It’s been eight years since our bike group last visited Extracto and nice to know that their shop and coffee roasting business still seem to be thriving, at the same time doing out-of-the-ordinary activities such as hosting St. Rita’s Amazing Traveling Bookstore and Textual Apothecary, which was the impetus for our visit.  Rita – once a Portland resident and now living in Montana – describes her venture as a traveling bookstore encased in a large van with all sorts of used books for patrons’ reading pleasure.  Being a friend of our M and wife J, we didn’t want to miss a chance to experience another’s path for building community; (but because Extracto is only a mile or so from our starting point we decided to take the 8 mile scenic ride via Mt. Tabor to get there.)

Our experience is that Extracto bubbles with patrons from 9-11 most mornings; they obviously have a quite a loyal customer base. And yet while tables for two are plentiful, if you happen to have more than five in your group, you essentially are limited to the outside tables.   And with the inside wooden tables and chairs all lined up in rows, it’s a tad harder to relax and hang out than shops with a variety of seating opportunities and some quirkiness.

Today’s discussion centered a lot on trust fund children, as C just returned from the gorgeous N. Cascades area where his daughter K, grand-daughter W, and partner M primarily live thanks to his fund.  That reminded D of Ojai CA and Putney VT. where it’s said that their economies are respectively driven by yoga instructors and carpenters with trust funds.   (It’s just envy on our part.)

2912 NE Killingsworth                                    extractocoffee.com