The number of coffeehouses that have opened over the past few years made untangling the votes for Best Coffeehouse in Portland a challenge. We love our coffee, and judging by the comments, many of us have strong preferences about coffeehouses. For this survey I left out “Best Roaster” for another survey, because I wanted to concentrate on things like service, feel, and the general “makes me happy” factor.
There was a bit of a change in order this year, but in general the same places made the top of the list.
1228 votes counted:
1. Barista Coffee – 12.63% of the vote
- Pearl District: 539 Northwest 13th Avenue, Portland 97209 Map
- Alberta: 1725 NE Alberta St., Portland 97211 Map
- Downtown – 529 SW 3rd avenue, Portland 97214 Map
- Nob Hill: 823 NW 23rd Ave., Portland OR 97210 Map
You can read our detailed profile of Barista here.
2. Coava Coffee – 12.22%
Read our detailed profile of Coava Coffee here.
3. Stumptown Coffee Roasters – 7.74%
- Five Portland locations, see website for more information
Read our detailed profile of Stumptown Coffee here.
4. Ristretto Roasters – 6.92%
- Nicolai: 2181 NW Nicolai St., Portland 97210 Map
- Williams: 3808 N Williams Ave, Portland 97227 Map
- Couch: 555 NE Couch St., Portland 97232 Map
5. Heart Roasters – 5.5%
- Eastside: 2211 E. Burnside St, Portland OR. 97214 Map
- Westside: 537 SW 12th Ave, Portland OR. 97205 Map
Read our detailed profile of Heart Coffee Roasters here.
6. Water Avenue Coffee – 3.87%
- 1028 SE Water Ave., Portland 97205 Map
Read our detailed profile of Water Avenue Coffee here.
7. Case Study Coffee – 3.67%
- 5347 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland Or. 97221 Map
- 802 SW 10th ave., Portland OR. 97205 Map
- 1422 NE Alberta St., Portland OR. 97211 Map
Read our profile of Case Study Coffee here.
8. Spella Caffé – 3.67
- 520 SW 5th Ave., Portland OR. 97204 Map
Read our profile of Spella Caffe here.
9. Jim & Patty’s Coffee – 3.26
10. Dutch Bros. Coffee – 2.65%
- 5482 SW Beaverton Hillsdale Hwy, Portland OR. 97221 Map
- 11746 SW Pacific Hwy, Tigard OR. 97223 Map
- 8940 SW Hall Blvd., Portland OR. 97223 Map
There are few interesting changes in ranking. The effect of so many new coffeehouses means the same votes are spread over more businesses. Because of the sheer volume, Barista went from 18.74% to 12.63%. Though Case Study has opened new locations, they dropped from 5.9% to 3.67. Water Avenue Coffee moved from 4.25% to 3.87%. Ristretto Roasters continued to fall – 7.56% to 6.92%. putting it in 4th place, and Coffeehouse NW, a past favorite dropped all the way to 20th place with just 18 votes. Stumptown, which seems to be building a negative buzz lately, has climbed back to third on the list.
Previous years:
- 2013 Survey – Barista, Ristretto Roasters, Case Study Coffee, Water Ave. Coffee
- 2012 Survey – Ristretto Roasters, Barista Coffee, Stumptown Coffee, Heart, Coava, Coffeehouse NW, Extracto Coffee
- 2011 Survey – Stumptown Coffee, Barista Coffee, Coffeehouse NW, Ristretto Roasters, Heart Coffee Roasters
- 2010 Survey – Stumptown, Barista Coffee, Coffeehouse NW
My favorite comments from the survey:
- Coffeehouse NW – “I had a boss (a real new jerk) who would not step a foot in the place. I drank his coffee and mine as well with a smile.”
- Cathedral – “It was a strong race between the SW 12th Heart and Cathedral, but Cathedral is just pretty divine (pun intended).”
- Albina Press – “I think one of the guys is flirting with me.”
Marshall says
March 12, 2015 at 9:30 pmDutch Bros. really ended up on this list? Extracto and Good Coffee were below Dutch Bros.? I genuinely am blown away, Portland,
cory says
March 13, 2015 at 9:43 amVery surprised Dutch Bros made the list.
Good Coffee should have been among these.
how about Sterling Roasters/Coffee House Northwest?
Public Domain maybe?
Not Dutch Bros guys.
PDX Food Dude says
March 13, 2015 at 4:36 pmSterling/Coffee House NW fell a long way this year to #20. They just aren’t as popular as they used to be, Not sure why – I had a good cup of coffee there a few weeks ago. Good Coffee and Public Domain only got a few votes – less than 3 as I recall. Extracto was about 13 on the list.
PDX Food Dude says
March 13, 2015 at 4:33 pmYou’ve got to keep in mind that a lot of people took the survey. I did check to see if they had pushed for votes on their feeds (they hadn’t). Let’s face it, lots of people like Starbucks and Pete’s – at least those didn’t make it.
PDX Food Dude says
March 13, 2015 at 4:33 pmYou’ve got to keep in mind that a lot of people took the survey. I did check to see if they had pushed for votes on their feeds (they hadn’t). Let’s face it, lots of people like Starbucks and Pete’s – at least those didn’t make it.
Cloe says
March 14, 2015 at 4:10 pmI urge any coffee lover reading this to go to SW 5th & Harrison or SW 10th & Alder to try Olé Latte. Todd Edwards is a super cool hard-working guy who started these coffee carts and the coffee is only surpassed by the amazing service. One of the few coffee roasters I’ll buy a bag from and drink black, it’s so good. Check it out!
Keirsten Smyth says
October 22, 2015 at 8:14 pmWater Avenue Coffee is horribly greedy and corrupt. Every person in those photos at their “friendly” cafe was fired, as well as the original roaster & sourcer who put them on the map. I was fired when it was learned I was going be having another child.
But how does that effect coffee? Nobody respects the owners so how are you supposed to care about serving the public? I moved on to a small coffee shop in town and am son relieved to be gone. I just wish the didn’t use my image from three years ago in their stories.
It isn’t a “Mom & Pop.” It’s a father and son making a once cool idea completely corporate. Hire three PR firms?!?