Happy Halloween!
Well, this certainly feels like the perfect Halloween weather. Blustery, with rain and lots of leaves on the ground. We have the perfect beverage solutions to ward off this cool, wet weather.
Saturday, we'll be doing a repeat of last year for the local kiddos. From 1-3 tomorrow we'll be serving up complimentary hot chocolates for the trick-or-treaters of St. Johns. St. Johns Main Street has organized a "Trick-or-Treating" extravaganza where various St. Johns businesses will be handing out a variety of treats to young children in a safe and friendly atmosphere. It turned out to be a very popular event last year so I would suggest arriving early.
Last week I mentioned the Coffee Fest event which took place here in Portland this year. I was finally able to get down there on Sunday and saw a lot of great things, several of which we'll be offering in the coming weeks.
The first item we'll be adding is pre-packaged oatmeal from Straw Propeller Gourmet Foods located in Redmond, Oregon. I've wanted to offer some other food options for a long time and I believe these will be a great addition.
Their oatmeals and mueslis are gluten free with no additives or preservatives and are absolutely delicious. (I consider myself to be somewhat of an oatmeal aficionado since I've made and eaten it every morning for the past 100 years.)
I've tasted other pre-packaged oatmeals and like a lot of things, are typically overly sweetened and just leave a bad taste in one's mouth. Not the case with Straw Propeller's oatmeals and mueslis. We should have them in the shop beginning Tuesday or Wednesday of next week so look for them.
Another change we'll be making beginning this next week is we're going to be changing our checkout system. I realize this probably seems irrelevant to most people but what I hope to accomplish is streamline the check-out process so wait times are minimized. For those of you who participate in our "frequent flier" program, don't worry, we'll still be able to retrieve previous rewards.
A lot of you have requested we offer travel mugs so I'm in the process of selecting some that we'll be able to offer. I'll keep you posted once the details have been worked out.
Already in stock are a new s
election of t-shirts in both women's and men's styles as well as the very popular hoodies.
Many who have been in the shop have marveled at the terrariums available from Bestow. Now you can learn to create your own. On November 12th from 6-8pm, N
yki will offer a workshop on creating one's own tropical Terrariums. Call Bestow for more information. 503.208.4395.
Painter Jeanne Levasseur, whose paintings have been on display i
n the shop for the past couple months came in the other day and swapped out everything with new work so I would encourage everyone to come in and check it out. As with her other work, it's stunning.
Just a few more weeks remain for The Coffee Trust, La Roya Recover project so please come in to learn abo
ut this devastating blight and help support the coffee farmers of Guatemala so they can gain valuable skills in organic solutions to mitigate this disease.
That's about it for this week. Please stay tuned for updated information on new products and coffees. Meanwhile, take care and keep the coffee flowing.
Mount & Crew
Back in the saddle again, or out of the saddle?
I'm back after an amazing trip into Northern California last week. There were a lot of firsts for me, two of which included camping and seeing a part of California I'd not seen before. 
I highly recommend a road trip to the Yreka, CA area, heading north up the canyon to Hwy. 96 which follows the Klamath River. The Klamath River was stunningly beautiful and the Trinity Mountains were breathtaking! 
But it's back to work and a busy week it has been. We were visited yesterday by Marina Oriel
and Bill Fishbein from The Coffee Trust. Marina has been my contact for setting up the fundraising program in which we're involved, helping raise funds for the coffee farmers of Guatemala in dealing with the LaRoya blight.
Bill is the fo
under and Executive Director of The Coffee Trust and is in Portland to participate in this weekend's CoffeeFest event, being held at the Oregon Convention Center. One of the things we discussed was scheduling a time when he can return, probably after the first of the year, visit our shop and share the story with our customers, in much greater detail, of what's going on with the coffee crops of Guatemala. Stay tuned.
This week also marked the opening of the Woodstock location of New Seasons Market. As with all their other stores, our coffee is available there as well. Stop by and check it out. It sounds like an amazing multi-level layout. It's located at 4500 SE Woodstock Blvd., Portland - 97206.
