We had the pleasure of competing in the Fourth Annual Cascadia Roaster's Competition at Buckman Coffee Factory in Portland. Roasters from all over the western US competed, and we placed in the top-5 in the judges' voting! Both James and Lily Helms entered. How it works is all of the contestants receive the same green coffee beans without any information. Roasters might have an idea of how specifically they want to roast a certain bean based on where it's from. This levels the playing field and certainly favors more experienced roasters who have a developed palette and are systematic in their experimenting. The coffees are brewed and cupped for the judges, and they score the coffees on a detailed rubric. Their top-25 make it to the event day when the general public gets to try 5 coffees at a time and vote for their favorite. We learned more about other facets of the industry from sponsors Genuine Origin and Roast Magazine. We look forward to competing again!

We were invited by The Groves Church and the brokerage Bryan works at, Rarebird Real Estate, to serve pour over coffee for special events. The pour over method produces some of the most flavorful coffee, and it's what gives some Portland coffee shops a reputation for having slow service. It takes time, but the quality is so worth it! We had fun serving and connecting with people.

If you'd like to invite us serve pour over coffee at your small event, write Bryan Atkinson at bryan@rockybuttecoffee.com.