I've lived in Portland, OR for a little over a year, buying various coffees, and getting frustrated, so I just ordered a bag of The Sermon from Verve again.

It's blowing away all the local beans I've purchased.

For daily coffee, I just want a relatively stable blend that can be dialed in to produce a sweet/chocolatey shot fairly quickly. I don't have a lot of time in the morning, and both my wife and I have come to really dislike the high-acid, citrus shots that seem to be dominating Portland coffee culture. Nossa Familia is pretty good, but since they focus exclusively on Latin America, they don't get that chocolate/berry balance that comes from mixing in (a small amount of) east African beans.

It seems crazy to mail-order beans when I live in such a coffee town, but I'm getting such great results so easily from Verve. And at $20/pound shipped, it's cheaper too. Most places here sell 8oz bags for $14-$18.

Which Portland roasters aren't exclusively chasing the tropical fruit rainbow?

Compass Coffee of Vancouver (and soon Portland) has several selections that may interest you. As a Home-Barista member you also get a 20% discount if you ask for it. Their darker roasts include a Vienna Blend, Handlebar and a blend of Handlebar and Delirium (moving from dark to medium).

Also what about Stumptown's Hairbender? Trailhead Coffee also has a variety of roast levels. You can find their beans at their shop and at New Seasons and other places.

alexjp wrote:Which Portland roasters aren't exclusively chasing the tropical fruit rainbow?

Try Nossa Familia. They roast in the Pearl District and have a small cafe there. But you can also get their coffees from New Seasons and Whole Foods. I was at the grocery store this morning and saw a selection of their roasts. They specialize in high quality Brazilians. So definitely a lot of chocolate and tobacco in their darker roasts.

Nossa Familia is pretty good, but since they focus exclusively on Latin America, they don't get that chocolate/berry balance that comes from mixing in (a small amount of) east African beans.

He mentioned Nossa in his op

Oops, didn't see that.

OP might also try Heart's Stereo Blend. While Heart is known for their light roasted single origins, Stereo Blend is a little darker and matches the OP's description of chocolate with fruit tones (as it includes some Ethiopian). It's darker than it used to be.

Another possibility is to try Barista. They don't roast but they have a nice assortment of roasters, mostly from Portland and Seattle area. Go in and ask them for a recommendation. I'm sure they'll have something to satisfy your palate.

Check out your Northern neighbor 49th Parallel
Old School Espresso might be the ticket.
They blend African and South American beans, depending on the season.

I really enjoy Heart and wouldn't recommend them to the OP. They typically don't roast dark enough to emphasize chocolate notes.

Thanks for the Heart Stereo recommendation - at $18/pound it might be the ticket. Whenever I get shots at Heart they are really acidic, but I've found that other cafes who use Heart often get good results. It's not that I need chocolate, so much. It's just that I hate sour shots.

I find Hairbender a bit difficult to get consistent results with. Maybe there's a specific resting time that it needs. The thing I like about the Verve stuff is that it seems to be pretty stable over a week of use - you can get it dialed in and just tweak it each day.

I work really close to Barista, but I find most of their shots so unpleasantly sour that I avoid them and walk to further shops most of the time, so I'm not so sure their advice would help me.

I'll look into Compass and Trailhead, too. Thanks!

+1 drgary's suggestion of Compass. If you can, go to the roasting facility on St Johns (open weekdays) and talk to Mike about what you like, and try some shots.

drgary wrote:I really enjoy Heart and wouldn't recommend them to the OP. They typically don't roast dark enough to emphasize chocolate notes.

Gary, when Laron and I recently took a cupping class at Heart the instructor made a point of noting that they are roasting Stereo Blend darker than they used to. I definitely agree with you on their other coffees. See the tasting notes from their website for Stereo Blend: