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Coffee Guide: Coava Coffee Roasters

April 17, 2012 by 2 Comments
Coava Coffee Portland

Coava Coffee. Photo ©Tim Roth, Pupil Photo

<updated 4.17 – corrected employee awards>

Although Matt Higgins has been in the coffee business for over a decade, he began Coava, as many Portland roasters have, out of a humble garage in 2008. Just a few years later, Higgins still roasts on his trusty Probats, but has moved  out of the garage and into a beautifully designed retail shop, which  he shares with Bamboo Revolution. The café includes a coffee bar and space they designed together in Portland’s Central Eastside Industrial District, with plans for expanding roasting even more in the next few months. Using single-sourced beans Higgins gets from farmers he knows well, the quality shines through. You will never see sub-par or even lesser grade beans in any of Coava’s roasts, and blends are simply not part of Coava’s roasting repertoire. Only two varieties are generally available at any given time, with recent offerings including  Finca Zarcero from Costa Rica, described as “acidity with chocolate and floral taste”, while the very complex Benjamin Miranda from Honduras is explained as, “The extremely high elevation of his farm (1,575 – 1,650 masl) and volcanic soil in the Montecillos mountain range contribute an incredible sweetness to this coffee.”

“Their baristas share the same level of commitment, professionalism and passion. Coava’s Devin Chapman won the USBC Northwest Regional Brewer’s Cup in 2011 and 2012, and the NW Regional Barista Championship in 2012. Sam Purvis, also of Coava, won the Northwest Regional Barista Championship in 2011.”

We love Coava for their style, simplicity, commitment to single origins, and a light touch that enhances the best that their beans have to offer.

 

 

 

Category: Coffee.

Lizzy Caston

Lizzy writes about the types of food she likes to cook the most; simple dishes based on the freshest ingredients and gently coaxed to bring out their best qualities. Things like roast chicken with crackling skin, meat stews, all kinds of soups, and anything on toast. You know, peasant food like your French/Southern/Thai/Lebanese Mother might make. In her past she held many a food service job, from a high-end traditional Japanese restaurant to a grease-pit diner off of Interstate 5. And she claims to still have nasty case of espresso wrist from the 10 billion lattes she made during her barista years. Lizzy has an educational background that includes food sciences and politics, and has been a past writer for both cultural and academic publications. She takes a big picture view of the role that all things gastronomic are having in shaping the economy, culture, identity, and ever changing food scene both here and elsewhere. She believes Portland is at a pivotal and creative time food wise, and is constantly amazed and surprised at the bounty our city has to offer.

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Comments

  1. Sue Porter says:
    April 17, 2012 at 2:14 pm

    A real coffee place downtown? That’ll be a welcome change, and I look forward to a Barista there; I’m a regular at their Pearl store.

    Reply
  2. James says:
    April 20, 2012 at 11:46 am

    Coava is the *best* coffee in the Northwest by far. nice post.

    Reply

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