19.05.08
Sparks from Stumptown
There are many coffee places in the world I would like to visit, for their blends, but more so for the staggeringly wider range of specialty coffee they offer. I’ve done imaginary cuppings of these mythical things and they are as cold as my nose against a glass window. Australia feels like a coffee outpost sometimes.
Then some kind friends, returning from far-flung coffee metropoles like Portland, drop by with contraband. As reward for my tips of reliable coffee haunts they come bearing Stumptown’s Hairbender and Ethiopia Tega and Tula repacked in my zipped valved bags.
Precious!
As espresso the Hairbender is every bit the legends make of it. It breaks in your mouth singing, seeks to fill the nooks and crannies then leaves with a deep lumbering hum. Bright, deep, complex.
The Ethiopia, is, well…grace. How does one describe grace bestowed in a demitasse? I can say groves and groves of ripe bursting fruits berry citrus and musky passionfruit succulent and sweet my mouth gurgling and guilty with juice. There are better words out there for this.
I wish coffee isn’t so ephemeral as I cling to a waning fistful hopeful that a coffee kindred can also see. But Mr Snuffleupagus leaves before anyone arrives.
Michelle Watt Said:
May 19, 2008 at 10:43 pm
… How does one describe grace bestowed in a demitasse? … There are better words out there for this …
You did better than I did - I got as far as ‘wow’
Neil A Said:
May 20, 2008 at 10:09 am
Hey Hazel,
You won’t know me, but hung out a few times at alchemy a few Saturday arvo’s, few years back.
You may not realise it, but you taught me quite a bit!
Anyhow, I reckon you describe that cup well, I can ‘picture’ the taste.
Shame Australia doesn’t have an equivalent to something like SweetMarias for sourcing special small lots of beans..
nunu Said:
June 25, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Funny enough, I grew up in Portland.
Sadly, I wasn’t passionate about coffee until I had reached adulthood, and moved away.
A year or so ago, I went back to visit my parents, and got to do a mini coffee crawl. Hit the Stumptown on Division branch and tried Hairbender from the source. What a revelation!
There are tons of places around Portland that use Hairbender. Some of them do it well, and other’s don’t do it the justice it deserves.
Now I’m pining to visit my old stomping grounds once more, but alas, I’m far too busy, and times just ain’t what they used to be.