Arbor Lodge

Part of the Fill in the Coffee Map Series

Subject: The Arbor Lodge
Location: Portland, OR
WiFi?: Yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

Not every city neighborhood has a name that also works perfectly as a coffeehouse name. But Arbor Lodge, Portland is such a neighborhood with such a coffeehouse.

Mugged: The Coffee Dispatch

Coffee Subscription Service: The Coffee Dispatch
Roasters / Coffees / Rating [see key]:
- Messenger Coffee Co: Papua New Guinea Waghi Valley 5+
- Thou Mayest: Ethiopia Kochere 5+
- Broadway Roasting Co: Ethiopia Sidamo 5+
- City Market Coffee Roasters: A Brewed Awakening 4+
- Parisi Coffee - omitted (see below)
- The Roasterie - omitted (see below)

Kansas City is the one Missourian city I have not had a chance to tour. Due to family and Missouri's central location, I've been to the other major metropolitan centers of the Show Me State, some of them multiple times. Yet even though I've flown into Kansas City, I still anticipate the day when I can roam her streets and sample her wares firsthand.

The Mud House

Part of the Fill in the Coffee Map Series

Subject: The Mud House
Location: St. Louis, MO
WiFi?: Yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

Every neighborhood should aspire to have a great eatery that issues forth great food and tremendous coffee. So often the equation is split (at best) in most towns, with a great coffeehouse offering a decent bagel and soup menu, while down the street you have a restaurant churning wondrous culinary feats paired with lackluster coffee. Yet in the few instances when you put a talented chef and a skilled barista together (even in the same person), you get a force akin to collecting all of the dragon balls.

Hebrews Coffee

Part of the Fill in the Coffee Map Series

Subject: Hebrews Coffee
Location: Springfield, MO
WiFi?: Yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

I am a tremendous fan of the noble pun. What better to insert into a conversation than a clever exploitation of different uses of similar sounding words? I trace my fervent love of witty word play to my days in Montana when I studied under a man who greatly regarded them as the highest form of communication. Forever my eyes have been o-punned.

Mugged: Peru La Convencion [Caffe Vita]

Subject: Caffe Vita
Coffee Mugged: Peru La Convencion
Rating [see key]: 4+

For a brief time in my life, I lived walking distance from a good coffeehouse called Rockford Coffee. Ironically it was also the poorest time in my life, so regular visits were not as regular as I would have liked, but when I could justify it, this coffeehouse was a pleasant haven for quality coffee and enjoying some downtime. Rockford was also my first exposure to Caffe Vita, and in the almost ten years since I first sipped a Vita coffee, I've always had my eye on company developments such as new locations (in 5 cities now) as well as their ever-evolving list of coffees.

Modcup Coffee Co

Part of the Fill in the Coffee Map Series

Subject: Modcup Coffee Co
Location: Jersey City, NJ
WiFi?: Yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

If you've ever sought a beautiful vista of the Manhattan skyline, Jersey City Heights is the place to get it. And while many a bustling NYC tourist won't go out of their way just for a photo opportunity, now one can completely legitimize the stop since Modcup Coffee sits nearly a stones throw from the edge of the palisade.

Coava Coffee Roasters

Part of the Fill in the Coffee Map Series

Subject: Coava Coffee Roasters
Location: Portland, OR [Grand Ave location]
WiFi?: Yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]


While Portland has tons of coffee establishments worthy of a visit, there are a few that have come to embody the city's coffee scene, not only for the quality coffee but also due to the beauty of their abode. Coava Coffee Roasters is one of those spots.

Crema Coffee Roasters

Part of the Fill in the Coffee Map Series

Subject: Crema Coffee Roasters
Location: Nashville, TN
WiFi?: Yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

One thing I really love to find in a coffeehouse is a feeling of camaraderie. A simple atmosphere of common bonds and good vibrations really makes the difference. Whether it exists as tight bonds between staff, customers or simply everyone who walks in, it is that unified harmony that makes the experience better ten fold.

