In 2023, I got the idea to bike to 100 different coffeeshops in Portland. I wasn’t actually sure that there were 100 shops worth going to, but it seemed possible, and by the end of the year I’d reached my goal and still hadn’t made it to every shop I’d like to visit. Writing about the project, it turns out, was a more difficult endeavor. It could have been just a story about coffee, but every time I sat down to write about it, I felt like it also needed to tie into right-wing delusions about Portland and Trump’s threats against the city.
That intuition was correct. I finally published an essay about the experience at Slate on Saturday morning, the same day that Trump posted that he was “directing the Secretary of War [sic]… to provide all necessary Troops [sic] to protect War [sic] ravaged Portland… authorizing Full Force [sic], if necessary.” My Slate piece offers a very different picture of Portland. As I reflect there:
I set out on my bike and coffee journey at a time of optimism, the dark days of the pandemic receding and the possibility of permanently excising Trump from American politics on the horizon. Looking back on it today, I can’t help but see the contrast with the MAGA movement’s anti-multicultural malevolence. Every one of those 100 cups was a lesson in enrichment thanks to international trade, immigration, and urbanization, sources of dynamism that this administration is strangling with its backward-looking efforts to define “real America” as suburban, white, and definitely not woke.
Trump’s brand of politics feeds on the lie that multicultural cities are frightening and chaotic. If he follows through on his threats to deploy National Guard troops to Portland, it won’t be for the benefit of the people who call the city home. The intent will be to incite a spectacle of chaos, manufacturing a crisis to retroactively justify the belief that Democrat-run cities are in need of forceful takeover. The provocation will be the point.
Read the whole thing for much more, including quite a bit about how the Portland coffee scene has become much more diverse, and why the early 2000s fear that Starbucks would crush indie coffeeshops was way off base in hindsight.
For completeness, here’s the full chronological list of Portland coffeeshops I rode my bike to, documenting them mostly through Instagram stories with the hashtag #biketobeans from May to December of 2023. I lived almost right in the center of the map for this project, in the Lloyd District on the central eastside. The Lloyd District is not exciting, but it is very convenient for getting to all the more interesting neighborhoods in Portland by train, streetcar, bus, bike, or car (gross), which is why I ended up there for so long.
Lastly, it’s worth noting that by the time I started plotting out my final rides of this project, I realized there were more places I wanted to go than I could fit into a list of 100. Even more coffeeshops have opened up since then, many of which I haven’t made it to yet. I could easily add more shops if I ever restart #biketobeans. (I still bike to beans of course, just without the hashtag.)
1. Roseline Coffee (Alberta) — A bustling, airy coffeeshop with great pastries, and one of my current favorite places to post up with a laptop.
2. Upper Left — It was on a bike ride on a particularly perfect Portland spring day that I determined in earnest to try biking to 100 different shops!
3. Saint Simon (Broadway) — This was my near-daily spot for years when I lived in the Lloyd District, even though it has just three tiny tables and I’d sometimes have to move on to somewhere else if I needed to work. Charming, cozy place that may or may not be named after a Shins song. I still go there often, even though I live further away now.
4. Euko
5. Day Lily — Now Cafe Rosetta. Haven’t been yet, but looks nice!
6. Albina Press (Albina) — My original Portland go-to that I’ve visited hundreds of times over the years. Still a great place with big windows and warm wood.
7. Never Coffee (SW 12th) — Is it physically possible for me to start a shift at the Multnomah Whiskey Library without getting coffee here first? Signs point to no.
8. Stumptown (Belmont) — If I were doing this project over again I wouldn’t go to as many Stumptown locations to leave space for other shops, but as of stop number 8 I didn’t know how selective I could be and still make it to 100.