As mentioned a couple weeks ago, the Pumpkin Spiced Lattes have returned with a vengeance. Nothing scary about these. We make the blend right here and as with everything else we offer, it's not syrupy sweet with processed sugars and artificial flavorings. It's just simply delicious.
This weekend marks the end of the season for the St. Johns Farmers Market. And it's looking like the weather is going to be perfect for a farmers market. I hope you'll come out and take advantage of end of the season offerings and stop by our shop while you're in the area.
Beginning next Saturday, October 31st, we are going to return to our "winter" hours. The only thing that will change will be Saturday's opening time, moving back to 8 am. And, just because I'm usually the last one to realize it, the next day, Sunday November 1st is when we go off Daylight Savings Time. I guess the good news is everyone will get an extra hour of sleep.
So enjoy this last weekend of the St. Johns Farmers Market and the sunshine!
Many thanks,
Mount & Crew
Happy October!
Greetings everyone!
I hope everyone is enjoying this Autumnal weather. It's the perfect time of year for getting out, going for a hike or bike ride, enjoying the cooler temps with the Autumn colors and of course, enjoying some amazing coffee.
Remember, that if you live in the 97203, 97211 or 97217 zip codes, we offer free home delivery of fresh roasted organic and fair trade coffees. Just make sure we have your order by Monday mornings at 9 am and we'll have coffee at your door very early on Wednesday mornings.
Several weeks ago, I shared a route I'd taken on my motorcycle which I felt was the perfect Autumn day-trip. This past Sunday, I rode over into Washington with a couple friends. We rode up the Klickitat Canyon and on up to Goldendale before heading back to Hwy. 14. 
It was a beautiful day with some amazing scenery, a very different landscape from my previously shared route. We saw a lot of people fly fishing in the Klickitat River and saw some wild turkeys. We also witnessed the results of the recent fires. Wow! Thousands and thousands of charred acres coming up all the way to the highways.
Starting next week, we'll be bringing back an old favorite for this time of year. (insert drum roll here), The Pumpkin Spiced Latte! Ingredients have been ordered so as soon as they arrive, we'll be serving them up. Stay tuned.
The new hoodies have proven to be a big hit with folks who are looking for something warm and cozy to fend off these cool morning temps. More t-shirts are also on order and should be here by the middle of October in both men's and women's styles, sporting our new "stylized" logo. And... I've also ordered more of the Mexican pottery. 
I've decided to expand our Mexican pottery selection a bit by bringing in more serving platters as well as cream and sugar containers. Hopefully these will all arrive in plenty of time for the holidays.
Recently I had the opportunity to submit some of our coffees into a competition which I'd previously never done. I chose to enter the Pamplona Blend in the organic espresso category. The competition included submissions from over 100 roasters from all over North America. The long and short of it is, the judges loved the Pamplona and we won, for whatever that's worth.
Many of you are familiar with the Pamplona Blend. It's the medium roast espresso blend we serve here in the shop but is also delicious as a pour-over or brewed conventionally. If you haven't had the pleasure of trying it, I would encourage you to do so. It really is delicious. But then, I say that about all our coffees. :)
A couple weeks ago, a customer from Nepal came in the shop and was having coffee. He proceeded to tell me his family is in the process of rebuilding their coffee farm in Nepal and brought a sample of their coffee for me to roast.
I just roasted it on Wednesday and it is very very good. Really well balanced, smooth acidity, nice notes of chocolate and fruit. Hopefully I'll have the opportunity to purchase some and be able to offer it.
Look for our special program starting mid-October. We're partnering with Coffee Trust to help support farmers and workers in Guatemala who have been so adversely affected by the "La Roya" blight.
I've previously described this blight, also known as Coffee Rust which has decimated a huge portion of the coffee crops in Central America. It has pushed families, who were already impoverished, over the brink. Some farmers have lost over 75% of their income.
Funds raised will go toward helping 500 farmers gain new skills in effective, organic farming responses to fungal infections like La Roya. More information will be available within the next week so stay tuned. To learn more, click here - http://coffeetrust.org/
I think that's it for this week. We have a large shipment of coffee due in next week so please help us make room for it. :)
Many thanks and keep the coffee flowing.
