it was 50 years ago. But the visibility of coffee shops seem at such an all time high that it has become part of pop culture to joke that Starbucks is opening everywhere from taking over kids closets to opening in someone’s kitchen.

So who is better? Obviously Pouregon is here to promote the locally owned shops so I lean that way. I asked someone I know who referenced Starbucks if he tries any local places. He mentioned that he loves Starbucks, he was previously a manager, and that other shops weren’t as good and the service stinks. He elaborated that you get snobby or complacent service from most other places, and then still wait forever. To be honest though I don’t find Starbucks to be blazing fast like I hear from some but perception is everything.

He has a point. I have been around small businesses all of my life and it is tough to be a good manager. Between hiring, training, and motivating their are a lot of trap doors to fall through for a business owner who has more passion than experience. And the owner can’t do it all. Much like artists often fail to promote or run their passion as a profitable business, the independent shop owner often fails too as statistics show. Franchises have a much better success rate because the support and structure is there.

While writing up the posts for Pouregon I often look at the reviews and the most consistent thing I find is a complaint about service. While you may want to spend 10 minutes with each person to make them your close friend, there are quite a few people who just want the coffee too. It’s hard to balance but just look at the competition.

What’s interesting, according to an article that is behind the pay wall of the Wall Street Journal, is that quite often when Starbucks moves in to an area some local shops actually increase their business when they thought they would perish. People are awakened to the idea of a coffee shop and then they explore. There was one coffee shop that would move to wherever a new Starbucks opened in his area because he was always successful. Think about the car dealers you see lined up on a street. They feed off each other.

The battle may come down to customer service and location. Some of the independent shops have out of the way locations because it’s what they can afford like many small businesses. Obviously location and ease of access can help and I already talked about customer service.

As much as I would like this post to declare a winner it’s really about the battle for the mind and attention of the coffee drinker. I have shown the spotlight on some great and popular coffee shops; Insomnia Coffee Company had one of their clients get married there. The independent coffee shop has an uphill battle to win the mind of someone who is a Starbucks fan but they have too take advantage every time a new coffee drinker walks in the door to wow them with good and quick service.

15 Things Worth Knowing About Coffee

Photo via http://www.flickr.com/photos/gribanov

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