Tag Archives: coffee wednesday

Coffee Wednesday: A Nod to Tradition–Spella Cafe

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Step into Spella Caffe and find yourself transported, if not in time, at least in locale. Now I’ve not been to Italy, but from what I read, Spella is an inspired take on a classic Italian espresso bar. And in the midst of Portland’s 3rd-wave coffee culture, a refreshing nod to tradition.

Slender and stylish, the caffe allows for only a few customers at a time, accentuating the “expressly-for-you” nature of the service. A Rancilio  piston-lever machine, combined with some really killer barista skills, create a cappuccino with foam so thick and ‘goopy’ it’s like marshmallow fluff. How’s the espresso? Burnt sugar, oak, sweet cranberry, tactile, and pleasantly lingering.

Portland, OR / afternoon / Spella Caffe

Coffee Wednesday: Cafecito Organico

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I walk through the leafy maze, brushing hanging viney tendrils with my sunburnt arms. The memory of sand still clings to my legs as I ogle stylish shoppers and willowy models in photoshoots. Breaking open the lava surface of a molasses-apricot cookie, I watch the dark crumbs fall on the darker table.

I hold a cappuccino, graced with a relaxed swan. Its bitterness stands in counterpoint to the earthy ginger and sorghum of my cookie, the textures silk and chewy grit. Pages of notes glow in the light. Baristas chatter about their favorite obsolete breakfast cereals.

I am at Cafecito Organico, where the motto is Cafe O Muerte—Coffee or Death. Nestled in the maze of retail stores in Costa Mesa’s The LAB Antimall, Cafecito is a unique shop with a familiar and comforting vision—great coffee, grown on earth by humans.

I, for one, feel more human here.

—Costa Mesa, CA / late morning / Cafecito Organico