9. Crema (Ankeny)
10. Concourse Coffee — RIP, the sports decor here was very cool.
11. Coava (Grand) — I love this space. Great pour over coffee and big communal wooden tables.
12. Barista (NW 23rd)
13. Seven Virtues (Sandy)
14. Saint Simon (Brazee) — Just a few blocks from the original Saint Simon, you’ll find a lot more seating here, including a nice pup-friendly patio.
15. Roseline (Davis) — Outdoor seating is tough in rainy PDX, making the covered outdoor space here a real gem.
16. Albina Press (Hawthorne)
17. Either/Or
18. Water Ave (SE Water Ave)
19. Puff Coffee — The newer venture from Stumptown founder Dwayne Sorenson. Really good, with a nice covered space semi-open to the elements. You can’t buy the psilocybin-infused coffee they collaborated on there, but you can take its existence as a sign of how the specialty coffee industry has become a bit more relaxed in recent years.
20. Holly Rose
21. Proud Mary — A must-visit for serious coffee tasting, but also a destination-worthy brunch restaurant in the Australian coffeeshop style. This is the first American location for the Melbourne-based company and they’re a wonderful addition to the city.
22. Case Study (NW 23rd)
23. Good Coffee (NW Raleigh) — Opening out on a wide open courtyard, this might be my favorite place in Portland to read a book on a sunny day.
24. Portland Cà Phê (MLK) — Showcasing Vietnamese coffee, and also worth a visit for a banh mi.
25. Cascadia Coffee Pub
26. Capitola Coffee — Tucked away on the north end of Mississippi, you might not know from the street that there’s a lovely inner courtyard here where you can enjoy your coffee.
27. Case Study Coffee (Alberta)
28. Abba Coffee
29. Deadstock — A tiny coffeeshop for sneakerheads, one of the more uniquely Portland places I wasn’t able to work into the article.
30. Caffe Umbria (NW 12th)
31. Common Grounds — I accidentally left my bike unlocked outside here for a couple hours and it was still there when I got back. Major fail for the crime-ridden hellscape!
32. Kalesa Coffee
33. Stumptown (SW 3rd)
34. Nova Coffee — It’s a coffeeshop on the first floor of an apartment building named Hygge, so it’s surprising I haven’t lived there.
35. Good Coffee (SW Alder) — Located in the Woodlark Hotel, this is now a Roseline. Texan bonus: thanks to its association with the hotel’s Bullard restaurant, it’s one of the only places in Portland where you can reliably snag a kolache for breakfast.
36. Case Study Coffee (SW 10th)
37. Fresh Pot (Mississippi)
38. Red E
39. Cathedral Coffee (N. Willamette) — At a bit over 7 miles, this was my farthest trip out. A bit of a climb on the way there but a cruise downhill coming back, and one of the more scenic rides looking south to the city from the high elevation along the water in North Portland.
40. 40 Lbs Coffee Bar (SW 2nd)
41. Stumptown (SW Harvey Milk) — Technically closed now, but they opened a brand new location around the corner.
42. Carnelian Coffee — Cool rocks! A bit of a ride from the city center, but a very bike-friendly route with lots other places worth visiting in the area, like An Xuyên Vietnamese bakery in the morning or Pizzeria Otto later in the day.
43. Space Monkey Coffee
44. Good Coffee (SE 12th)
45. Exquisite Creatures
46. Rose City Coffee — Big space with occasional live music, which can be hit or miss in coffeeshops, but the band really added to the scene on my visit.
47. SeeSee Coffee — A motorcycle-themed coffee shop, now a different motorcycle-themed coffee shop called One Moto Cafe.
48. Heart Coffee (Burnside) — They don’t have wifi, which is nice when I’m in the mood to unplug, but it does mean I don’t visit as often as I’d like. One of my go-to though.
49. Push x Pull (SE Stark) — If you want to try coffees made with novel processing techniques, this is the place to visit. See my Slate feature from earlier this year about co-fermented coffee for more. They also now serve coffee from their roasting facility.
