Cup & Bar Announces Opening

Portland, Ore., April 2, 2015:  Ranger Chocolate Company, a new craft chocolate maker, and Trailhead Coffee Roasters, a sustainable coffee roasting company, announced today the opening of its chocolate factory and coffee roastery in Portland’s Artisan Quarter. Located at 118 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., the newly redeveloped facility will accommodate the factory, roastery and Cup & Bar, a cafe and tasting room boasting handcrafted coffee and chocolate. All specialty coffee drinks served in the café will be paired with a piece of Ranger chocolate. Cup & Bar will be open from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

The café and tasting room are dedicated to creating an experience for customers through moments of education and discovery by pairing chocolate from different regions with coffee and wine or even beer. Every detail of the space was chosen with intention and reflects the handcrafted nature of coffee from bean to cup and chocolate from bean to bar. Facility tours will be offered in the near future and the space will be available to rent for private events.

The chocolate factory and coffee roastery are each 1,250 square feet with 1,500 square feet devoted to the café and tasting room. The building dates back to 1920, which was originally part of the historic “Stark Vacuum” warehouse. It was restored back to its original facade and many of the original building’s materials were reclaimed, including the wood ceiling and beams, brick interior and original concrete flooring – 100 percent of the finished wood pieces used for the bar and countertops were salvaged from a family farm in Washington.

Baristas will brew handcrafted coffee on one of three brewing methods including: Pour Over using Hario V60, Cold Brew on nitro, and Espresso. The stunning, inimitable design of the Slayer espresso machine will bring the café to life and inspire the baristas to perform like artists. Two coffee drinks staking a permanent claim on the drink menu will be the “Dirty Charlie”, a Macchiato and chocolate combination, named after Trailhead owner Charlie Wicker, and an Affogato – Ranger cacao nib ice cream topped with steaming hot espresso.

A variety of locally inspired foods will also be available at the café including a Streetcar sandwich (the building is “sandwiched” by the CL Line) made with ham from Tails & Trotters, granola made in house, rotating daily breads with a variety of savory and sweet spreads, and of course chocolate desserts such as brownies, cookies, and ice cream will be offered by Ranger.

Flights of drinking chocolate from the Peru regions of Tumbes, Chulucanas and San Martìn will be served and beer, wine and other libations will also be on tap. There will be plenty of other chocolate drinks including chocolate soda, hot chocolate and chocolate milk.