Portland Coffee Festival is Saturday, International Coffee Day Is Now

I heard about the Portland Coffee Festival some months ago, but today, on International Coffee Day, it seems apt to tell you about it. And since it is International Coffee Day today (also, National Coffee Day was September 29), I thought I’d also highlight in a purely personal way, some of my favorite spots to get coffee around Portland.

Portland Coffee Festival: What It’s About

This event is produced by Roast Magazine, published bimonthly as a trade publication. They cater to the specialty coffee industry, “addressing the art, science and business of coffee.” The Portland Coffee Festival, however, appears to aim for a broader reach: professionals, as well as consumers and coffee enthusiasts, especially with language like, “Meet the makers behind your favorite brews, from seasoned roasters to innovative farmers.”

What To Expect at the Portland Coffee Festival

First, it takes place at the Redd on Salmon, one of my favorite Portland event spaces. There are a number of vendors participating in the Community Marketplace, some of which are local to the Portland area.

Vendors at the Portland Coffee Festival

There are local coffee roasters, roasters from outside the PNW, equipment makers, companies that solve unique problems coffee roasters have, and some things that I would call “coffee-adjacent.”

• Buckman Coffee Factory (a shared-facility roastery, education hall, and event space)
• Dear Francis
• Kafiex
• Marigold Coffee
• Portland Coffee Roasters
• Roasted By Mom
• Stumptown
• Thornton Coffee
• Desi Chai
• Sacred Seasonal (cascara)
• Cafe Kreyól (based in Virginia)
• Morse Coffee (based in Shenzhen, China)
• Soleil Coffee (based in New Jersey)
• StoneX Specialty Coffee (based in Seattle)
• Theta Ridge Coffee (based in Indiana)
• Caramel Kitchen (caramel sauces available around the world)
• Coba (an espresso energy bar)
• Pacific Barista Series (they make the plant milks most baristas use)
• Coffee Freshness (coffee storage to keep it fresh)
• DifFluid (coffee tech having to do with moisture)
• Fill Systems (single serve printing and packaging)
• Diedrich (coffee roasting equipment)
• Loring (coffee roasting machines)
• Ratio (coffee machines)
• Sivetz (coffee roasting machines)
• Vortx (safety filters)
• Chiro One (wellness)
• Steve Lee Paintings (art)

Coffee Education

There will be five sessions—three sessions involve folks from local coffee companies. Here are the details for them (copy written by Roast).

10:30am to 11:15am | Roundtable Discussion: Coffee, Culture & Collaboration. Moderated by the Roast team, this discussion brings together Joseph Stazzone, founder of Café Kreyol, and Ian Williams, founder of Deadstock Coffee, along with Tyson Vanich-Angkul from Kann Coffee. Together, these innovators will explore how culture, identity, and collaboration shape the future of coffee.

12:30pm to 1:30pm | Coffee and Single Malt: A Session in Similarities. Join Mark Stell—founder of Portland Coffee Roasters (1996), owner of a Tanzanian coffee farm, and founder of Bird Creek Distillery, home to some of the most awarded American Single Malt Whiskeys in the country—for a guided exploration of the surprising parallels between coffee and barley. In this 20-minute session, Mark will share insights from decades of experience in both industries, followed by a tasting that brings the conversation to life. Guests will enjoy one carefully prepared coffee alongside three unique whiskeys.

1:30pm to 2:30pm | The Journey of Coffee: From Farm to Your Cup. Join this panel discussion as they uncover some of the most pressing issues facing farmers, traders and roasters in today’s global coffee market. You’ll walk away with a deeper appreciation for the journey your coffee takes, and the people who make it possible. Panelists include Iliana Delgado Chegwin (ID Cacao and Coffee), Augusto Carneiro (Nossa Familia Coffee), and Darrin Daniel (Cityful Press Coffee).

You read about the other sessions on the Roast website.

Portland Coffee Festival Tastings

They’ve got a whole day of coffee tastings and experiences, starting at 10am through to 4pm. A few items of note:

• From 10am to noon, Morgan Eckroth, the 2022 United States Barista Champion, will be around for an experience called “Latte Art & Signature Drinks.”
• From 11:30am to 2:30pm there will be a Kann Coffee Pop-Up, a “Cafe-style pop-up with coffee-inspired bites from Kann Coffee.”
• Starting at 2pm there will be craft beer, cider, and wine for sale. More about these events can be found here.

Roasting Demos

There are two demonstration times that day: 10:30am to 12:30pm and 1:30pm to 3:30pm. Roasting demos will be live and on the patio, “featuring industry-leading machines from Diedrich Roasters, Loring, and Sivetz.” It’s fun to watch the green coffee transform into the roasted beans you know and love, so check this out if you want to learn more about this aspect of coffee.

