I always find it interesting to learn more about what teachers do outside of school. It’s easy to think of them as one dimensional enigmas with the single purpose of teaching, but outside the classroom, many of them lead deep and interesting lives, pursuing their passions on top of their main careers.
One individual like this is English and AP African American Studies teacher Maurice Cowley. While Cowley is a well established member of the McDaniel community, some may not know that he also roasts coffee beans and sells them. Cowley’s business is known as Black Coffee PDX. You can visit his website here: https://linktr.ee/blackcoffeepd. Through his business, Cowley sells coffee beans from various parts of the world, roasted right here in Portland.
Even though I don’t have Cowley as a teacher, I do know him through cross country and track, where I regularly see him at meets. This is also how he met my parents, who ended up purchasing some of his coffee beans. My parents absolutely adore coffee, a trait they passed down to me as well, so there’s always a fresh pot waiting in the kitchen. Something important to note about my parents though, is that they’re very particular about their coffee. Regular old store bought beans won’t do in our house, we need good, quality coffee. My parents had been sticking to a specific roaster, also based in Portland, for over a decade, but ever since they upped their prices, my parents decided to branch out.
This is how I ended up visiting Cowley’s classroom after school where he supplied me with the goods. Now, I didn’t actually try any of Cowley’s coffee the first time my parents bought from him because I try not to drink coffee on school days, and with my weekends being busy, I just didn’t get a chance, but I do recall my parents having good things to say. Recently however, my parents ordered another two roasts, giving me the chance to try it this time. These specific beans originated in Kenya, and had a roast date of Mar. 21. We got batch number 303. The profile of the roast, which can be found on Cowley’s website through Black Coffee PDX on Instagram, described it as a medium light roast with hints of honeyed black tea. I normally like to drink my coffee with a splash of oat milk, but for the purpose of this review, I drank the first sip black so I could fully immerse myself in the flavour.
Upon tasting the coffee, it felt very smooth, and less acidic than most black coffees I’ve tasted, which I appreciated. I did get some subtle notes of honey and a few floral hints, but whether I would have known to look for those without reading the flavor profile I’m not sure. The flavor was relatively subtle due to it being a lighter roast, but still tasted complex and was overall really enjoyable. After pouring some milk in, I enjoyed the rest of the warm drink, a perfect way to start a Sunday morning. My parents also noted that this was their favorite roast of Cowley’s we’d tried thus far.
Overall, I really enjoyed Black Coffee PDX, and I strongly recommend it to any coffee lovers out there. Purchasing from Cowley not only gets you a great cup of coffee but is also an awesome way to support a member of the community.
