Portlandia

Some of you have already seen this, but I think it’s worth sharing anyway. If you have spent very much time in Portland, you will appreciate a new series that the Independent Film Channel is creating called Portlandia. Portland is well-known for having a laid-back attitude about life and the series (at least the trailer) makes fun of this in a pretty hilarious way. After spending the last couple months traveling around PDX and writing about its coffee scene, I’ve seen many of the caricatures portrayed in the video. I would say that it hits a little too close to home, but then again, I heard no mention of bloggers in the video ;)

Enjoy.

An Evening of Non-Conformity

I went to Powell’s Books Thursday night to hear Chris Guillebeau speak. For those of you who don’t know, Chris writes a blog called the Art of Non-Conformity (AONC) and recently published a book by the same name. One of his goals in life is to create a movement (yes, a movement) that questions the status quo and encourages people to lead unconventional, remarkable and meaningful lives. Chris lives in Portland (though you might ask, in Portland, where being weird is normal, is it really non-conforming to not conform?), so when I heard that he was coming to speak at Powell’s, the last stop on a 50-state book tour, I figured it would be interesting to hear what he had to say.

I stumbled across the AONC a couple months after starting this blog (the non-conformist title is completely coincidental) and found that he had some ideas about life that I could relate to. One of the things that really attracted me to his writings were his ideas about traveling. Chris has a goal in life to travel to all 192 countries in the world by 2013 and he’s already made it to 149. He seems to understand the joys and new perspectives that traveling brings, something I could really relate to. In addition to the book, he wrote a useful guide about traveling unconventionally that I am still working to put into practice.

Chris Guillebeau

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Friday Afternoon Links-December 17

A few links to help you feel “in the know” about the coffee world for the last week:

Coffee futures continue to rise on coffee supply concerns combined with fund buying (BusinessWeek) link

In addition, the International Coffee Exchange is changing the rules about how coffee contracts can be fulfilled, effectively reducing the supply available to fulfill contracts. This is not going to help coffee prices come down anytime soon (note: the following link only available to Wall Street Journal subscribers, but you can also access the article if you are using Starbucks’ in-store wireless network). link

No more weed with your coffee in Holland-The Netherlands government is not going to allow cafés to sell marijuana to non-Dutch citizens anymore. link

A nice analysis of the Kraft-Starbucks breakup from the Omaha World-Herald. link

In Tehachapi, California, the coffee will come to you. link

If you’re interested in knowing how much caffeine your Starbucks coffee has, Energy Fiend has a fairly comprehensive list. link

The “coffee from a cat’s arse” that we linked to a few weeks ago is going to cost you $30 per cup in Vancouver, Canada. link

Tiny Footprint Coffee claims to have a carbon-negative coffee. link

Coffee in Pictures: Tree to Cup

As someone who grew up in agriculture, I realize how little we know about some of the foods and drinks we consume. For me, it's always fun to find out where foods come from and how they are produced, so I thought I'd share with you some pictures that give you a better idea of how coffee travels from tree to cup.

 

Coffee trees growing in Panama. Photo by Gilian on Flickr.

The coffee tree produces a delicate white flower that has a jasmine or orange-like smell.


Coffee flowers in Indonesia. Photo by Deepak Bhatia on Flickr.

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Dog River Coffee Company

If you happen to be driving to Portland from Eastern Washington and you just cannot drive another hour without stopping (if you’ve got kids, you might know what I mean), Hood River is a good place to get out and stretch your legs. When we drove back to Portland after Thanksgiving, I was hoping to drive all the way to Portland without stopping. However, I was outvoted 3-1, so we pulled off the freeway and drove up to Oak Street, the main street in the touristy part of town. We parked and hopped out, looking for a café. Just up the street, beyond the absinthe bar, we spotted the Dog River Coffee company.  It looked like the type of place where we could get a little boost for the last leg of the trip (the café, not the bar).

Dog River Coffee 

For those of you who don’t know, Hood River is a small town about an hour’s drive east from Portland on I-84. It is located on the southern bank of the Columbia River and is a well-known destination for wind surfers who come to take advantage of the Columbia Gorge’s ever-present winds. It is also a popular place for people who are in transit to/from Mount Hood for camping, hiking or skiing. The downtown is geared for tourists and is full of small shops, restaurants and cafés. If you venture up the hill very far, the town offers some spectacular views of Mount Adams across the river to the north.

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