Hats off to Gary for bringing us all together! And thanks to everyone who was kind enough to schlep me around Portland for the crawl. I'd have been lost as soon as I stepped out of Coava without a local at the wheel.

I found the COE pulled as espresso at Nossa Familia rather odd. Very drinkable but the shot had a pronounced dill and cucumber flavor. Probably should have ordered it as drip. That said, I'd go back there again to try there other offerings in a heartbeat. Super nice folks who are very kind and really passionate about what they're doing.

The Pillow Fight Espresso from Wrecking Ball purchased at Barista is simply wonderful. It's got solid bass notes joined with enough fruit and brightness to make it fun and interesting.

Jon

I'm in Portland for a conference this week. I was planning on hitting some cafes found on the Coffee Scout app, when I heard about this thread. Thank God I did too, as Nossa is NOT included in the app! It's by far been the best cafe I've hit so far. I started with Stumptown ( the one closest to my hotel - the Nines), then yesterday a friend and I cut out on a morning session and did our own little crawl. We started at Nuvrei, which was disappointing on the coffee side, as they were over-extracting Heart Stereo. The pastries were fantastic and worth the visit though. Then we headed straight to Nossa. We were welcomed into a private tour by the barista, Scott, who was a super friendly guy, glad to have us enthusiasts there. The spro was awesome! (Won't get into tasting notes, as I only had a shot and a cortado...and plan to order when my stock at home gets low). Our third stop was Barista. I has a cortado pulled from Coava Los Nocientos, it was excellent, yet still paled by the spro at Nossa. Today, we're planning to hit Public Domain, due to it's proximity and the fact they have two slayers sitting in the middle of the cafe. Saturday...?

Saturday? Try Heart at 211 E. Burnside and have them make you an AeroPress, which you can drink while watching them do a true Nordic roast. Then grab lunch or dinner at Luce across the street. It may be your best dining experience in Portland.

Oh man, i'm jealous!
You should consider Case Study, way out on Sandy Blvd / 54th. Also there's a tiny microroaster foodcart called Cameo that is one of my faves; last I heard he drops an anchor on Alberta somewhere. Also excellent is Extractro, on NE Prescott at 15th

There's also a case study downtown on 10th that would be closer to where you're staying. And I agree, worth checking out.

Thanks again for the tips guys!

Yesterday we did indeed make it to Public Domain...again, because of it's proximity and the two Slayers sitting in there. I was expecting a much better experience...but I guess I've now learned my lesson that having a Slayer and being a proficient barista are mutually exclusive events...nuff said!

This am we wandered over to Case Study, which is actually only 6 short blocks from the hotel. I got a shot and a cortado...each made from their Guatemalan/Ethiopian blend. The barista warned me the beans were about end of life and, although I enjoyed the shot very much, I'd have to say it showed. However, the cortado was fantastic, and was the only drink thus far to rival what I has at Nossa.

Well, tomorrow is another day...but I have a sneaking suspicion I won't get the opportunity to try another new cafe.

Ron

My wife and I just had 3 days windsufing and biking in Hood River, then 3 days in the Alberta district of Portland. Thanks for the thread. I mentioned the crawl at Nossa Familia and the barista insisted I take a tour. It was fun watching the end of the cooling cycle, the drop and ramp. They said they log the data in Excel. Not sure what that meant. I loved their two shots. Very wine smooth soft with just the right amount of brightness. I asked for the Full Cycle blend and got a free Guatemala/Brazil cup of excellence blend. They tasted surprisingly similar! Was wondering if he made a mistake and gave me two of the same shot. More likely my 62 year old taster!

I also vistited Stumptown downtown got nice shot of Costa Rica Villelobos, then Extracto for Eleven spades blend which was an amazing honey processed, sweet, sour, bitter all balanced nicely. Probably the brightest shot. Also Red E Caffe, Case Study, and Barista.

I was surprised how balanced all my shots were. No sour cringe shots. The George Howell Brazel Datera at Brista was the most comfort food of all.

Tons of fun!

Just saw that Coava, our first stop on our Portland coffee crawl was featured in Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. Sweet!