By Brian Yaeger
It’s not quite as high as the number of local breweries, but Bend’s roasteries number in the double digits. And no, that’s not counting the number of coffee shops that utilize beans from separate roasting companies. Catching up with a few owners offers a slice of life in Bend coffee culture as sweet as, well, a slice of coffee cake.
Lane Pearson of Backporch Coffee Roasters, launched in 2006 (making it one of Central Oregon’s oldest, although that top honor belongs to Sisters Coffee Co., since 1989), enjoys people who like to ask questions. A good customer is someone “who is kind when they seek clarification if there is confusion. Kindness is the key to it all, really,” he says. While that starts with their interactions with the baristas (although Pearson especially appreciates folks who let out an “oooh” when receiving a mug with pretty foam art), it doesn’t end there. Rather, customers who “tuck their chair in when they leave” completes the circuit of an ideal experience from his perspective.
Scott Witham says his Lone Pine Coffee Roasters (established 2009) has “the best guests” because they “bring so much life and personality to the cafes.”
As for the coffee itself, Pearson notes that it’s “a piece of agriculture that touches hundreds of hands before it ever reaches the cafes, and baristas are the final step” — unless you’re just popping into one of Backporch’s shops to bring beans back home. While freshness is key, he advises that, “you should first let it rest, allowing the flavors to open up.
Brew it too soon after it’s been roasted and you’re extracting the trapped [carbon dioxide], which is commonly perceived as being highly acidic and sour in flavor.” He recommends keeping your coffee sealed and in an ambient environment, which, for the love of good java, means not next to an oven or in the fridge.
In 2017, Jeff Akers, with his wife, Shelley, founded Bohemian Roastery, offering wood-fired beans. “I’m a nuts-and-bolts guy,” he says. “I look for the simplest route to get to where you wanna go, which is a great cup of coffee. When snobbery comes around — [talking about coffee’s] pH and all that stuff — I think to myself, ‘None of that really matters.’ It’s not rocket surgery.”
As for special orders at these coffee shops, owners and baristas know many of us crave something beyond a cuppa drip or its espresso’d cousin, the Americano. Pearson notes Backporch’s “Bombay Latte is one of our most popular ordered drinks. It’s a maple, vanilla and cinnamon latte that tastes like fall in a cup.” While over at Lone Pine, purveyors of one fierce con panna (“hand-whipped heavy cream lightly sweetened with ground vanilla on top of a double espresso,” Witham explains), the off-menu Lemon Cream Latte, comprised of “espresso, lemon syrup, half-and-half, with a topping of ‘fairy dust,’” continues to be popular.
Regardless of how you take your brew, Bend’s vibrant coffee culture has you covered and caffeinated — or decaffeinated.
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This article appears in The Source Weekly January 9, 2025.
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