STUMPTOWN Coffee in the United States introduces the third wave of fine coffee in the world.

Mr. Duane Sorenson, founder of STUMPTOWN Coffee (right). All rights reserved.

STUMPTOWN Coffee, founded by Mr. DUANE SORENSON in Portland, Oregon in 1999, is one of the most famous boutique coffee roasters in the United States, known as "Portland coffee industry transformers" and "coffee drinkers' taste buds refiner". DUANE SORENSON spends a lot of time visiting coffee producing areas and establishing long-term and friendly relations with farmers. He often buys high-quality raw beans at a price 3 to 4 times higher than that of Fairtrade, and has set a record for the highest purchase price of raw beans. STUMPTOWN coffee roasters and DUANE SORENSON himself are known as the leaders of the "third wave of the coffee movement".

The morning after I arrived in Portland, I went straight to STUMPTOWN Coffee Shop on Division Street. When you enter the coffee shop, the first thing you can see is the three espresso machines in front of the bar on the right, with the huge STUMPTOWN nameplate on it. Two bartenders and an assistant were busy in the bar-three or five people were waiting for coffee almost without a break. On the left is the coffee drinking area, with about ten tables and chairs, which are very ordinary. Coupled with the tables and chairs under the sunshade outside the gate, the coffee shop can only hold 30 people to sit down for coffee. Through the middle aisle, surrounded by a wooden platform, is the coffee roasting area, and STEVE, the chief coffee roaster, is concentrating on baking coffee with the PROBAT-15 roaster. The raw beans to be baked are marked with a note in a plastic bucket.

STEVE KIRBACH, Chief roaster of STUMPTOWN Coffee

After the order of the two guests in front of me, I ordered one cup each of American, French pressure, concentrate and Cabo at a time. Then I laid out four cups of coffee on the wooden table in the baking area, sipping coffee and watching STEVE roast.

The store uses a PROBAT-15 drum gas roaster with a post-burner system in accordance with the environmental requirements of the United States. Fortunately, the first batch of beans I saw was a Panamanian "geisha" (or Panamanian "Rose Summer"). Not only have I never seen or heard of baking ten kilos of these beans in China, but it was also ordered by a certain customer in Portland. If you look at the baked raw beans, in addition to Gobi, dangerous Land, Ethiopia, Gosta, Tanzania boutique beans, there are not common Salvadoran round beans. After entering an explosion, STEVE would use a sampler to constantly take out the coffee beans for me to smell and share the changes in the smell of the coffee during the roasting process.

After four cups of coffee, I looked back and found a burly, smiling, bearded middle-aged man. He was the owner, founder and famous Mr. Dune Sorenson of the STUMPTOWN coffee roaster. Duane warmly introduced the history of Stumptown coffee. Stumptown Coffee was founded in 1999 and currently has three roasters, four retail stores and a tasting shop in Portland, a coffee retail store in Seattle in November 2007 and a roasting and coffee retail store in New York in September 2009. Stumptown pays attention to starting from the origin of coffee-producing area, establishing long-term friendly cooperative relationship with farmers, purchasing high-quality boutique manor raw beans, baking them carefully, baking out the best flavor of different varieties of coffee raw beans produced by different producing areas and different processing methods as far as possible, and establishing wholesale distributors, so that consumers can drink freshly baked coffee with obvious flavor characteristics at a low price. STUMPTOWN coffee is usually used up within two weeks. The retail and tasting shops of STUMPTOWN Coffee only showcase and promote the concept of fine coffee, the taste buds of refined coffee drinkers. What is more special is that there is a piece of cardboard inserted on the package of STUMPTOWN coffee beans, with the origin, variety, elevation and flavor characteristics of the bag of coffee printed on it, so that consumers know the taste of coffee before drinking coffee. In fact, it is to guide coffee drinkers to drink coffee and realize their expectations. In a short period of ten years, STUMPTOWN Coffee has gained a large following, and STUMPTOWN Coffee and DUANE SORENSON themselves have become the leaders of the third wave of the American coffee movement. After asking for permission from Mr. SORENSON and the clerk, I took out my camera and took pictures of the storefront and the clerk, hoping to leave more memories.

STUMPTOWN coffee and cardboard labels inserted on coffee bags

When I was focusing on El Salvador beans, the crisp laughter floated into a handsome young man, Brain, another roaster of STUMPTOWN Coffee, a young man who was very enthusiastic and passionate about his work. After a few pleasantries, Brain decided to show me another place where they were produced.

Roaster of STUMPTOWN Coffee BRAIN Photography: Huang Wei

It's only about a five-minute drive to STUMPTOWN's bakery on Southeast 34th Street, where CRIG, the baker, is working on a PROBAT-60 roaster. BRAIN and CRIG work two shifts from 6am to afternoon, while STEVE does about another shift of baking at the store on Division Street, while communicating with guests and showing off baking. To be honest, I envy STUMPTOWN's boutique coffee roasting in Portland alone.

BRAIN introduced me to every staff member I met here and visited the coffee cup testing room. After a busy conversation with CRIG about street baking, we went back to the coffee shop on Division Street.

BRAIN introduced me to the cup testing and training room in the STUMPTOWN bakery.

After STEVE finished the baking task of the day and cleaned the roaster, we chatted a lot of topics, but in three words, everything revolved around coffee roasting.

At six o'clock, carrying a large handbag of STUMPTOWN items and coffee mix, I got on the STEVE Ford bus and returned with a full load of sunset.

Mr. SORENSON, brothers of STUMPTOWN Coffee, thank you! Welcome to Beijing!

Mr. CRIG, STUMPTOWN Coffee Roaster (right)

Mr. STEVE KIRBACH, Chief roaster of STUMPTOWN Coffee (left)

STUMPTOWN's coffee shop in New York (transferred from Mett Peyton for the New York Times)

Source: Via @ Huang Wei boutique coffee roasting