Heart opened its doors in Portland, Oregon, in 2009, built on the idea that a great cup should bring out the fruit flavours in coffee. It is owned and run by Rebekah and Wille Yli-Luoma, and it roasts at its own facility in Portland.

Heart buys seasonally, securing each green coffee at its peak in the current crop, and travels to origin during and at the end of the harvest to support producers, help with quality control and choose lots. It has built relationships with producers in Kenya, Ethiopia, Colombia, Honduras, Mexico, Brazil and Guatemala and visits them through the year. Each coffee carries its FOB cost, most also their landed cost, and Heart issued transparency reports from 2018 to 2022.

It does not sort its coffees into light, medium and dark. Each has its own roast profile, aimed at even development, sweetness and fruit with a juicy finish. Every bag carries a roast date and a batch number linked to a quality test, and batches that fall short go to the local food bank. Phono is a rotating single origin chosen for a round body and low acidity, Stereo is the seasonal blend, and the decaf is processed with ethyl acetate.

There are two cafés, Heart Burnside and Heart Woodstock, both serving the full range of whole-bean coffee to take home. Neither has wifi, to keep the rooms more unplugged.

Coffee on the shelf

Photograph: Heart Coffee Roasters