Tickets to the Portland Coffee Festival

So, if you’d like to nerd out on all sorts of aspects of coffee, the Portland Coffee Festival is for you. You can buy your tickets here—they are $35 each.

I hope you get a chance to head to the Portland Coffee Festival this weekend. And why not make it a twofer! The Coffee Festival on Saturday and the Portland Craft Chocolate Festival on Sunday.

Portland Coffee Festival
Saturday, October 4, 2025
10am to 4pm
The Redd on Salmon, 831 SE Salmon Street, Portland
Portland Coffee Festival website | Ticketing website ($35)

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International Coffee Day

Today is International Coffee Day. The International Coffee Organization cites this as the origin of this Day: “In March 2014, the Member States of the ICO agreed to organize International Coffee Day on 1 October to create a single day of celebration for coffee lovers around the world.”

For me, every day is Coffee Day, but I thought it would be fun to talk about some of the places I frequent for my coffee needs. This is by no means a comprehensive list.

Extracto Coffee Roasters

I first visited Extracto ten years ago when I was visiting some friends in here town. I fell in love with their Eleven of Spades, which is their house blend. It has flavors of chocolate, German chocolate, and sweet dark fruit. I usually get a latte and I like to enjoy it there at Extracto, and also buy bags of beans to use in my home espresso maker.

They offer good pastries (croissants from Nuvrei), art on the wall for sale, and an overall great experience at the cafe. Also, I only just learned about their little backyard patio. 2921 NE Killingsworth Street, Portland. Extracto website

Guilder Coffee Company

I usually go to the location on NE Prescott and 72nd (there’s another one on NE Fremont and 24th), which used to be known as Junior’s, until it was sold and they decided to rebrand to keep things consistent. I usually enjoy whatever they are pulling for espresso, and I am sure I’ve had their Chapter One, which they call their “foundational blend.” It has flavors of cocoa, brown sugar, and hazelnut.

Right now we have a bag of El Canal y El Cajon from Colombia at home that has flavors of dates, milk chocolate, and vanilla and I know I’m going to love it. I also like the pastries there, especially the vegan cinnamon roll. 7151 NE Prescott Street, Portland. Guilder Coffee website

Brave Neighbor Coffeehouse/Chetco Coffee Roasters

I wrote about Brave Neighbor earlier this year—they are the cafe space next to Spin Laundry on North Fremont Street. My washer and dryer remain on the fritz, so we have been going to Spin to do our laundry. I have become a big fan of the lattes they are making at Brave Neighbor with Chetco Coffee Roasters, which is located on the Oregon Coast. They use the Coffee Snob espresso blend that has notes of chocolate and a depth of flavor I really enjoy.

The baristas there are so nice, and Anthony and his staff at Spin make doing laundry a pleasant experience. I also recommend the sausage squarito at Brave Neighbor. 750 N Fremont Street, Suite A, Portland. Brave Neighbor website

Parkrose Coffee Shop/Roseline Coffee

I love this powerhouse of a place: a sweet indoor cafe, a massive outdoor space out back, tasty pastries from Marsee Baking, and solid cups of coffee. They have really created a wonderful third space and are adept at building community.

Recently, while at a community conversations gathering with Councilor Jamie Dunphy, I got their seasonal drink, “Shriek, Shriek, Shriek”: It’s a shaken brown sugar espresso with pumpkin cold foam & nutmeg. It was delicious coffee topped with some of the best cold foam I’ve had. 4826 NE 105th Avenue, Portland. Parkrose Coffee Shop website

Electrica

I love this space and their interesting coffee. The area is industrial and if you look in a certain direction it seems like you are kinda out in the middle of nowhere. Their Instagram indicates they offer coffee from Mexico and Japan, but it seems to have expanded beyond that. Their tea is also a delight.

Their special drinks are lovely and this summer I had a matcha drink sweetened with corn foam. At the writing of this article their specials include a Banana Black Sesame Hojicha, Fig Leaf & Jam Matcha, and a Pumpkin Spice Curry Latte. Sadly, they are not long for this world and will close in the not too distant future. 2181 NW Nicolai Street, Portland. Electrica’s Instagram

Some other spots I enjoy going to but don’t get by them as often as I’d like: Spella Caffè, Heart Coffee Roasters, Coava Coffee Roasters (including at Saint Simon), PushXPull, Portland Cà Phê, Harder Day, and Deadstock Coffee Roasters. Are there other spots you think I should try? Let me know!