INTERVIEW CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

The perception of Portland is that there’s a specialty coffeehouse on seemingly every other block. Is the market saturated, or is there still room to grow?

It’s not unlike the food scene or the bar scene, or kind of that craft beverage stream that’s here in Portland, where there are so many coffee bars, but we are great friends with all the other coffee bars, even in our area, and other parts of town, where it keeps us all on our best game. People are still opening new retail operations that are outstanding. As long as you’re willing to always strive for perfection in all areas, not just coffee, but customer service, ambiance. Being a micro-roaster/retailer, we feel like we’ve been able to do something fairly unique for Portland, even with saturation, which has proved to be very successful. We feel like we’re a destination coffee shop, which is great. When people come to town to check out the great coffee scene, we’re very excited to be a part of that.

Describe a typical coffee consumption day, from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to bed.

We have a wholesale account, through Water Avenue, right across the street from my house. So I often stop in, just to check in and say hi. They do a really great job with our espresso drinks and our brewed coffee, but I’ll grab a little eight-ounce Americano or cup of coffee from them. I come in to work and often have a cappuccino, try to take five minutes to start my day. I pop into the school, see what’s going on. Usually Tom’s in there. Lately, he’s been preparing for [USBC] competition, so I’ve been tasting his espresso, his cappuccinos and signature drinks, every day. Quite often we’re cupping two or three times a day, so I’ll drop down and taste what’s on the cupping table. Around 2, 3 o’clock, I’m in the mood for espresso. I’ll often have a flight of our El Toro, which is our espresso blend, and our single origin. That’s about it. Just a few coffees every day. When we’re teaching class, we’re expected to be tasting a lot of beverages. I’ve really, in the last couple of years, tried to manage my caffeine consumption, and not just get completely overcaffeinated, like I used to in the past, when I would do coffee tours, or whatnot.

Do you ever make coffee at home?

I do.

What’s your go-to brewing method?

I have a Technivorm that I enjoy. I do V60 pourover and good old French press in the morning, on weekends, with my wife. I do enjoy coffee at home, but probably once a week I’ll drink at home.

Do you ever work on the bar?

Yeah, earlier today I was helping everyone out as we’ve been a little busier. About once a month I schedule myself to come in and really make sure I’m in tune with what baristas are doing on a day-to-day basis. I haven’t been working on the espresso machine as much as I’d like to, but that’s also something I think is important not to lose, to be able to get in there and work a busy shift behind the bar, pulling shots, dialing in.

If you could pull a guest shift at any other coffee bar for one day, what would it be and why?

Wow, that’s a great question. When I lived in Italy, I befriended a café owner there and was finally able to convince him that I knew what I was doing and get behind the bar. That was an experience I’ll never forget. So I don’t know. I would love to be in a different country, for sure. Maybe in a country like Iceland. I know there are great cafes in London and Denmark. Really, I don’t know if I have one in particular, but somewhere I can really be in a totally different environment and dealing with a new style of service and customer base. The whole idea of traveling and experiencing how retail is in other countries was the inspiration for Barista Exchange and the importance of that. You name it. I could go back to Vanuatu, in the South Pacific, and work a shift at the coffee bar there, which is what I did when I was judging a barista competition.

What type of music do you like to listen to while you’re on bar?

That’s a good question. We have a pretty diverse mix always at Water Avenue, but lately, I’ve been really into Andrew Bird. I also really enjoy ’90s hip-hop, everything from old Jawbreaker, Bay Area punk rock, to Chet Baker. It’s kind of based on a mood. Definitely, in the café, we’re usually listening to everything from old soul records to newer local bands. I don’t like everything, but I think it’s great to mix it up based on the vibe of the café.

If you could only drink one more shot of espresso, who would pull it for you?

Well, about four days ago – I rarely do this – but I posted it on my Facebook page that I had one of the Top 5 espressos that I’ve ever had in my life. It was pulled by the guy working now, Bo, and it was our El Toro espresso blend. I’d go down with the ship, El Toro espresso, pulled by any of my employees. They all do a great job.