Coava Coffee Roasters — Restaurant in Portland

The coffee is good, very good. This review is not about the coffee.

On November 9th I was the victim of non consensual guerrilla veganism at this location.

I ordered a chai. The chai is not good, stick with the coffee. The tea was just filtered quickly instead of being allowed to steep but that’s not the point of this review. The chai I was served tasted bad. It sounded crazy but it tasted so bad that I asked the barista if it was soy milk. I assumed it must be an innocent mistake. Without a bit of apology she said “It’s oatmilk.” She then continued when I looked confused to explain “We make all of our chai with oatmilk”. She did remake my drink when I explained that I drink real milk. There was absolutely nothing on the menu or any signage indicating that the chai listed next to the latte was different from any other drink. There was in fact no mention of any milk alternatives on the menu. I have gotten drinks here in the past with no issues. Everyone knows that the default milk for coffee drinks is milk.

I am honestly quite angry about this intentional attempt at deceit by a person who apparently thought their ethics were more important than my free choice and assumed I wouldn’t notice if they made what they thought was the “right” choice for me. I know making chai with oatmilk is not a coava policy and if it is it should be clearly communicated with proper signage. In this case I needed the protein and as a basic human courtesy, people have a right to know what they...

Coava used to be my #1 coffee place in the city, and I have recommended it to countless people over the years. In fact, I run an Airbnb and have also sent all my guests there. It would be difficult to do so going forward.

The good:

Personable staff. Everyone is very friendly. The roasting of the beans is still spot on! I’ll still buy the beans, hence the 3 stars. They finally upgraded their pastries to Sparrow Bakery!

The bad:

Coava used to be the place to go to get a perfect cup every time. This changed at some point a handful of months ago. I kept thinking, “maybe it’s just a bad day?” But the inconsistency of the quality of the brew is too significant. I have gotten at least 4 or 5 bitter cups. Bitter meaning steeped too long or maybe the grind is too fine? Something is “off”, and it tastes like the current baristas are not as well-trained as you would expect from Coava. I have noticed similar inconsistencies with the cold brew. If I can take the same beans and make a MUCH better cup at home, the baristas need better training.

I’m guessing this is due to staffing issues from the pandemic? Either way, it’s just disappointing. I’m sad about this. I miss the Coava coffee I used to get so...

We've seen signs for coava beans all throughout the area and figured this would be a great place to try out. Upon entering, we were pretty excited by what seems to be a true third wave coffee shop that prides themselves in their beans, process, flavor, and experience. I saw another customer get served a latte with beautiful latte art which kept my hopes high.

Between the 4 coffee lovers in my group, we tried a black drip coffee and both espressos they had available. None of us really like any of them very much. The girl who got the drip says "tastes like regular coffee". My boyfriend and I, who are espresso chasers, did not like either of them. I think they have good technique (well balanced shot, good body, healthy crema-- almost a necessity in the Portland coffee scene), but the beans themselves were lacking. Flavor is highly underwhelming and none of the tasting notes were tasted.

Tl;Dr if you care about the complexity of your coffee and espressos, don't come here. If you don't then this place is fine? There are too many other delicious places that honestly idk if I'd even truly...