For the Love of Coffee

Clint Orchuk of Limestone Coffee Co. is as enthusiastic about his calling today as when he started posting as a hobbyist in March of 2011. He came up the learning curve quickly and now has his own cafe and roastery in Medford, OR. It's a beautiful space, decorated with his light hearted love of the coffee experience in every aspect. Here's how it looks when you enter this beautiful space.



We first got to know each other when he found a two group Astoria commercial lever and began restoring it. Soon he was hauling this beast to farmer's markets.



His enthusiasm is infectuous, and he got expert help from Doug and Barb Garrott at Orphan Espresso and a long-time, local roaster, Sal Mellelo, owner of Melello Coffee Roasters. An angel investor discovered him at the farmer's market, and he was very quickly on his way.

Janet and I stopped by with little warning on our first road tour through Oregon. Clint and his barista, Jessica, graciously hosted us, pouring delicious tastes of their latest offerings and sharing the brief history of this fast growing business.

The Astoria lever still sits proudly on the back counter and pulls luscious shots.



And a La Marzocco Linea sits on the front bar.



There's an attractive balcony in back for private conversations.



In response to customer demand, Limestone went from a multi-roaster shop to roasting their own this last year. Here's the gorgeous Ambex roaster he's installed.





That vintage Ambex doesn't come with a cyclone fan, but he sourced one that vents it efficiently.



Limestone offers other brew methods too, with pourovers perfectly temped and measured on scales, served by this collection of brew grinders.


Here's their current menu.



This street sign says it all.



In another post, I learned that James Freeman of Blue Bottle Coffee dropped by to visit unexpectedly. Clint told us that he also had a surprise visit by Scott Rao, consultant and author of influential books on professional coffee technique.

Limestone was named one of the 11 coolest coffee shops in the world last May by The Daily Meal. Not bad for a cafe that first opened its doors in mid 2013. Here's Clint standing proudly in front of his shop.

Lookin good! I'm just happy that some of my beans made it through his shop. I'd like to visit one day too!

Can't wait to see Clint and Limestone when I finally zip through. I was around at the location picking stage so I'm looking to see the finished product. Glad to see roasting happening too after some persistent nudging.

I remember all of the posts about the Farmers Market setup. It is great to see his beautiful shop.

Gary - Beautiful pics.

Clint - Beautiful surroundings - hope all goes well as this is definitely not an 8 hr day.

It was great fun to meet Gary and Janet. We drank a ton of coffee, messed around with equipment (ours and Gary's) and had an epic visit. Gary brought a tricked out La Pavoni, and a heavily modded Pharos (first time I've seen one.) He even brought some of his tasty home roasted coffee for us to drink. It's always cool to meet an HB'er in person. I know I missed Clay Priley in the past when he was through.

This post reminds me I'll have to post that Mahlkonig Guatemala and The Bunn ICB on the Great Scores thread. We'll see you OO if the Peruvians let you out of the cooler. Welcome up here anytime David.

bemused that their chafe collection is well known dust collector cyclone for woodworking shops.

We just returned to visit Clint at Limestone last Saturday. He's established a successful shop with good customer traffic. He proudly gave me tastes of a couple of single origins, and I bought his Kenya Gatuyaini to bring home. It's a City roast that's well developed. Brewed, I've never before had a coffee with a long aftertaste resembling apple cider. Think of less sweetness, but that nicely rounded, juicy acidity. The acidity isn't strong and is present enough to provide structure to the cup. Other taste notes are tree nuts, milk chocolate. It's an even better espresso that likes to be pulled as a ristretto. It's not overpowering, and espresso brings out a dominant raspberry sweetness with milk chocolate in the mid-range and mild almond as a top note. The finish goes to walnut and bittersweet chocolate. Added next day: Had a surprising note of lavender behind the bitter first taste. Resume: He's probably just about out of this one, but from what I tasted his roasting style is worth a try. During our visit, we met a friend of his, Aurelian Labrosse. Aurelian is a winemaker from Bordeaux who works at Del Rio Vineyards in Gold Hill, OR. Clint told us that Aurelian has been helping cup his coffees to bring out the best in his roasts.