Four of us headed out to mid/outer SE – across from the PCC campus at Division/79th – this cool dry morning to try out the 2nd shop in town that’s open 24 hours, the other being SE Grind on Powell near 12th.  Whereas SE Grind’s furnishings are older and modest, E. Portland Roasters are new and shiny, and include a fountain and roaster.  Thus, while many aspects of the Roasters are admirable – lighting, big window space, new furniture, et al – we felt it might benefit from including homey touches that are representative of the surrounding area, as well as a variety of seating options, which could provide more character.

Today’s discussion began with an assessment of the house coffee’s taste – one of us thinking it felt bitter, two others found it fine.  That led to D’s touting the stash of Kona coffee he brought back from Hawaii; to his wondering if others had faced cataract surgery, none of us had;  to our weekly complaint about how any blue collar worker would want to support a Republican presidential candidate after their party’s obstructionism on funding essential public works projects; and what’s needed is a private-public partnership to retrain workers from the oil-gas and similar extractive industries to a renewable energy sector.       2404 SE 79th           eastportlandcoffeeroasters.com