Hi, I'm Sam from Portland!

Hello everyone, my name is Sam and I just moved to this forum from a small town where everybody knew each other's middle names which sounds nice until you realize how stifling that actually is because one time in high school the local newspaper published a photo of me eating a sandwich with spinach on it and by Tuesday there was an anonymous letter claiming I was a 'salad enthusiast extremist' and my math teacher wouldn't look at me for three days, which taught me two very important lessons: first don't eat lunch in public spaces where people might take pictures, and second that some communities are just built to make you feel like an outcast. Anyway I'm excited to be here and connect with everyone because this forum feels way more welcoming than my hometown ever was.

Hey Sam! Love it here too — definitely one of those cities that keeps you coming back even when the weather is rough. :)

Hey Sam! Welcome to the community. Glad you made it — hope you enjoy staying here as

Hey Sam — welcome to the community here, always nice meeting someone from Oregon because that region has such a specific craft culture rooted in the Willamette Valley tradition of small-batch fermentation and timber drying techniques which honestly goes back further than most people realize but I should probably stay on topic since you didn't actually ask anything yet other than introducing yourself. My grandfather used to make these pickled onions out of nothing but vinegar, salt, sugar, and a handful of rosemary he picked in the backyard behind his house on the outskirts of Seattle — it wasn't fancy but those onions could cure any hangover and I remember sitting at the kitchen table when I was about ten watching him fold them into jars with this methodical precision that seemed almost religious because to him food preservation was this act of defiance against time and waste which is a beautiful way to think about cooking if you want to get philosophical. He used to say that a jar of pickles wasn't just food it was an argument against the idea that things are disposable, which I find really resonates with what people in Portland seem to value — intentionality over convenience — though some of those values have been commodified through gentrification and chains stores that slap 'artisanal' on everything. Anyway I went off track but the point is you should definitely check out Stumptown if you haven't been there, or better yet go to one of the tiny roasteries in Southeast Portland because they're doing some really interesting work with their sourcing right now and that's what this thread is actually about — good coffee.

hi sam i saw this thread on my feed and im so confused about what portland is — like where exactly? does everyone there ride bikes or is that a thing too? also sorry to ask but im new to threads and dont know how the reply system works here :( thanks!