S Is for Stumptown

Earlier this month my friend A and I went to City Center for an open rehearsal of the Dance Theater of Harlem. Great dancing and a fascinating look at how performances come together. After the program we went to a great coffee place -- featured in the next post for "T" -- for a snack and coffee. 

Stumptown was the featured coffee. Stumptown is a coffee roaster and retailer based in Portland. There are also a few Stumptown branches in other cities, including New York. I have visited the New York Stumptown, and I've had the brand at several other coffee places, as well. I generally think of it as too strong for me based on a less than good experience several years ago, but I found that wasn't the case this month. As A pointed out, "A good cup of coffee depends on a lot of variables." My iced coffee this time was just right. It was a solid B+ to maybe an A-. It was strong and flavorful. The Stumptown website has a good discussion of how they buy their coffee beans from local producers all over the world. I've been doing a lot of reading about coffee this month and I found this information especially informative.

As  a sidenote, I am not a particular fan of the very large coffee sellers also beginning with S. I've found their staff friendly, their shops clean and comfortable and I appreciate the bathrooms, but I'm not a fan of their coffee. Do I drink it? From time to time, yes. Mostly when I am with other people who are fans and don't want to try other places. I didn't want to let "S" go by without acknowledging their presence. There are four (!) within eight blocks of my apartment, and they are all crowded.

So much coffee and so little time, but I'm sipping away. As ever, thanks for visiting and take good care.