Notes

Grand Opening Celebration at SW Madison Café in Portland
After lots of hard work getting our second Portland café open in the Sovereign Building, it was fun to kick back and celebrate at our Grand Opening party last month. With live music from Mbrascatu, amazing food and cocktails, and a packed house we certainly celebrated in style! A big thanks to the Oregon Historical Society, our neighbors in the Sovereign Hotel, for maintaining the beautiful history and architectural details of the building; we were thrilled to donate $500 back to them for future preservation projects. If you missed the... Read more...
Hotshot Crew Challenge
WHAT IS THE HOTSHOT CREW CHALLENGE? The Hotshot Crew Challenge is the Medic One Foundation's social media fundraising campaign to support the training and equipment needs of our region's firefighters and paramedics. October 18- 27, nine teams are competing to become the Hotshot Crew of 2017. The winning team will award a $10,000 grant to their partner fire department to purchase emergency medical equipment. The remaining funds will be used to train 24 new paramedic students for communities throughout the Puget Sound region. Caffé Umbria and Volterra have teamed up... Read more...
Welcome to Westlake, Caffè Umbria's Third Seattle Café
Residents and visitors of the Lake Union area have a new Caffè Umbria café in their neighborhood.  Caffè Umbria Westlake is now open in the new Westlake Steps Building, which connects Dexter Avenue and Westlake Avenue N. Located on the SW corner of Lake Union, the  boutique café serves traditional Italian espresso and coffee drinks along with some innovative offerings like Nitro Cold Brew, plus light breakfast and lunch fare with several popular selections from local Italian restaurant La Spiga. Easy lakefront access makes this café a great place to enjoy... Read more...
workers processing green coffee in Ethiopia
New Single Origin Ethiopia Guji Kercha
Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee and is the native home of the Coffea Arabica plant. Grown in an area that has traditionally processed coffee using a natural (dry) method,... Read more...
Caffè Umbria Opens in SW Portland
We are thrilled to announce that our newest café on the corner of Broadway and Madison in SW Portland is now open!  Our aesthetic focuses on an elegant blending of rustic and modern elements, embracing technology while honoring tried and true traditions - this new space embraces the architecture of the historic Georgian style building while mixing in our signature branding and style. High ceilings, hues of light blue tiles and walls and warm natural light make the café a welcoming, comfortable space. Designed by Rick Potestio, the café features an... Read more...
Barrel Aged Single Origin: Peru Condor Puna
Last year Master Roaster Emanuele Bizzarri hand-selected the Peru Condor Puna coffee while visiting Peru. Grown at a high altitude between 1,300 - 1,800 meters in the Quillabamba Province in the Cusco region of Peru, this coffee is generally sweeter and of higher quality than coffees grown at lower altitudes. We had the honor of being the first to offer this unique light roast in the United States last summer. This September it returns as part of our limited edition Barrel Aged Single Origin program. This Barrel Aged Peru coffee is cured for two... Read more...
Make Iced Coffee Using an Inverted Aeropress: Step by Step
Everyone loves iced coffee in the summer! On those days when it's just too hot to leave the house, you can make delicious iced coffee at home using an Aeropress! You can view our Brew Guide or follow along here for step by step instructions.   What You Need Aeropress Caffé Umbria 30 grams of ground coffee (ground about 1 finer than the drip coffee setting) 150 grams of water a glass with some ice and 3 ounces of cold water Table top scale   Heat your water. Insert the... Read more...
Barrel Aged Single Origin Sumatra
Our Sumatra Boru Batak, reinvented as a barrel aged very- limited-edition coffee. Did you try our Sumatra Boru Batak last year? Now you can experience this coffee in a whole new way. We’ve barrel aged a small batch of this single origin coffee to create our Barrel Aged Sumatra. While we are known for our traditional blends, we love to seek out new ways to highlight single origin coffees too. This barrel aged coffee is a unique way to combine the love of coffee and spirits. This Barrel Aged Sumatra... Read more...
Evaluating Coffee: Cupping
If you love coffee, you've probably heard the term "Cupping" --- it is the industry standard for measuring taste.   Here at Caffé Umbria there are three main reasons we cup our coffees: Consistency: Cupping allows us to determine the sensory differences between samples. Flavor Profile: cupping is the best tool to describe the flavors of a sample. Quality Control: Cupping helps us determine if a sample meets our quality standards. We have established protocols and procedures to keep variables to a minimum, ensuring consistency. For example: all samples are roasted to... Read more...
Keep Cold Brew On Hand for Hot Summer Days
Cold brew and iced coffee are not the same thing. Cold brew is never exposed to high temperatures during the brewing process. This creates a full body flavor that highlights the coffee profile and it's less acidic than traditionally brewed coffee, making cold brew naturally sweeter than an iced coffee. You can experiment serving it hot or cold to see how the flavor profile varies from hot brewed coffee. Read more...
Father's Day Gift Guide for Dads Who Love Coffee
Feeling stumped about what to get dad for Father's Day? If he likes coffee, we've got you covered! For the Creature of Habit If Dad knows what he likes and faithfully drinks his favorite coffee every morning, he will love a subscription to have a bag or two, ground to specification or whole bean, delivered every one, two, three or four weeks. All of our coffees are available as a subscription.   You can also get him one of our gift sets: a single or double bag of his favorite... Read more...
Man holding a Hario v60 brewer
Brewing the Perfect Cup of Coffee with the Hario V60
Making single-serve coffee with the sleek and simple Hario V60 is a fun experience. Made in Japan of heat-proof glass, the ridges and cone shape allow for even extraction. Hario makes... Read more...