Dapper & Wise Roasters
“If the idea work hard, play hard was intended to be both ideas in one action, then that would be a day in the life at Dapper & Wise.” Founded in 2013 by Evan Aldrete and Tyler Geel, Dapper & Wise seeks to bridge the gap between farmer and customer. We’re excited to have them back in the shop and got to hear from Aubrey Mills to learn more about what they value, their cafe and coffee lab, and their friends in Portland!
"Our goal at Dapper & Wise is to source and roast the best coffees we can find, to keep inventing new ways to treat our employees and coffee producers better, to be funny slightly more often than we are serious, to consistently offer the tastiest coffees and beverages in our cafes, to be at minimum very nice to everyone who walks in our doors, to teach our friends and customers about coffee in a nice and unpretentious way, and to have fun while we are doing all of those things. It’s a long goal with a lot of commas and dependent clauses, but we think it’s worth it."
Photo Courtesy of Dapper & Wise Roasters
These priorities come through loud and clear in their cafe, where “you can always find a barista behind the bar who knows all of their coffee stuff but will talk to you about YA novels or tintypes instead.” From the design of the shop to their espresso offerings and seasonal drink menu, you’ll always find something that’s interesting and exciting as well as something a little more approachable.
Shared Knowledge
With a desire to always gather and send out knowledge about their craft and the world around them as well as providing a more accessible space to try out and learn more about specialty coffee, Dapper & Wise’s Coffee Lab offers classes for home brewing and home espresso, baristas and wholesale partners, as well as cool topics like palate development and roasting classes!
Photo Courtesy of Dapper & Wise Roasters
A Dapper & Wise Portland
“To give an honest-to-goodness shout-out to our neighbors, Pok-Pok, they make some of the best Northern Thai in the nation. I mean they are actually, nationally ranked and we are so stoked to have easy access to their fish-sauce wings. Woodblock Chocolate is an awesome little space you should check out if you’re ever in the area. They not only make exquisite chocolate but they do a great job of telling the story of where their cocoa comes from and how your purchase is literally changing lives in other countries. Now that I have gotten started I have realized there are too many amazing small-businesses to name. Just come on out here, we’ll show you around.”
An ideal Dapper & Wise coffee is balanced, offering the natural complexities of the coffee up front and lingers like sugar, making the second sip “a must”. We totally get that from both the Kenya Kiangoi and Ethiopia Guji Dubisa we have on bar over the next couple days. Aubrey recommends patience with the Dubisa to let the coffee cool to mouth temperature. “This is one of those versatile coffees that can sit center stage for you and your coffee-loving friend to analyse or it can play the supporting role, warming your morning as you get to work.”
Be sure to check out Dapper & Wise on Instagram and Twitter while you try out some of their offerings here at the shop!
