Michael Brooks – Fresh Pot

FP3

Michael Brooks — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 05:32:26 +0000

Whoa. Time really flies when you’re crazy busy.

As you all may or may not have heard — we’re opening a third cafe. The location is at 724 SW Washington St. in downtown Portland, just around the corner from the food carts on 9th and Alder. The spot was occupied for almost eight years by our pals over at Coffee Plant. Mike and his crew will continue to operate the second location at 5915 SW Corbett.

We’re going to have a joint celebration at the new space on Friday, January 14 to both say goodbye and hello.

From a pure business standpoint, this is really big for us. We’re all super excited to take the next step and launch a new branch of the FP. Most important to us is ability to really bring over the established culture of the existing FP cafes. We take our coffee seriously but at the same time, we’re looking to be a spot that you want to hang out in. This past week has been a long process in tear-down and build-up. We’ve done some painting and some rearranging. Next up tomorrow is the heading over to our neighbors on Mississippi for a turntable.

We also went on a hiring binge. In the span of about one week, we interviewed and hired four new coworkers and our crack in-house trainer Alex has been working overtime to bring them up to speed. We’ll be hanging out, sweeping, mopping and organizing like mad to get the space ready to go for our opening day on Monday, January 10. Our buddies over at Stumpy have also really come through with lightning fast equipment turn-around, coffee deliveries, advice and support.

I know we’re all psyched to get to know a whole new batch of regulars as well as seeing our existing customers who happen to work downtown. Here’s to good things for the weeks ahead.

Thanks!

Keeping One Foot In Front The Other.

Michael Brooks — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 10:19:09 +0000

Is it really that time again? Summer has just flown by and with the last days of August comes the pain & pleasure explosion known as the Hood to Coast Relay.
197 miles. 1000 teams. 12 runners in two vans. And with us, enough coffee (both pressed and cold-brewed) to keep us up for 36 hours straight. This is our 4th (5th?) year running with our pals over at the roastery. The legs all tend to blur together at this point so the count could be a little off.

Van 1 is powered by the Stumpies. They have a crackerjack team with a pretty good mix of HTC veterans and newbies. Our buddy Skip will try to keep his quads from disintegrating as he checks off Leg 1 from Timberline. Van 2 is powered by the FP and friends. Our customers Jill and Amber keep us on our feet and from talking entirely about coffee. We’ll be making our way back to Portland sometime around midnight on Friday. Look for us — we’ll be under the Hawthorne bridge (with about 2,000 other people). After that, only two more legs and 90 miles to go!
If you see us creaking and limping behind the bar next week — now you know why…

Cupping With Aleco… and Softball.

Michael Brooks — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 11:15:05 +0000

The Fresh Pot is one of the oldest Stumptown accounts in the city. We’ve been serving Stumpy’s coffee since the cafe on Division handled the bulk of the roasting. Over the years we’ve witnessed plenty of changes and growth within the ranks of our fair roaster but one of the most impressive moves has been the addition of Aleco Chigounis — Director of Coffee for Stumptown. Aleco has been in the coffee business forever. His dad worked for Lacas Coffee Company in Philadelphia and Aleco spent some time there packing coffee and running deliveries. After a few stopovers in Costa Rica and L.A., he landed in Portland and immediately went to work.
Our long-running relationship with the Stumpies has its share of perks. The most recent one was an invitation to hang out in the cupping lab at Stumptown HQ with Aleco. There’s been a surge of recent arrivals from Latin America and Aleco wanted to give us his personal run-down on the new offerings.

And so on Wednesday, we met up at the cupping lab around the corner from the Divsion cafe for some time with Aleco. We cupped new offerings from Guatemala Finca el Injerto (an old standby and one of Stumptown’s longest running Direct Trade relationships), Panama Duncan Estate, Honduras Finca el Puente, Costa Rica Brumas del Zurqui (a fantastic example of a honey-process coffee), Ethiopia Michelle, the Kenya Ngunguru and the absolutely stellar Kenya Kangunu.
We spent over an hour cupping and discussing the flavor profiles and the back-stories of each coffee. My new personal favorite is the Brumas del Zurqui from Costa Rica — in fact, I’m polishing off a French Press of it as I write this. The new offering from Injerto once again proved that fantastic coffee is an achievement on many different levels. Aleco told us how a visit to Arturo Aguirre’s farm is a portrait of dedication and consistency. It’s an incredible cup and even dry on the table evoked a strong fragrance of jasmine — so awesome. We really appreciated our time with Aleco since he has so little of it to spare. Come Monday, he’ll be off on a plane to Indonesia.
Thanks Aleco!
We just wrapped up our second week in the summer softball league. So far, we are 0 – 2. But hey, we’re just slow starters and can you blame us when there’s beer involved? Our role models are a little more Bad New Bears than New York Yankees and in that light, we’re doing just fine. We certainly look like we know what we’re doing…

Let’s go team!

