Double Shot: Blue Kangaroo
Walkability/Accessibility [C]: Blue Kangaroo is in Sellwood, which has less than ideal transit coverage. The 19 bus line will take you from campus to Sellwood, but you’ll have to either transfer to the 70 or walk for a while. Connor says this makes a much nicer bike ride than a transit trip.
Pricing [A-]: Espresso is $3.50, a cortado is $4.50, and a cappuccino or a latte start at $5.00. Their signature cubano latte is only $0.25 more, and it’s absolutely worth it. The pastries were $6 each, with quality that more than matched the price.
Coffee Quality (and option variety) [A]: Though the lavender latte is one of our standard evaluation drinks, this time we substituted for Blue Kangaroo’s signature drink: the cubano latte. A cubano is an espresso shot pulled with brown sugar. We love making these at home, so we knew we had to try it. The molasses in the brown sugar provides a nice grounded sweetness to an already great latte. After trying the cortado, it was no wonder that the cubano latte came out so well. The cortado was earthy and had nearly zero acidity, with a pleasant light bitterness that was well balanced with the other flavors.
Food Quality (and option variety) [B+]: Their pastries are killer, but we don’t give out an A unless they have something that you’d call a meal. We tried the marionberry pop tart and the everything bagel galette. The marionberry pop tart is a flaky pastry filled with marionberry jam and topped with a marionberry cream cheese frosting. The jam and the frosting combine wonderfully, preventing each other from being oversweet. The everything bagel galette is croissant dough with everything bagel seasoning, and a filling of tomato and cream cheese. It’s a fantastic flavor combination that leaves you wanting more.
Atmosphere [B+]: The place was busy, but not loud. It’s well lit, and has lots of natural lighting. There were a lot of people quietly working or studying, and the seating was comfortable.
Alternative Drinks [A-]: This is the first place we’ve seen that offers two options for their chai, spicy and sweet. We ordered the spicy chai, and were pleasantly surprised by a more cardamom-forward flavor than most places. Their tea is sourced from Smith Teamaker, and it’s hard to go wrong there.
We’re soliciting recommendations!We love writing this column, but we’re running out of cafes that we know. If you have recommendations, send them! The places on our list already are Push x Pull, Fetch, and Java Man. (Java Man is downtown, so it’ll be deprioritized if people recommend anywhere closer.)