It all started with a vintage, French-built 1974 Samiac roaster. With nearly 45 years of collective experience, specialty coffee industry vets and father-son duo Bruce and Matt Milletto made the purchase from a company in Switzerland in 2009 and launched Water Avenue Coffee Co. on the waters of the Willamette River in SE Portland. The building that houses the roaster also maintains Water’s retail business, as well as the American Barista & Coffee School, founded by the Millettos. Bruce Milletto holds the title as a “coffee luminary” and his son, Matt, has also taken initiative in the industry, having also established the Barista Exchange, a networking site for the coffee industry with more than 15,000 members.
Sourcing from a number of farms to produce the highly specialized coffees, the El Salvador Piedra Grande sticks out. The farm is owned and operated by a single family and is found in the Apaneca-Ilamatepec range of western El Salvador. This roast is from their newly rooted Castillo coffee plants, a fresh and hearty variety. Medium-bodied and moderately roasty, the coffee displays aromas of butter, caramelized nuts and honeycomb. Smooth and deep without going too dark, this is a nutty, round sipper worth savoring.
Follow on Facebook: Water Avenue Coffee
Track on Twitter: @wateravecoffee
