Jason- actually pretty much every shop in PDX uses a La Marz of some stripe- I had Hairbender on a synesso and it was nice, though not noticeably different than what I tasted at Stumptown (the synesso is at Coffeehouse Northwest on W Burnside at about 18th)… one really nice experience I had was at “Caffe Spella” which is a cart near the Galleria and the owner roasts his own beans and pulls them on a Brasilia lever machine- and it was the best straight shot I had in Portland!

Robert- thanks, but I worry given the content on your blog that this is spam…

Chris- you’re very welcome! Glad your experiences back home have been positive- you should post a Cgy photothread to SSP!

I met Phil when I was at the Farmers’ Market on Saturday. He was making a cup on the Clover machine and let me take a few quick photos. I should have name-dropped you!

I also have to thank you for recommending Bumpy’s to me last year. I took my mom there and now she swears by it.

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Sorry to hear about your near-miss at Artigiano.

Good news, though. Artigiano is now officially open. I just had an espresso there. The coffee was excellent. I liked the austere decor as well. For architecture buffs, Centrium Place, the building that houses Artigiano, has been nicely rehabilitated.

Although Bumpy’s, Artigiano, and Kawa all pull 49th, they use different machines, and each machine has a unique taste signature. It’s quite interesting to see how various places make use the same raw materials. The Portland analogy is quite apt.

Good analysis about the dynamics of coffee openings in Calgary. Bumpy’s has dramatically raised the bar in town and does so many things well that it should continue to thrive. I’ll start mixing metaphors if I talk of raising bars and pies, but I am hoping that quality coffee will simply crowd out inferior coffee.

Glad you enjoyed SF and Blue Bottle. Welcome back to Calgary!

By the way, I like the new look. Thanks for the updates.

Jason