Finally, Sunshine.

Michael Brooks — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 13:44:34 +0000

OMG. The sun finally decided to come out. Lookout Portland, summer is in full swing!

We have a ton of stuff to do in the next couple of months. Thankfully, we have our new version of our classic cold-brewed coffee on hand to power us through — Hello Summer! Next, we have thrown our collective hats in the ring for the coveted summer league softball trophy. The FP team will face off against the crew from Por Que No, Tupelo Alley and other assorted teams from our North Portland neighborhood. First game is Thursday, June 24 at Overlook Park and yes, beer will be involved.
After that, we have the Mississippi Street Fair on Saturday, July 10. Each year the fair gets a little bigger and this one should be gigantic, as well. We kind of have the feeling that Portlanders are ready to burst out onto the streets in shorts and flip-flops and any excuse to traipse around with hot dogs and beer is welcome. Also during the fair, be sure to come on by and say hello to the crew from Bikes to Rwanda. They’ll be in front of the cafe with information on how you can spread the message and get involved.
Last up is the real deal, the destroyer of shins, the much anticipated adventure known as the annual Hood to Coast Relay. We are partnering with our pals at Stumptown Coffee Roasters once again. We have a team of returning veterans and we’re ready to tear up some asphalt (and maybe a ligament or two) along the way.
Wish us luck! Drop on in and say hello and don’t forget to use some sunscreen out there…

Trailblazers, coffee and you.

Michael Brooks — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 09:43:29 +0000

Yes. We made it through the holidays. The days are getting a little longer and you can almost see the sun for more than a couple of hours. Also, the Portland Trailblazers are doing well.
Our friend Nathan is also a Blazers fan and when he’s not working, record hunting or sleeping, he’s probably talking about the NBA. He also happens to run a collaborative ‘zine called “Fake Your Own Death“. A few months ago, he came to us with an idea for a Trailblazers themed art show. Katie and Morgan (our outgoing and incoming art curators) were into it. Nathan put the word out for submissions and lo and behold, an awesome Greg Oden portrait is hanging on our wall. Come check it out at the Fresh Pot on Mississippi before the month of January is over.
Also, our pals over at the Stumptown Roastery have just released a ton of new crop. We now have two new offerings from Burundi, five from Colombia, two from Rwanda and one from Kenya. Delicious. It’s especially nice to have the Colombia La Piramide since that is the farm that Vin (FP owner) was able to visit last year.
Also, if you have time this Sunday evening (January 31), come on down to Mississippi Studios (just down the block from the shop) for an anniversary show for FP North. The cafe opened its doors during the first week of February in 2002. We’ve had a great run (8 years) so far and we’d like to have a beer with you. Three bands featuring FP staff will be there to entertain you. It’s your chance to see us out from behind the counter.
Thanks!

Coffee Fest 2009

Michael Brooks — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 22:55:48 +0000

So once a year, the city of Seattle is bombarded with a wave of hyper-caffeinated industry folk wandering around downtown, Capitol Hill and eventually – the convention center. Why, you ask? Coffee Fest. At it’s most basic, CFest is a trade show that has all the pluses and minuses of any large gathering of people looking to buy or sell stuff. Beyond that, it’s a great chance to rub elbows with all the goofy characters in the national coffee scene and to truly see that yes, sometimes we really do take things a touch too seriously…
The weekend is also the setting for a bunch of competitions. Some of them are informal affairs at local cafes, maybe after hours drink making sessions (jams) where the aim is to drink as much beer as espresso and pour your drink in the most ridiculous container possible. Others are sanctioned with sponsorships and prizes. Our man, Jason Walker will be at such an event. Yes, the man that brought you this:

And this:

Will try to bring home the bacon, latte-art wise. Good luck Mr. Walker!
If you’re up in the Emerald City this week, be sure to keep an eye out for a gaggle of tattooed, messenger bag wearing, brown finger waving ne’er-do-wells – chances are, they’ll make your coffee in the morning.

Hello, Goodbye.

