2012 On the road - Portland Oregon - Coffee food and drink · 24.04.12 by colin newell
There are few American cities more friendly than Portland Oregon. We have been there twice in the last ten years and this April 2012 we returned for the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s big wing-ding – the SCAA 2012 convention. And what a show it was. Even better was the fact that it was being held in one of the most progressive, beautiful, accessible and liberal cities in America.
Portland, Oregon (for Canadians and Canadian lovers) feels more Canadian than many Canadian cities; super friendly and chill people, liberal, free thinking and socially progressive communities – art, culture, amazing food and drink…
And coffee? Enough great java to drown in.
And for a resident of the North West (up here on Vancouver Island) a very easy weekend get-away destination.
Getting there: Yea, you could drive, but why? Time is money. From Vancouver Island, the 2 hour Ferry ride, hour to the border and 3 – 4 hours South on the crowded I5 to Portland… not my idea of good times. Better yet: Alaska Airlines daily service from Victoria via Seattle – total of 55 minutes in the air (if that) and you are there. From the airport, light rail downtown $2.40 – or a 35$ 35 minute cab fare. The train takes a whopping 40 minutes worse case scenario. So, 32 dollars more gets you there 5 minutes sooner.
Staying: There are lots and lots and lots of great hotels – of every stripe and price point. We stayed at the Coast Paramount Hotel. 3 star luxury at a 2 star price. Moderately opulent, spotless, full service, free wi-fi, great bar and Asian themed restaurant, walking distance from all the main downtown shopping and a brief stroll to some of the best food carts in North America. Sadly, we did not sample any of the cart food but the plan is to head back in August (if we don’t go to Chicago… – another story). Anyway, top marks to the Paramount Hotel! If you are feeling hip by all means stay at the ACE (they have a Stumptown Coffee place off of the lobby…) Here is the thing: I am not that hip.
Eating: Portland has more restaurants and more culinary genres than any other city or town in North America. Fact. The food cart scene is like no other. Portland and Oregon is a tax free place – and for whatever reason, eating and drinking out is way cheaper than it is in Canada (and a few other American places) I could not get over the quality of the grub and the absurdly low prices; burgers and beers: $7 and $6 for buns and beers. $6 to 9$ for great pasta entrees at a local Italian place. Great breakfast items at the ritzy “Mother’s” a 10 minute walk away. The Paramount Hotel did a great all morning standard bacon and egg kind of breakfast for around $8. Loved it.
Getting around: Light rail, street cars, buses – all free in the downtown area. All zone travel to the airport: $2.40. That is crazy. If you are ready to explore (a GPS or iPhone or Android or B.B. with some Apps are handy and freely available) there is lots to see; galleries, art, music, industrial areas, cafes and brew pubs scattered hither and thither.
Summary: If you want to explore beer, food, coffee, great people watching, arts and culture, there are few places more eager to please and cooler than Portland Oregon. Give it a whirl. It will not let you down!
Colin and Andrea write and edit the coffeecrew.com blog and travel whenever and where ever possible…
Portland Oregon SCAA 2012 quick look · 22.04.12 by colin newell
Portland Oregon – a small city and a great big town with a much bigger heart – resting near the junction of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, this North west gem hosted the SCAA 2012 convention.
Photo upper right – the calm before the storm. And the benefit of the press pass!
And by all accounts it was one of the best. For me, it was my first. I have been to my fair share of Seattle coffee fests and Canadian coffee expo’s but this was definitely the bigs.
Portland Oregon is a great place to get acquainted with coffee culture – and to meet up with all the movers and shakers in the coffee biz – because everyone was here.
Photo – Deidrich was king of the roasters at SCAA 2012. Lots of eye candy – lots of interested buyers!
And the city and its coffee brewing folks are a natural back drop to an event this size and of this caliber.
Talking to Matt Milletto of the American Barista School he noted, “Portland is my hometown and we are bursting with pride to be hosting the SCAA…” I have met Matt a few times at various events – and it is always a delight to get “re caught up.”
Andrea and I spent a lot of time walking the trade floor before opening time on Friday morning (Thank you SCAA media/press passes!). It is interesting behind the camera and on the floor prior to opening to feel the palpable energy and to see everyone ready to roll a solid hour in advance of door crashing.
