Tandem Coffee has undergone many changes since I first visited its cafe & roastery on Anderson Street in 2015 at the start of my coast-to-coast train journey from Portland (Maine) to Portland (Oregon). Back then, Anderson was just a dirt road, the neighbourhood was very much up-and-coming and Tandem occupied a squat, two-room building, housing both cafe and roastery. These days, the neighbourhood is almost unrecognisable, packed with new shops, restaurants, bars, breweries and, of course, ever-present throughout, there’s Tandem.

The cafe now occupies both rooms, the roastery having moved to a second single-story brick building behind the first. These days, the counter is in the old roastery space, directly ahead as you enter, seating arranged around the walls and at the counter’s far end. Meanwhile, there’s more seating in the second room to your left, while you can also sit outside at a pair of picnic tables. Tandem’s concise espresso menu features a daily single-origin and decaf, while there are two/three single-origins on pour-over through the SP9/V60 (which can be had hot or iced). Alternatively, there’s batch brew, featuring either the Time & Temperature or West End Blues blends, cold brew and tea, plus a small range of cakes/pastries.

Note that Tandem has a second Portland location, the Tandem Coffee + Bakery (cunningly disguised as a gas station on Congress Street), while the roastery has its own Meet the Roaster feature.

You can read more of my thoughts after the gallery.

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Tandem Coffee Roasters’ Cafe and Roastery is at the southern end of Anderson Street, near its corner with Fox Street, in Portland’s East End. Tandem occupies a squat, modern-looking, brick-built L-shaped building that actually dates from the 1930s and looks considerably prettier than my description implies. There’s free parking onsite or out on the street, although Tandem is an easy walk from central Portland if you’re relying on public transport.

If you want to sit outside, there are a pair of picnic tables out front, partly shaded by a mature, leafy tree, while there’s plenty more seating inside. The door, in the crook of the L, leads to the first of two rooms. This used to be the roastery, before it relocated to the building behind this one, but now it houses the counter, an ‘n’ shaped affair which occupies the left-hand wall.

The till is directly ahead of you, while the seating runs along the right-hand and back walls, starting with a pair of stools at a window-bar in the front corner. Next comes a set of retail shelves, then a takeaway station, before an L-shaped bar takes up what’s left of the right-hand wall, continuing across the back wall, seating seven in all. Finally, there are five stools in an L at the counter, two down the side and three along the back.

If you don’t fancy sitting here, turn left, where you’ll find more seating in what was originally the coffee bar and is now the quieter, more relaxed of the two spaces. This has a roughly square floor plan, with a bench with seven small tables running around three of the four walls, while the fourth, to your right as you enter, has retail shelves for merchandising, coffee kit and vinyl.

Both rooms are cheerful spots, with regular windows and mainly whitewashed, plastered walls, punctuated with occasional expanses of bare brick for contrast. This all combines with tiled floors and open, wooden ceiling beams to give both spaces a bright, clean feel.

Tandem’s offering has evolved over the years, but it’s always been designed to show off the output from the roastery. These days, the concise espresso menu features a daily single-origin, with the Sun Lamp Decaf on the second grinder. If you prefer filter coffee, then there’s batch brew, typically featuring the Time & Temperature or West End Blues blends, or you can sample more of the single-origin range by ordering a pour-over, made using the Marco SP9 automated system using the V60. There’s usually a choice of two or three single-origins each day.

Over the years, I’ve tried pretty much all of the various coffees on offer from Time & Temperature through the various single-origins on espresso or pour-over. Most recently, I had a gorgeous cortado, served in a glass, and made with a Colombian single-origin that was sweet and funky, the coffee’s fruity notes coming clearly through the milk.

Tandem is also doing its best to reduce waste, with initiatives including a $0.25 charge for customers who want their coffee in a disposable cup, and discounts for retail customers who bring their own containers when buying coffee beans (or ground coffee). I thoroughly support both these ideas and would love to see more coffee shops take them up.

July 2023: this is an updated version of the original post which was published in July 2015. You can see what has changed in my Coffee Spot Update. Meanwhile, there was a previous Coffee Spot Update in February 2020, not long after the roastery moved out, so you can also see what I thought of Tandem then.

If you enjoyed this Coffee Spot, then take a look at the rest of Portland’s speciality coffee scene with the Coffee Spot Guide to Portland.

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