Small-Medium Microroaster Specialty Coffee Scene: Portland v Seattle (2015, houses)

[JasonJYoung]

This thread is like asking if Kansas City BBQ is better than Texas, Memphis, or Carolina BBQ. It invariably evokes heated debates and spins out of control rather quickly. But...........

Any educated opinions with regards to which city is best moving forward beginning in 2015 for the 'Specialty Coffee Scene'?

In particular, I'm relocating to one of these cities on June 1st for the sole purpose of enthralling myself into the local coffee scene career wise. This includes every aspect of the industry: Operations, support, sourcing, procurement, fair trade, roasting, front of house (Barista/serving), new & upcoming innovations, etc.

Has Seattle peaked as some are suggesting? Is Portland on the verge of grabbing sole position of the coffee industry like they have with the microbrew scene? Yes, other cities are thriving right now within the specialty coffee industry such as: Kansas City, Denver, San Francisco, Nashville, New York, Minneapolis, Chicago, Austin, etc. Taken all things into consideration, Portland and Seattle still sit at the top with New York and San Francisco not far behind.

Yes it may sound crazy to some, but my entire career from here on out will be in the coffee industry on some level. Let me clarify by saying I have experience in this industry going on 5 years now. I'm not basing my decision on which city to relocate to based solely on cost of living, housing, salary, or other factors usually important to relocation decisions. This is strictly a career based decision focusing on future growth & innovation between Seattle and Portland.

Trying to stay away from larger coffee corporations like Starbucks, Caribou, Kraft, Tully's, Peete's, Tim Horton's, Dunkin, etc. Focusing more on small batch micro-roasters and medium sized companies like Stumptown and Blue Bottle (not sure if these two companies are still considered small or medium sized . Many of these corporations are pretty much eliminated by focusing on Seattle and Portland only.

Therefore, which city do many consider the King of the Coffee Industry?

(BTW: Will post this in both the Portland & Seattle Forum). Thanks for any input

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Does it matter how many roasters as long as you can get a job at a place that does coffee the way you think it should be roasted?

Incidentally, I don't think those jobs are easy to come by, unless your dream is to sit in a drive through coffee kiosk.

[JasonJYoung]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

Does it matter how many roasters as long as you can get a job at a place that does coffee the way you think it should be roasted?

Incidentally, I don't think those jobs are easy to come by, unless your dream is to sit in a drive through coffee kiosk.

I may need to re-clarify a little. I'm very familiar with how difficult it is to get a career type job in the coffee industry. I graduated from the University of Kansas with a business degree in Supply Chain Management with 10+ years of work experience of which 5 are in the coffee industry. So I would hope not to be sitting in a drive through kiosk for too many years. I have already interviewed for these positions in both cities. This thread was mainly to get a perspective on the local coffee scene from people that live and/or work in the industry (or familiar with the industry in these two cities).

I agree that choosing a place to work should match what you desire in a company. But sometimes this is difficult from a brief 1-2 hour interview, coffee shop or roasting facility visit, reading company website, etc. Thus, I'm attempting to get some opinions from locals in the know. I can say that after visiting and interviewing with several coffee companies in both cities, I noticed both good and bad things. There will NEVER be a perfect situation. But if I had to combine all factors that I have encountered thus far, here is my personal uneducated viewpoints thus far on the coffee scene and cities in general: (no expert by any means)

Seattle
- More coffee-related opportunities & companies (especially if you want corporation ie Starbucks)
- More established coffee-related history
- More coffee-related conventions & festivals
- More diverse types of coffee shops & roasting facilities
- Better scenery (nature) near city , but debatable for sure
- Love the music scene
- Like Seattle's weather better if it truly stays darker, cooler, and more rainy in Seattle (my type of weather)
- Better shopping and choice of grocery stores
- More & better movie megaplexes. Still rather visit smaller independent movie houses (Portland has Seattle beat here)

Portland
- Smaller scale & more innovative coffee industry
- Little more laid back vibe & environment within coffee industry
- Still growing rapidly
- Less crowded city (duh.....)
- Flatter (mainly for bike commuting)
- Microbreweries!!!!( was unaware Washington major player here too/great news!)
- Love the Jazz & Blues Music scene
- Food carts are unreal! (cheaper restaurants too, I think?)
- Donuts!!!!!!
- Don't like those few days of high heat. Especially 100+ degree days.
- Not enough quality fast food type joints (sacrilegious I know ie Chick fil A, etc
- Can't pump your own gas....are you serious! Oh well, don't plan to drive much.

[Yankeemama]

Originally Posted by JasonJYoung

I may need to re-clarify a little. I'm very familiar with how difficult it is to get a career type job in the coffee industry. I graduated from the University of Kansas with a business degree in Supply Chain Management with 10+ years of work experience of which 5 are in the coffee industry. So I would hope not to be sitting in a drive through kiosk for too many years. I have already interviewed for these positions in both cities. This thread was mainly to get a perspective on the local coffee scene from people that live and/or work in the industry (or familiar with the industry in these two cities).

I agree that choosing a place to work should match what you desire in a company. But sometimes this is difficult from a brief 1-2 hour interview, coffee shop or roasting facility visit, reading company website, etc. Thus, I'm attempting to get some opinions from locals in the know. I can say that after visiting and interviewing with several coffee companies in both cities, I noticed both good and bad things. There will NEVER be a perfect situation. But if I had to combine all factors that I have encountered thus far, here is my personal uneducated viewpoints thus far on the coffee scene and cities in general: (no expert by any means)

Seattle
- More coffee-related opportunities & companies (especially if you want corporation ie Starbucks)
- More established coffee-related history
- More coffee-related conventions & festivals
- More diverse types of coffee shops & roasting facilities
- Better scenery (nature) near city , but debatable for sure
- Love the music scene
- Like Seattle's weather better if it truly stays darker, cooler, and more rainy in Seattle (my type of weather)
- Better shopping and choice of grocery stores
- More & better movie megaplexes. Still rather visit smaller independent movie houses (Portland has Seattle beat here)

Portland
- Smaller scale & more innovative coffee industry
- Little more laid back vibe & environment within coffee industry
- Still growing rapidly
- Less crowded city (duh.....)
- Flatter (mainly for bike commuting)
- Microbreweries!!!!( was unaware Washington major player here too/great news!)
- Love the Jazz & Blues Music scene
- Food carts are unreal! (cheaper restaurants too, I think?)
- Donuts!!!!!!
- Don't like those few days of high heat. Especially 100+ degree days.
- Not enough quality fast food type joints (sacrilegious I know ie Chick fil A, etc
- Can't pump your own gas....are you serious! Oh well, don't plan to drive much.

Donuts-
Portland- CoCo are amazing with three locations
Seattle- Top Pot are heavier, denser than Coco but also great with several WA locations