Photo – The newer, bigger, better ESPRO brewer!
In the opening salvos of the SCAA I was busy looking for a comprehensive theme or buzz phrase that would describe what I was seeing and hearing.
“Innovation, evolution and optimism…” came to mind. Times have been tough with the economy the last few years but to be honest, there is nothing wrong with the coffee economy. Nothing at all. There are reasons for this – not really going into that too much here.
There is (or has been a lot of) innovation in the coffee industry the last couple of years and it was all on display here. Some things surprised me. Most everything pleased me. Every kiosk had something going on. There were no duds or lackluster displays. In fact, some of the displays and presenters had some things going on that utterly blew my mind. That will be revealed in my photo mosaic of what I saw.
Rancilio U.S.A. were preaching the virtues of the programmable brew profiling using a kind of old school technology called “Pulse width modulation…” PW Modulation goes back decades but I have never heard it applied to espresso making… so bravo for that!
Bonavita! I talked to Todd of Bonavita and his engineer/inventor associate (I will key in his name later) and the big buzz was about the constant/programmable temperature kettle with non-volatile memory. A snippet about that on the audio piece I will key in. Photo of this lovely device below!
Evolution – Some items that caught my eye:
Alan Adler of Aerobie Industries and the legendary Aeropress. I could not have been happier to see Alan – and I arrived just in time to follow him sprinting to an Aeropress competition on the floor. At 72 years of age, Alan Adler has more energy than the average teenager – and it was delightful to talk to a living legend and to a man who has made such a huge contribution to coffee culture.
Alan and his beautiful grand daughter Constance (who works in marketing for Aerobie) and the rest of the team were always busy at their little booth.
Kyra, Joyce and Kyle (and the rest of the Baratza team) continue to take some great coffee grinding ideas to new heights with better gear boxes, better burrs, getting the bugs out of the old machines and delivering a much more reliable product as a result.
Optimism – From Kyle of Baratza: “Sales have never been better…” Reg James of EspressoTec.com “This has been a very good year so far…”
Here is the thing about coffee: You cannot eat pizza every day, but when you get hooked up to a great cup of coffee, you have to have it every day… without exception.
In our next installment, we will get down to some of the meat and potatoes of the Portland coffee, food and beer scene — and more on 2012 SCAA!
2012 Return to reality Chapter 1 Hawaii travel summary · 2.02.12 by colin newell
Looking back on what I have written about Hawaii, I smugly thought to myself…
I have most certainly written everything that has to be said about travel to, living on and returning safely from the Big Island of Hawaii.
Fail on that account.
This trip was entirely different – we embraced it differently – we approached it more from a “If this is the last time we do Big Island Hawaii for a while, let’s approach it like the buffet table on the 1st night of a cruise…” perspective.
Which was very effective. Did more stuff. Went more places.
Photo above – the up view at Magic Sands Beach – Alii Drive Kona – could have shot my horizontal perspective but that would have been bikini’s and bronzed dudes!
Tried some different things. Have a few more things to suggest. And some warnings for those who need to be reminded that, hey, listen up… there are hazards and you need to be warned.Directing that more yours truly than anything else – but it makes for a good story I think.
Right off the top, this is going to be the last month long departure from home for some time to come. We both work – we both have a solid family connection here – and dang it, I love Victoria and I am a home body – and becoming more of one as time goes on.
That said, 25 odd days in paradise is hard to beat. And I have discovered a couple of things.
Thing A:) I take very little time winding down into the Island groove… often as little as a couple of days – this time was no exception.
Here is how it works: Plane arrives on Kona mid-day. Get off plane. Get baggage. Collect some brochures after visiting the lav. Get on shuttle to rental car kiosk. Thank you to Avis for years of great service! Drive to Kona Brewing company for a pizza and a beer. Drive to Cost Co for a quick shop. Drive to Safeway for some more supplies. Drive to Kona village condo to “get in” and dump bags. By 4 PM we are by the pool with a drink in our hands. If we are feeling energetic, we head down to “Don the Beachcomber” (great Mai Tai, very sketchy food) for a quick snack and a couple of strong drinks…
and in bed early because we are exhausted from being up at 5 AM for the 6:30AM connector flight from Victoria to Seattle.
