Tea and a cookie at Coffeehouse-Five

Coffeehouses are an important part of the Portland social scene.  They’re also intensely personal.  Ask anyone who lives in the city, and they’ll likely rattle off 2 or 3 of their favorite spots.  Even the non-coffee-drinkers have favorite shops to camp out in and read a book or check email.

Lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time at a relatively new shop in North Portland, Coffeehouse-Five.  It’s in a great, old storefront space with tall ceilings, big windows, and old floors.  Comfy couches and community tables accommodate the scores of college students that pulse in from the neighboring Portland Community College, as well as the mix of community-members that filter in from the surrounding old-Portland neighborhood.

To my tastebuds, this is one of the best places in town to get a cappuccino.  Not only did I have a full-on flashback to Italy while drinking one a couple of weeks ago, the folks who work there are friendly, knowledgeable and just-plain awesome.  If you’re passing by, stop in sometime.  You’ll probably find me hunkered into a sofa typing wildly.