Jennifer Jenkins

even keel coffee

Even Keel Coffee Company

Portland, OR

I had no idea my love for coffee would translate to owning my own coffee bar.  Being an architect for the last 20 years, married and raising two young boys in Portland, I began looking for my next chapter in late summer 2016.  I grew up around small business, and when the opportunity presented itself, with a start-up coffee bar in a building design I managed with a landlord/developer I was close to, I certainly couldn’t pass it up.  From there, the research began.  Research, research, and more research.  And a lot of coffee tasting.

Part of that research was finding Bellissimo and realizing I had the opportunity to learn from the best without even having to leave Portland.  Ecstatic at the possibilities, I registered for the 5-day Business & Barista Workshop.  Not only did I learn about running a coffee business, I learned how to pull shots of espresso and steam milk, all while making new friends along the way.  I’ll never forget the first day of the workshop, watching a video about the history of the coffee bean, and as the video ended, I belted out ‘I had no idea coffee starts as a berry!’  I’m pretty sure everyone thought I was crazy wanting to open a coffee bar and not even knowing the first thing about the origin of coffee. Fast forward months later, I continue to learn every day and look forward to meeting others in the industry along the way.

Even Keel Coffee Company launched in June of 2017.  We are a small crafted coffee bar in the lobby of a mixed-use building in Old Town Portland.  We have curated our partners, all local, to provide quality in our coffee, tea, pastries, & grab-n-go lunch options.  The Portland coffee community, including Bellissimo, has been incredibly supportive, and I look forward to what the future holds for Even Keel Coffee.

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