Photo above – Iki Crate hike – 2.5 hours – take a minimum of 1 liter of water per person. You will lose this amount of fluid. I did and I didn’t have enough water. Result: Next chapter.
Note to readers: I avoid Vancouver International Airport in favor of Seattle because, IMHO, everything is better in Seattle. Another blog on this subject in the future.
Early days in Kona include medium to long walks early in the day to get acclimated – Kona is not tropical and not overly hot but it is not the North West and you will get dehydrated pretty quickly if you do not pay attention and badly sunburned if you do not load up with sun block.
So – quickly: What did we do more differently?
The weather was really good and the surf was not too high so we spent way more time at Magic Sands Beach on Alii Drive – a great small beach about 1.5 miles from our Condo (at the Hale Kona Kai…) It is a great beach for body surfing (board surfing further down the beach) and snorkel. Average shore break is 3 to 7 feet this time of year and has to be considered very, very dangerous to those not familiar with Hawaii water hazards.
Photo above – the calm that is Alii Drive on a Wednesday (Cruise ship day) directly across the street from Island Lava Java Cafe – photo by Shari Morkin of Illinois
More people drown in Hawaii than any other state or Province in North America.
In 3 visits early on in our trip I witnessed three mishaps requiring Life guard and/or first responder intervention – Life guards in Hawaii actually are Firemen if I did my research correctly.
A couple of the mishaps involved turning ones back on the water. Here is the thing. Never, ever turn your back on the ocean – If you are in the wrong position when the wave breaks it is like having a 600 sq. foot apartment filled with water dropped on you. Best case scenario – you will get picked up and tossed backward 15 or 20 feet. Worse case: You will tumble under the water and your head and neck will get pushed into the sand. I saw both these things happen – and it is not pretty – and it is particularly frightening if you are just visiting and this is the start of your vacation.
Personally, I learned my water limits in 1996 – and that means never go much further out that waist level in the water – because the breakers are going to be double or triple that. Prepare to jump or tuck and torpedo under the approaching break – know how and it will save your life.
In the next chapter, more about… you guessed it… Hawaii!
Hawaii Photo-Gallery here.
2012 Picture report from Hawaii number 7 Shrimp sunset · 21.01.12 by colin newell
Meal at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. on Alii Drive in Kona.
This place was massively hammered by the Tsunami in March 2011 – the community pulled together and had the restaurant up and running again in 24 hours. That was the way it was all the way around the damage zone.
Many people do not know this but the Kona Village (some 25 minutes up the highway towards N. Kona and Kohala – was utterly devastated by the wave – and they will not be rebuilding. Sadly, they had one of the best Luau going.
Anyway. Nature lashes out – and people pull together.
Below is a shot of nature at its gentlest. A sunset. We get one a day.
Enjoy it folks. It is a precious thing.
Click on the photo for the bigger view
2012 Picture report from Hawaii number 6 - Indiana Colin · 16.01.12 by colin newell
Shared a picnic table with a friendly, but slightly twitchy praying mantis – eventually he walked onto a stick (a real stick) and moved off to a safer area.
We met with the good folks from Blue Horse Kona down in Kealakekua Bay – home of great swimming and snorkel activities – this was also an area that was hard hit by the tsunami of March 2011 – whole houses were ripped off of their foundations and dragged out into the bay.
The view here is spectacular – Kealakekua Bay is home to the Captain Cook memorial and the works largest cliff side mausoleum – (more on that on a later blog of our trip…)
Photo taken by former art director for Prada (yea, the fashion company…) – Joachim, owner partner at Blue Horse Kona Coffee. Click on the photo for a bigger view.
2012 Picture report from Hawaii number 5 · 14.01.12 by colin newell
Proving several things.
God has a sense of humor – watching this fella (or lady) struggle to get up to the dry lava rock, tells me that we all have our struggles but there is always a reward.
And that we are not the only important creatures on this planet (having seen a dozen whales and hundreds of dolphins the last few weeks…)
Sometimes the best part of getting away, is getting in touch with reality.
Photo taken from at least 25-35 feet away with a long zoom – Turtles are protected and should not be approached, harassed or played with.
