Belmont Stumptown

I may as well start out with one of the granddaddies of the craft coffee movement: Stumptown.  A decade or so ago, just when the mergers and acquisitions of the coffee giants seemed on the verge of swallowing the last small coffee purveyor, Stumptown emerged to lead the way to the next level of coffee obsession.  This was, to a large extent, because of a counterintuitive strategy: unlike the big guys, Stumptown offered coffees that were medium roasted, instead of the dark and oily french roasts that were (and are) so popular.  For espresso, that means Stumptown's signature Hairbender blend, which is complex, sweet and without the big bitter hit that tends to mark darker roasts.

On one of the very last gorgeous days of a remarkable Portland summer that stretched into mid-October, I rode over to the the Stumptown at the corner of 33rd and Southeast Belmont.  This was one of the first locations of the company's small empire (it recently added outposts on Manhattan and in Seattle).  As you can see in the photo, the shop's design is minimalist and timeless.
 

The staff was friendly and helpful.  One of them noticed me staring at a wall of 12 ounce bags of single origin coffee beans, and asked me if I needed help deciding what I wanted.  Actually, I was looking for one that cost less than twenty bucks.

They use a La Marzocco Strada to make espresso, which has a saturated grouphead that stabilizes temperatures and allows for consistent controllable results.  The shot was pulled with great care and some ritual (the shop wasn't busy, allowing the barista some leisure).  The resulting setup is shown in the accompanying photo.  The shot, made with Hairbender, was just as delicious as I'd come to expect, with dark thick crema and a final sip that was intensely sweet.