• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu

Portland Food and Drink

Restaurant News and Information For Portland Oregon Area Restaurants and Bars

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Send me email!
  • Home
  • About
    • Home
    • About the Site
    • The Authors
    • Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
    • Email me
  • Reviews
    • List of All Reviews
    • Steakhouse Roundup
      • Steakhouse Reviews Introduction
      • El Gaucho Steakhouse
      • Morton’s Steakhouse
      • Ringside Steakhouse
      • Ruth’s Chris
      • Steakhouse – Results
  • Topics
    • Memorials
    • Food Memories
    • Travel Writing
    • Food Writing
      • Alcohol Related
        • Beer
        • Wine
        • Spirits
      • April Fools Stories For Portland
      • Contests and Competition
    • Authors / Book Reviews
    • Cheese information
    • Interviews: Honest dialog with people in the Portland food industry
    • Recipes
  • Guides
    • Portland Coffee Guide
    • Guide to Local Wine Shops
    • Guide to Portland Distilleries
    • Guide to Portland’s Beer Shops

Coffee Guide: Coava Coffee Roasters

April 17, 2012 by CuisineBonneFemme 6 Comments

Coava Coffee Portland interior
Coava SW Jefferson

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 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. In 2016 – 2017 they expanded to three more locations, including a beautiful roastery, where you can check out the machinery and get a cup of brewed coffee. 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.

  • 1300 Southeast Grand Avenue, Portland, 97214 Map
  • 1171 SW Jefferson St., Portland 97201 Map
  • 2631 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland 97214  Map
  • 1015 SE Main St, Portland 97214 (brewed coffee only at this roastery)
  • Website: CoavaCoffee.com
  • Twitter: @Coavacoffee
  • Facebook: Coava Coffee Roasters

 

 

 

Related

Filed Under: Coffee, Portland Coffeehouse Guide

About CuisineBonneFemme

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.

Reader Interactions

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
  3. Bob Tibbetts says

    November 28, 2014 at 10:07 pm

    The Honduran decaf from Coava is superb. I have tried many, and this is one of the very best.

    Reply
  4. PDXCDG says

    October 1, 2017 at 12:31 pm

    I was told Coava teamed up with Blue Star Donuts and does a special roast for them- “to complement every Blue Star Donut”

    Reply
    • PDX Food Dude says

      October 2, 2017 at 2:33 pm

      If I used emoticons, I’d put the rolling eyes one here.

      Reply
  5. pearlypoint says

    February 23, 2018 at 5:01 pm

    Not a single word in any of these comments to locate Coava’s roasting style relative to known practice.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

© 2025 · PortlandFoodandDrink.com • See Terms of Service and Privacy Policy