Stumptown Coffee Roasters

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Stumptown Coffee Roasters
Type Private
Founded 1999
Headquarters Portland, Oregon
Key people Duane Sorenson
Products Coffee
Website www.stumptowncoffee.com

Stumptown Coffee Roasters is an independent coffee roaster and retailer located in Portland, Oregon, United States.

The chain's flagship cafe and roastery on SE 45th and Division opened in 1999, and three other cafes, a roastery and a tasting annex have since opened in Portland as well as two locations in Seattle.

Contents

[edit] Business model

The business practices and standards of quality of Stumptown Coffee Roasters have led to them being recognized as having "revolutionized the coffee business" and helped "refine coffee drinkers' palates" in Portland.[1] Founder Duane Sorenson and Stumptown Coffee Roasters have been credited[2] as being part of the so-called "Third Wave" of the coffee movement.[3]

In pursuit of the best quality coffee, Sorenson spends considerable time visiting farms in person and is willing to pay high prices for coffee he deems worthy -- occasionally three or four times fair trade prices, he once set the record for highest price ever paid for coffee beans.[4][5][6] Sorenson is known for forming lasting relationships with the coffee producers.

Stumptown Coffee Roasters on SW Stark Street
Stumptown Coffee Roasters on SW Stark Street

The owner has offered atypical perks to his employees such as paying for a compilation album to be produced of their various bands,[7] and hiring a full-time on-staff massage therapist.[8]

The in-café roaster which Stumptown started on is a rare 1919 Probat roaster.

They have received numerous awards, including Roaster of the Year 2006.[8]

[edit] Locations

Stumptown operates four cafes and two auxiliary facilities in Portland. Stumptown has cafes on SE 45th & Division St., SE 34th & Belmont, downtown at SW 3rd & Ash St, and inside the Ace Hotel at 1022 S.W. Stark St. There is a roasting facility at SE 34th & Division St. and a retail annex two doors down from the Belmont cafe.

Recently, Stumptown has opened a rather distinctive annex location specifically for tasting coffee, where they utilize the new high-tech Clover 1s brewing machine.

In November of 2007, Stumptown opened two cafes in Seattle.[9] They are located at 12th Avenue East & East Spring and East Pike & Belmont.


[edit] "Bikes to Rwanda" Project

In 2006 after a business trip to Rwanda to visit coffee growers' cooperatives, Sorenson founded a non-profit organization whose sole mission was to provide cargo bicycles for the cooperative coffee growers. In addition, bike shops for the maintenance and repair of the bikes were to be established in Rwanda. To date, five are in operation. Bikes to Rwanda is headquartered in Portland, Oregon and has acquired numerous partner organizations. [10]


[edit] Stumptown Coffee Roasters in popular culture

The progressive acoustic trio Nickel Creek titled one of the songs on their 2005 album Why Should the Fire Die? "Stumptown" in honor of the café. In addition, Chris Thile named the café in his top five favorites in the world.[11]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Saelens, E. (July 4, 2003). Stumptown presses on with attitude. Portland Business Journal. Retrieved on 2008-02-16.
  2. ^ Dundas, Zach (October 11, 2006). Bean Town. Willamette Week. Retrieved on 2008-02-16.
  3. ^ Skeie, Trish R. (April/May 2006). Third Wave. Barista Magazine. Retrieved on 2008-02-16.
  4. ^ DiStafano, Anne Marie (June 30, 2006). Stumptown’s blend. The Portland Tribune. Retrieved on 2008-02-16.
  5. ^ Clarke, Kelly (December 8, 2004). Unwrapped. Willamette Week. Retrieved on 2008-02-16.
  6. ^ Worth Its Weight. Roast Magazine (September/October 2004). Retrieved on 2008-02-16.
  7. ^ CD Review: Worker's Comp: Stumptown Sessions Vol. 1. The Portland Mercury (March 14, 2002). Retrieved on 2008-02-16.
  8. ^ a b 2006 Roaster of the Year. Roast Magazine (October/November 2005). Retrieved on 2008-02-16.
  9. ^ Dizon, Kristin. "Get perking: Portland's highly-regarded Stumptown Coffee comes to Capitol Hill", Seattle Post Intelligencer, November 15, [2007]]. Retrieved on 2007-11-24. 
  10. ^ Bikes to Rwanda Official Website [1]
  11. ^ "Nickel Creek: Spilling the Beans". Harp Magazine (July 2005.). Retrieved on 2007-12-07.

[edit] External links