Portland Coffee Tour 2025 - Part 6

June has been a great month to get out of the house and go hang at a coffee shop. You know I love a cool coffee shop vibe, almost as much as I love a great cup of coffee. Portland knows how to brew beans and turn them into something magical and I really found some of those special places this month. 

If you enjoy a good cup of coffee, brewed in a chill environment, read on for some shops to hit up if you come to Portland (we’re in the top 10 cities for inclusivity for LGBTQ+ travelers, in the top 20 cities that are best for visiting for 4th of July, and our airport is awesome) or if you live here and are looking for a new spot.

Chilita’s Coffee

There are so many coffee shops in bookshops, but this one is actually in the lobby of the Tigard Public Library. I wasn’t expecting it, since nowhere does it say that it’s not on the street, but I wasn’t upset by it. This shop serves up basic espresso drinks – I got a vanilla latte – and breakfast sandwiches. They don’t look like much, but they are simple and delicious. The seating here was so chill that I hung out to do some work for longer than I absolutely needed to. 

The lobby is really bright and open, with tall ceilings and two entire walls of windows. There’s also an art installation hanging from the ceiling. It’s welcoming and comfortable. You can pick up reserved books via their book lockers or you can finish your drink and go peruse the library. This shop also serves puffle waffles with ice cream, danishes, yogurt, and lunch sandwiches, so you’re set for whatever time of day you visit.

Baristopia

I have been meaning to go to this little self-contained neighborhood for a while. They are apartments on top and the street in the middle has retail and restaurants on the bottom floor with (limited) parking. There’s even a dental office here, so you almost don’t have to leave if you live there. Baristopia has a gorgeous Instagram and I was excited to have a little bit of time to nip over there and try out their coffee.

They have your standard espresso drinks and then a handful of specialty drinks that all sound amazing. I asked the barista for her recommendation and she Sweet Europe Latte, which is a tiramisu base with Irish cream and sprinkles of cocoa powder on top. It sounds like a lot, but it really all complemented each other and was an awesome mix. I also chose a pistachio rose croissant. They’re made by a local bakery called Nuvrei. The croissant is really pink and the pistachio filling was just enough and a pretty green. They top them with big pink sugar crystals. 

The shop itself is Asian owned and brought their roasting style from Shanghai. While there, the owner was experimenting with different flavor combos, so I know how they got this drink that I was currently drinking. It has the popular clean white and wood interior, but with a hint of cabin cozy with a large seating area surrounding a fireplace. If you time it right, you can get a quick, light breakfast here and then walk down the block and eat lunch at one of the interesting restaurants there, like the Asian chicken wings taproom.

Battle Grounds Gaming Cafe

I’ve been working really hard on growing the community around the nonprofit I am on the board of and we have started holding what we call magical meet and greets, where we get current and potential volunteers to come meet us and play some games and chat and ask us any questions they have. Our last one was held at a gaming shop called Battle Grounds, where you can play D&D and other TTRPGs and also eat and drink while there. The cafe has a lot of delicious espresso drinks and a big selection of pastries (some of which might also come from Nuvrei) from Farina Bakery and bagels from Spielman’s. There’s even meat and cheese platters. 

Now, I didn’t view this as a regular coffee tour stop, because I was mostly there in another capacity, but the drinks were delicious. I had two. I had a regular vanilla latte and then their campfire smores latte. I also picked up the Everything Galette, which was a super buttery pastry with cream cheese and everything bagel seasoning. Everyone who stopped at the coffee bar and came in to meet us was very complimentary of what they got.

Next month I’ll be out of town for a good portion of it, so I’m already jumping on my July visits early. One is a different location that I reviewed quite a few years ago and one is a totally new coffee lounge altogether, so stay tuned for those and another shop I have yet to decide on. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll see short reviews of those already, plus new places (to me) I’ll be drinking at in Vegas and in the Tacoma, Washington area.

Tell me your favorite coffee shops from wherever you are or wherever you’ve traveled.

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