50. Eastside Coffee Bar and Workspace
51. Less and More (SW 5th) — This is their outdoor kiosk, which is great, but I regret not also making it to their nearby brick-and-mortar. Very inventive drinks!
52. Prince Coffee (NE Fremont)
53. Never Coffee (SE Belmont)
54. Heart Coffee (Woodstock)
55. Coffee Beer
56. Honey Latte Cafe
57. Wild Rose Coffee — The location I visited is closed now, but their new digs are only a block away from it.
58. Pajaro — Too sweet for this world! Now the coffee kiosk Our Spot.
59. Great North (Alberta)
60. Tov — Mentioned in the article, go for the cardamom-spiced Egyptian coffee.
61. Cafe Olli — Now also offering Ollini next door for your morning pastry needs.
62. Hypnos
63. Kopi Coffeehouse — I liked that this place specialized in Indonesian coffee, so I’m bummed that it’s closed. But the location is still a coffeeshop, No Preference, which I haven’t made it to yet.
64. Sterling Coffee Roasters — They had me at espresso in a glencairn.
65. Case Study (Sandy) — Coffee and writing session at Case Study followed by teriyaki at Du’s Grill, an unbeatable combination.
66. Coava (SE Hawthorne)
67. Spella Cafe (SW Alder) — Small Italian spot with lever-pulled espresso.
68. La Perlita — Get the true Mexican mocha to stay and a bag of beans to take home.
69. Presso Coffee (N. McClellan)
70. Wallflower Coffee
71. Coava Roastery (SE Main)
72. Extracto
73. Autumn Coffee Roasters (NE Killingsworth)
74. Crema (NE Couch)
75. Barista (NW 23rd)
76. Queue — Closed, but a fun-looking Thai coffeeshop called Kaleido has taken its place.
77. Dear Sandy — I’m often asked where one can go for late night coffee in Portland. Dear Sandy is the answer! Don’t pass up the cocktails, including non-alcoholic offerings.
78. Grendel’s
79. Oblique
80. Twenty-Six Cafe — Obviously, I should have made this my 26th stop.
81. Happy Cup (Williams) — Now a “build your own dessert bar” called Memoz.
82. Tiny’s (MLK) — Now a location of Harder Day.
83. Rx Coffee — Now closed, Frontera Sur just moved in serving Mexican breakfasts.
84. Stumptown (Division) — The original Stumptown and still a solid shop! If you’re going to visit one Stumptown, make it this one.
85. Nossa Familia (Division)
86. Hoxton — I don’t know if the coffeeshop in the Hoxton Hotel has a name, but it was one of favorite places to write back when they offered unlimited refills on Proud Mary coffee for just three bucks (a privilege I shamelessly abused). I think those days have passed, but it’s still a nice lobby to work in.
87. Futura (Rosa Parks)
88. Greenbridge — The shortest ride from my old apartment, less than a block away. It was silly to get on a bike to go there but the project demanded it.
89. Electrica
90. Soro Soro
91. Cadejo
92. Keia and Martyn’s Coffee (Lloyd Center) — My second shortest ride, nice to see them making it work in the Lloyd Center.
93. Courier
94. Cup of Joe — Run by a super nice guy named, you guessed it, Joe, in the Big Pink building downtown. Go say hi!
95. Bastion
96. J Vein Caffe — I had to make it to at least one coffee truck, right?
97. Super Joy — Indulge in the Sichuan pepper mocha.
98. Guilder (W Burnside) — Located inside Powell’s, where you’re obviously going to end up on a trip to Portland.
99. Koken — I went for the Ethiopian coffee but would like to return for the food. I see them listed as temporarily closed now, so I hope they return.
100. Junior’s — Renamed as part of Guilder. My final stop, so it had to be good coffee and a good ride! By late afternoon it transitions into an Upright Brewing tasting room. Upright is (very sadly!) closing, so get their beer while you can, but the space will continue serving beer from other breweries.
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