Michael Brooks — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 09:01:23 +0000

Change is in the air. We’re happy to announce that all of our brewed coffee at the Hawthorne location is 100% Direct Trade from Stumptown. Also, after a series of incidents that would have made this journal proud, we have a new bagel purveyor at Hawthorne.
On a bittersweet note, our manager at the Hawthorne shop is leaving the fold for an awesome new post at Stumptown – wholesale account trainer. We’re all going to miss Rita’s smile behind the counter, but fortunately, we know where to find her. Thanks for everything!

Hood To Coast 2009…

Michael Brooks — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 07:45:59 +0000

Still catching up on blog posts – this one happened a few weeks ago. Once again, we managed to make the cut in the yearly lottery for the Hood to Coast Relay. This was our sixth go ’round and our third partnered with the crew at Stumptown. There was a lot of build up to this year. I had folks telling me that they wanted in a year in advance. Turns out, talk is cheap – when it came down to the last month we were scrambling to fill our spots.
One of our super duper regulars secured her spot in perpetuity – thanks Jill, and first-timers Morgan and Amber rose to the occasion, as well. Amber’s rallying cry of “I got this” became a team mantra by the end.
There were a couple of hiccups – our van got lost in the deadly Gresham Triangle, but otherwise the race went off without a hitch. We had ample amounts of delicious coffee with us (although the combo of too little sleep and food with too much coffee can do strange things to a body).
We had some great hook-ups this year: sweet hoodies from our pal Adam at Golden Rule Design, van usage from the boys in the band, and homemade energy bars from our next door neighbors at Moxie. Thanks!
We also saw the triumphant return of Rita and Jason to the ranks of HTC volunteers (the folks who tell you where to turn on your run) and a new addition to the crew – Alex. Thanks guys!
It was an awesome, if painful, experience all around and hopefully, we can do it again next year.

Cup It Up!

Michael Brooks — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 11:13:33 +0000

Whoa, there’s a lot of stuff to catch up on. This will be a quickie. Stumptown is rolling out a sh*t-ton of new crop. What that means for us is – it’s cupping time!
We met in the backroom of the FP North to meet up with Skip and his crazy big batch of Latins to try out.
Skip also included a new version of the most excellent Ethiopia Mordecofe and lo and behold – the first ever Direct Trade Indonesian coffee from Stumpy – bonus, in a peaberry!
Last but not least, Stumptown has stepped up to the plate and delivered with a new decaf. The regular version of Honduras Finca El Puente has long been a staff favorite. Stumpy blew our little minds with the news of a decaffeinated version. Most decafs are like emaciated urchins crying out for more flavor and body. Not this one. It retains a bunch of sweetness and has the slightest tinge of raisin/caramel action. All in all, a nice cup of coffee for the caffeine sensitive crowd.

BBQ…

Michael Brooks — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 17:00:41 +0000

Well summer is just flying along. Last month, Vin took his first trip to origin with fellow coffee-folk, Skip, Steve, Aleco and Mike. They flew to Colombia and in addition to riding horses to exotic locations, chowing down delicious food, picking coffee cherries off the branch, they also had a chance to see the first stages of the bean to cup cycle. Next time you pick up a bag or sip a cup of Colombia la Esperanza you might imagine a group of excited Portlanders learning the ropes of (coffee) cherry picking.
After that, we jumped right into the start of summer with the annual Mississippi St. Fair. The FP on Mississippi has been around for every one and by all accounts, this was the largest. It was nice to see the block filled with folks that seemed to be having a good time. On the other hand, that level of crazy busy is not something to look forward to on a regular basis. There’s a lot of development on that block and only time will tell what’s to come…
Following that, we were all knocked on the head by the yearly summer heat-wave. Funny how this seems to happen every year (kinda like the 5 days of snow in the winter) but it always takes us by surprise. For our part, we made CWE like it was going out of style and our air conditioner only crapped out once. One easily recognizable consequence of the heat (and Portland’s lack of preparation for it) is that the weirdo factor gets turned up significantly. As a native of Arizona I can attest to the truth behind that phenomenon – the heat does melt your brain.
Finally, the warm weather broke and we celebrated by heading over to Vin’s house for our company BBQ. Our friends at Widmer Brewing kicked down a keg, so we set up in the backyard with two grills, ping-pong, a couple of tables for Euchre and some delicious apps from our neighbors – Moxie Rx. Which reminds me, have you ever thought to yourself, what can I do to make this chicken sausage more delectable? The answer my friend – wrap that sucker in prosciutto and call it a day. Thanks Morgan!

Next up, the end of August brings the pain with the Hood to Coast Relay. Wish us luck as we get stinky and sore with our friends and teammates from Stumptown Coffee Roasters.