My best bud and partner Andrea is officially opening his new location in downtown Portland, a testament to perseverence and perfectionism.  We got a nice soft opening today with el generoso Andrea offering free coffee drinks, chai and Stella gelato to a lot of his loyal patrons from the cart on 9th and Alder as well as new friends from downtown.  The magic word was Yirgacheffe and I'd say the newbies did really well pronouncing it!

The Carrara marble tops, 3-group lever pull Rancilio macchina and nifty chandelier give it the real traditional Italian coffee bar touch, not to mention the "real deal" espresso, latte, macchiato tastes of Italy which have been Andrea's holy grail for all the years of hard work in the business.  Bravo my brother and staff, who are trained in real barista tradizione.  This is what you won't get anywhere else in Portland.  Given that this is the tradition which drew me to coffee...5 weeks living in Italy in 2000....thank heaven for tradition.  Bravissimo!

Street level in between SW Alder and Washington Streets on 5th Avenue.  The original Spella Caffe will still be operating, on the corner of Sw 9th and Alder.  Pix to follow....

Dudes, these Cafe Import guys from Minnesota are always on a roll, esp. having just hosted the SCAA show in a big way.  What a classy operation; incredible response time.  Roasted up today all seven and can't wait to cup on Tuesday with Andrea and a couple other roasters.  The Ethiopians looked awesome, but then again everything is a contender.  I can't wait to be able to offer some of these goodies to everyone! As hot as it was in PDX today, especially within close proximity to the roaster, it was worth it.  The Anokhi is still cupping spectacularly well...an intriguing, unforgettable java if ever there was one.  Wild blueberry notes still all there, complexity and mouthfeel yum to boot. Getting to be toddy season, and I'm more determined than ever make iced coffee taste great.