Public Domain

Located just a block north of Pioneer Courthouse Square, Public Domain is a great place to soak in the downtown vibe.  Bright, clean space? check.  Downtempo Bonobo drifting gently from the built in ceiling speakers?  Check.  Guy with braided beard and face painted purple chilling at a corner table listening to headphones?  Check.

Maybe surprisingly, Public Domain is owned by Coffee Bean International.  CBI is a long time Portland roaster more known in the wholesale realm than in the kind of bespoke craft coffee market that Public Domain targets.  That said, I've met a roaster or two from CBI over the years, and they are very serious about good coffee.

Public Domain offers the coffee fanatic choices.  If you are ordering an espresso, you get your choice of beans.  I indulged my weakness for yirgacheffe.  Of course, a number of coffee shops offer a bean choice.  What lets you know you are in the company of the truly obsessed is that Public Domain offers a choice of espresso machines from whence the shot will be pulled: either a Slayer or a Synesso.  Both are, well, bad ass.  I asked the barista which he preferred.  He said that the Slayer is fun for experimenting, but the Synesso is better for high volume production.

My shot, pulled on the Synesso, came in the usefully thick brown ceramic demitasse that is nearly ubiquitous at serious coffee shops around town.  Like Public Domain itself, it was bright and clean, with a hint of wildness incongruously lurking in the corner.  Definitely one of the better shots available downtown.