Portland’s Cafe Culture Is Changing. These Coffee Businesses Call It a New Wave. | Eater Portland
"Tucked in the brick-covered Gotham Building, Kalesa Coffee serves roasts that reflect its owners’ heritages and intentionally creates space for Asian American and Pacific Islander people in Portland’s cafe culture; owners Tim Almeda, Leilani Bañuelos Banayat, and Keanu Banayat (Almeda and Keanu identifying as Filipino) set out to run a shop without the microaggressions they experienced in majority-white cafes, and they foreground culture in their menu with drinks like a coconut cold brew with ube whip and a mango calamansi served in a chamoy-rimmed glass, all inside a tiny cafe with high wooden tables and a bright yellow La Marzocco; small touches such as a Milo hot chocolate near the tip jar are meant to signal welcome to Filipino customers, and the owners talk about moving beyond coffee’s “bro-y,” single-origin phase to make the craft accessible to their community while fighting coloniality." - Paolo Bicchieri