Mount & Crew
Thank you!
Thanks to all who made it to our grand opening/first-year anniversary celebration last Saturday evening. It seemed like folks had a great time and I believe the coffee martinis and band were a "hit". 
I had planned to make a brief statement during the evening but the timing never seemed right so I'd like to take the opportunity to do so now.
I would also like to thank the James John Cafe, Proper Eats, Barrique Barrel, Dina y los rumberos and Marly, Becky & Cameron, for making the evening so special.
We had a drawing the night of the celebration and just drew names last night to determine the winners. Congratulations to all of you. We will be contacting each of you to arrange delivery of your winnings.
- St. Johns Coffee mug, 12 oz. bag of coffee and coffee plant - Jeanne Levasseur
- St. Johns logo T-shirt - Roger Johnston
- St. Johns logo hoodie - Michelle Shafagh
- 1lb. bag of St. Johns Coffee Roasters coffee - Brent Davis
- 1lb. bag per month for 3 months of St. Johns Coffee Roasters coffee - Elle Blese
- 1lb. bag per month for 6 months of St. Johns Coffee Roasters coffee - Robbi Johnson
- 1lb. bag per month for 12 months of St. Johns Coffee Roasters coffee - CJ Grub
This week we would like to welcome Sock Dreams to our growing list of offices who are keeping their staff fueled with our coffees. http://www.sockdreams.com/
Time to say good-bye, at least temporarily to two of our cherished coffees. The Bolivian Cenaproc and Brazil Grota Sao Pedro have both run out. I just roasted the last of both coffees yesterday so we have some on the shelf but when they're gone, they're gone. As soon as more becomes available, I'll bring it in.
It's perfect coffee drinking weather with the cooler temps and morning rain today so come visit us
. And for those who haven't seen our new logo hoodies, 'tis the season! Warm, soft and cozy with a new stylized version of our logo adorning the back.
Many thanks and keep the coffee flowing.
Mount and crew
Happy Labor Day!
Happy September everyone.
Cooler temperatures, rain, and an overall autumnal feel have descended upon us. It feels like this is going to be one of those seasons with no transition time at all, going straight from summer-type weather to autumn. All those add up to perfect coffee drinking weather.
For those of you in the Portland, Oregon area, I have a great route to share with you if you're interested in seeing some beautiful countryside. A friend and I took this route on our motorcycles the other evening and it was quite spectacular.
From Portland, take Hwy. 30 north to Scappoose. On the northern most end of Scappoose, turn left onto the Vernonia Hwy. Follow this for a number of miles (I can't remember exactly how far). You'll reach the intersection of Hwy. 47 which if you turn right, will take you to Mist. Turn right toward Mist.
Proceed through Mist and eventually you'll see si
gns which if you take the right will take you to Clatskanie or if you bear to the left, will take you to Astoria. Follow the road toward Astoria and go several more miles. You'll then reach another intersection (Hwy 103) which will take you to Elsie if you turn left.
Take that left toward Elsie and eventually, you'll reach Hwy. 26 for an easy return to Portland. The whole ride will probably take no more than a couple hours. I found the scenery to be absolutely beautiful and the light at this time of year is sensational.
This week, In addition to brewing inordinate quantities of coffee, we've been busy working on the final details of our upcoming grand opening/first-year anniversary celebration. I've discovered there's a reason I'm not an event planner.
We're hoping to pull off a very festive evening so please make plans to help us celebrate. Saturday, September 19th from 6-10 pm. There will be an assortment of food, beverages (adult and child), and live music. And all I will say is that there will be a minimal amount of coffee served. I'm hoping for great weather so we can spill out onto the sidewalks if necessary. Stay tuned for more details.
We'll be open all weekend as well as Monday (it is Labor Day after all.) So come see us, enjoy some hot or cold-brewed coffees and pastries and enjoy this amazing weather.
Many thanks as always and I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend.
Mount & Crew
