Marayah Deese is a native Oregonian, splitting her time growing up between Portland and Adelberg, Germany. Many people don’t know that she not only speaks English but is fluent in German as well. Moving around a lot as a kid has given her a great love of travel and adventure. She has come to deeply value various ways of life around the globe, and has been on staff with several international non-profit organizations over the years. During one such time away from the Pacific Northwest, she met her husband Lane. When she is not making beautiful drinks, Marayah can usually be found on a bike. Having injured herself as a snowboarder, she took to cycling to rehabilitate her knee and...
It seems as though spring as come early this year here in our beloved city. Daffodils are blooming on every street corner, cherry blossoms are taking over our Instagram feeds, and we are all soaking up as much of the sunshine as possible. We decided, while it is still technically winter, the weather has been calling us to debut our spring menu now. Photo by James Niewinski Cascara Soda Cascara tea is a very traditional drink in coffee producing countries. This could be because cascara is thought of as a “by-product” or “un-marketable” waste that is left over from the processing of coffee beans after they are exported. The name, Cascara, is given to the “husk”, or coffee cherry skins, that have...
Have you been enjoying citrus season? It’s upon us. Walk into any grocery store this time of year and you’ll find the produce section dominated by meticulously-assembled pyramids of orange and yellow. That’s because we are at peak citrus right now. The other day I found no fewer than eight different varieties of grapefruit at New Seasons. And that’s just grapefruit. Not even talking oranges here. We are very lucky to have access to so much variety. I love citrus season because there’s always something I’ve never tried before. One variety has a different color of pulp, another has the freshest fragrance. This year I tried a Mellowgold grapefruit for the first time, and it blew me away with its...
Making great espresso drinks is more than just a service, it is an art that takes continual practice. There are many steps that go into making beautiful drinks, from pulling delicious shots of espresso to steaming and pouring smooth milk. The skill of pouring latte art is one that many baristas have practiced to the point of making it look quite easy. We take pride not only in the way our coffee tastes, but also in how it is presented. And when it comes to espresso and steamed milk, that presentation revolves around latte art. Latte art not only looks amazing, but when done correctly, ensures that our drinks have great silky smooth texture. We love latte art because it is a constant area...
It’s June, and we are at the dry mill of Banexport in Pitalito, Colombia, in the Huila Department. This was our first cupping of microlots from small-farm producers in the Huila region. All in all, our group would cup approximately 32 different producers' lots that morning. In attendance were a couple of producers whose lots were on the cupping table. This lot, THIS lot. This would be Case Study’s coffee - it tasted like cherry pie and chocolate, and I was determined to represent it. Low and behold, this particular lot came from one of the producers present at the cupping - Marisol Bolanos of Finca El Oso (the Bear). As the group of roasters present weighed in as...
