Tandem Coffee Roasters
Iced Coffee
Loaded Biscuit
Blackberry Hazelnut and Rosemary Scone
Pistachio Cake
Banana Black Sesame Cake
Chocolate Chip Sea Salt Cookie
Brown Butter, Cinnamon and Orange Sticky Bun
Filling a former Gas Station with an in in-house bakery and Coffee roasting program, Tandem Coffee Roasters is one of many options for Caffeine in Portland, but unlike places such as Bard the theme here can best be described as breezy and non-judgmental, a true sense of community prevailing with old friends chatting and communal tables offering an opportunity for others to meet.
Not fully setting aside a Hipster aesthetic, the soundtrack, man-bunned baristas and racks with bespoke bikes outside setting the scene, those entering Tandem are likely to receive warm welcome from counterside servers, the baked goods glistening behind glass changing not just daily, but *throughout* the day.
Smartly offering classic treats tinged with innovation, the iced coffee not quite on par with some as the finish comes across slightly sour, Tandem’s “Loaded Biscuit” is a favorite of locals for good reason as the fluffy buttermilk comes laden with a thick smear of good butter and housemade seasonal preserves, the strawberries reaching high standards while Blackberries tucked into a moist scone of Hazelnuts and Rosemary was everything The Standard Baking Co.’s Blueberry version was not, and well worth getting up early for.
Never really going *too* sweet, the Pistachio cake almost like a Financier with the soft yet toothsome crumb, Banana Bread reached upward by way of black sesame that added an atypical yet enjoyable bit of Umami, the Sea Salted Cookie well made around morsels of dark Chocolate while the Cardamom could have been dialed back slightly in an otherwise very well constructed Sticky Bun.
www.tandemcoffee.com