Portland Coffee Hangouts

Though some of us have frequented the Tiny’s on MLK many times, this is the first time any of our bicycle group has been in the Hawthorne flagship, founded 16 years ago.  A former automotive shop with cinder block walls, comparatively modest  furniture and furnishings, and not much natural light, Tiny’s nevertheless creates a welcoming atmosphere, offering affordable breakfasts and lunches.  Below are excerpts from their homepage.

“We are a locally-owned coffee shop in Portland, Oregon, serving the best coffee around. We proudly serve Stumptown Coffee, whose beans are fair-trade and roasted locally. We compliment our coffee with organic rBST/rBGH free* milk from Sunshine Dairy.

On the foody side, we offer a full menu including breakfast bagels, lunch sandwiches as well as soups and salads all made from local ingredients. If you are looking for a yummy pastry, choose from our assortment of local pastries with plenty of vegan and gluten free options.

We carry a selection of sodas, kombutcha, and local organic juices. You may also choose to relax with a mimosa or an ice cold beer.

Are you an artist or looking to expand your art collection? We showcase local artists at our stores monthly. Interested in showing your Art at Tinys? Please submit a sample of your work for consideration to our art coordinator at art[at]tinyscoffee.com

Tiny’s Loves You and your furry friends too, so don’t forget to grab a free dog biscuit while you’re here!”

Discussion topics started with the article about a 40,000 person segment of our population which migrates nomad-like to various Amazon facilities for work; then to the 500,000-plus motorcycle enthusiasts who converge annually on Sturgis, South Dakota in early August; then to the Oregonian bit-coin miner whose extensive computers result in a $75,000 electricity bill each month; to the current proposals around rental relocation reparations; and to how artificial barriers drive up the cost of housing.

1412 SE 12th                                            tinys.coffee

Starting in 2011, our extended group of up-to-eight bicyclists have gathered most Sundays at 8:00 a.m. in central NE, for rides that end up at a coffee or tea shop. Here we’d spend 45+ minutes hanging out and checking in. To date we’ve visited 163 different shops, most locally owned, throughout the City.  Since we aren’t coffee aficionados – H always drinks tea and E just has water – we saw our blog as reporting not on a shop’s coffee quality but on our hanging out experience: what are the pro and con elements in each shop that assists or hurts our hanging out experience.

We provide this background because until our visit to this Heart shop, our focus primarily has been on our physical and visual comforts, those elements in a shop that made us comfortable and seemed to stimulate our discussions.  But at Heart their pricing posed a barrier to our staying longer: $3.50 for a cup of tea served in a 6 oz. pot, house coffee for $3.00 with refills costing $2.00; and most pastries $4.00 or more.  No doubt we’ve paid similar prices for certain items elsewhere, but here, altogether they provided a roadblock.   Visually we appreciated the shop’s craftsmanship and window space; it echoes the positive design elements we’ve seen in other newly constructed commercial spaces.  Still, we probably left earlier than usual due to our resistance to paying $5.00 for 2 coffees and continually refilling the tiny teapot.

Discussion topics this morning seemed to center on weather, fire and water: the two of us with close relatives who survived the Santa Rosa fires this summer, compared notes on their/our experiences; someone noted that CA cities are back in drought conditions even after a heavier than average rainfall last year; G reported that a common friend is changing his South Africa itinerary later in Feb. due to Capetown being in dire shape in terms of its water supply; and E recommended our reading the Cadillac Wars, which encapsulates the West’s misguided historic/present water policies and practices.

5181 SE Woodstock                            heartroasters.com

On a dark cloudy morning, three of us ventured to the Brooklyn neighborhood to see the latest incarnation of the True Brews space, a challenging high-ceilinged space, that we found to be a work in progress.  Because of its size, the owners’ plans for also selling artwork and knick-knacks makes a lot of visual sense; but because the shop was not complete and there were few customers, there was not much vibrancy this particular Sunday morning.

With all three of us being former City employees, our discussion naturally was city-focused: we were mostly pleased that some former bureau heads were replaced by new blood; J’s nifty transportation-signaling firsts, but also his hellatious personnel experience; so many departments seemingly under-staffed, especially the police; and our disappointment with the chemistry of the Council in comparison to the office holders in the 1990s.

7325 SE Milwaukie                 http://www.rosecitycoffeeco.com