This posting might be a bit controversial, I fully admit it. Stumptown is Portland's own beloved coffee roaster (but then again, so is World Cup). Everyone raves about how great it is, it has a cult following, blah blah blah. Here's what I think: the beans are great, but the preparation of drinks at the cafes is terrible. Yes, you read me correctly, I said TERRIBLE.
Today, taking a little break from work, I decided to go to the nearest Stumptown location near my office: the Ace Hotel. I hoped it would be different this time. It wasn't.
I've had overly wet cappuccinos and so-so lattes in the past, so today I decided to order just a plain-jane cup of brewed coffee. They might as well have handed me a cup of piss.
I think it is best described as a cup of brown water. Really, it was incredibly watery. And, a tiny little cup was $2.00. Come on folks, any dumbass can brew a decent, ordinary cup of coffee. Yesterday, at Sip and Kranz, I had a cup of ordinary-brewed Stumptown coffee, and it was great. Same beans, but it was properly prepared, cost less, and came with a free refill. Huh.
I've bought Stumptown beans and made great drinks at home: drip, frenchpress, and cappuccinos. And I have no special coffee training. I've had great cups of Stumptown coffee at Ken's Bakery, Albina Press, and the aforementioned Sip and Kranz. But not at Stumptown's Ace Hotel location. It's been uniformly bad there, no matter what drink I ordered.
So here's my suggestion: buy the beans at a grocery store, or buy the drinks at anywhere BUT Stumptown. Until they train their staff to make a decent cup of coffee, avoid the Stumptown cafes for everything but people-watching.
4 comments:
The 3rd & Pine location, the one time I went, was alright. I ordered an 8oz Mocha, and I don't remember the cost.
Personally, I stick with Peet's. They guy who started Stumptown started at Peet's and got his knowledge and ideas from Peet's. So, in a sense, it gets to the source. So, not local to Portland, but really, what coffee is? Only the roasting can be. Anyway, it was my friend who works at Peet's (has for 7? years now) that taught me the proper brewing techniques I hold so dear. 2T to 1C **cold** water. Anything less, is well, you know, watery piss.
Thanks for the Coffee Blog Laura!
Hey Michelle,
Yeah, actually, I have had a good mocha at the 3rd & Pine location too. I think the problem lies mainly at the Ace Hotel location. Caffe Umbria (the same people who originally owned Torrefazione, my favorite) is opening up a cafe in the Pearl near where I work. I'm totally looking forward to that. Torrefazione was the closest thing to Italy in Portland.
Yup. And then Starbucks.
I mean, and then Starbucks happened.
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