Mugged: Kenya Kiruga [Evocation]

Subject: Evocation Coffee Roasters
Coffee Mugged: Kenya Kiruga via My Coffee Pub
Rating [see key]: 6+

In my visits to Texas, I've only traversed the panhandle once, and that expedition was but a quick drive that only allowed for a single gas stop prior to Amarillo. I remember the spot well, right off the highway at a gas station without prices. Seeing that I was running on fumes, I didn't care to risk looking for a second option, so I pulled in and counted my cash to make sure I had enough to pay for a little more than usual. The lady did ending up charging me (what I thought was) too much, but since I was in a hurry and in little position to argue, I paid, hopped back in my car and raced on through Amarillo into New Mexico.

Does Disney World Have Good Coffee?

Some years ago, in my haughty college days of grand enlightenment, I remember making the statement that Disney World was a lazy man's repeat vacation. Sure I saw the sense in getting there once, mainly to experience the magic firsthand and see what the hullabaloo is about. But after maybe a return visit a decade later, why burn your precious vacation dollars going to the same place over and over like so many people do?

Blueprint Coffee

Part of the Fill in the Coffee Map Series

Subject: Blueprint Coffee
Location: St. Louis, MO
WiFi?: Yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

One of my cousins went to Washington University in St. Louis about the same time I went to school in NJ. Not knowing much at the time about St. Louis, he would often tell of random antics around the campus and surrounding area. One thing he mentioned consistently was how nice the surrounding neighborhood was, though no matter how many times I pressed him, he could never tell me of a great coffeehouse.

Cathedral Coffee

Part of the Fill in the Coffee Map Series

Subject: Cathedral Coffee Shop
Location: Portland, OR
WiFi?: Yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

One of the things I adore about Portland is the raw beauty of the city. Few spots (in the even fewer dilapidated parts of town) make cause for grimacing, and spots of majesty abound. One such gorgeous find I found lays on the northern portion of Portland, upon the eastern side of the Williamette River. The land is a high promontory that allows you to look out over the city, complete with huge conifers flanking you like giant seraphim standing watch.

Mugged: Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate [Kohana]

Subject: Kohana Coffee
Coffee Mugged: Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate
Rating [see key]: 4+

In light of cold brew growing in popularity, it seems like the greatest hurdle for true expansion is creating a shelf stable product. Lots of companies grow through it but it seems few come out on the other side with a drinkable product that can survive long out of the fridge (check out this great Atlantic piece on Blue Bottle).

The Virtuoso Winner!

The results are in from our recent contest to Win a Baratza Coffee Grinder and we have a winner!

Zeke's Beans and Bowls

Part of the Fill in the Coffee Map Series

Subject: Zeke's Beans and Bowls
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
WiFi?: Yes
Rating: 5+ [see key]

The word "bean" is a word I forever have mentally associated with black beans. When someone alludes to beans in a general way, my thoughts go straight to black turtle beans freshly fried. I don't know why this association runs so deep; I mean I must eat black beans only six times a year at most, whereas I drink coffee daily. Yet no matter how many times people use that word, I first must pass through images of sautéed frijoles prior to realizing they speak of coffee beans (or something else).

Gralehaus

Part of the Fill in the Coffee Map Series

Subject: Gralehaus
Location: Louisville, KY
WiFi?: Yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

In traveling around, I have only had the fortune of staying at a handful of bed and breakfasts. Realistically, as much of my travel is either business or with small children, it's hard to get away to such digs, but when I do, I really try to find a place that's worth the experience.

Silk Espresso

Part of the Fill in the Coffee Map Series

Subject: Silk Espresso
Location: Gresham, OR
WiFi?: Yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

Despite all of my experience in searching out great gems of coffee glory, some times it comes down to fortuitous circumstances in stumbling across a great coffeehouse.