Tandem Coffee Roasters

A very hip little coffee shop in Portland ME, Tandem has become my go to coffee in the city. While I’m partial to their darker roast, I am yet to have anything but great coffees there. A buddy of mine also got a black tea that he thoroughly enjoyed. The staff is extremely friendly and gets to know you by name after just a few visits! Also, you can’t beat the smell of freshly roasted coffee coming from the back! Definitely worth a visit if you’re in Portland!

Great beans, care in preparation, excellent product. Just a little off the beaten path — the only (very slight) drawback.
Limited seating, but enough to enjoy a cup or an espresso.

Great coffee, great service, fun location. I ordered the almond milk latte, and it was one of the best lattes I’ve had in a while. Definitely worth the drive!

Would be nice if they were able to warm up bakery offerings, something as simple as a $ 60 microwave situated next to the cream/​sugar station would work. Really cute place, delicious sticky buns, latte and cappuccino were good.

Food was excellent, had the bacon quiche and stuffed biscuit. Food earned 5 stars. However I was unimpressed by the flavor of the coffee… I think the almond milk was a little sour. Would definitely be back for the pastry.

Stopped here during our travels north. I got an iced latte, and it was one of the best I’ve ever had. Cute and quaint.

Good coffee. Broad selection of deserts and sandwiches. I had a Rosemary scone and I sea salt chocolate chip cookie, which were honestly both delicious! Outdoor seating available. Unfortunately, no WiFi :(, kind of a bummer for a coffee shop.

«That’s really good coffee.»
«That’s seriously good coffee.»
Yeah, I think Tandem ruined all other coffee for my caffeinated buds.
We were just about to depart for Bar Harbor with a planned stop at Portland the very next morning when I happened upon Bön Appétit’s The 50 Nominees for America’s Best New Restaurants 2015 List.
The closer of Tandem’s two location won out as the more convenient, and we found it to be located on a small side street that was rough from being under construction. It was a small spot, yet the larger portion of its footprint was basically what is normally behind the scenes, while the coffee counter was set further in. Their tiny bar was full with three seated customers watching as their coffees were dripped before their eyes. The pastry offering was but two types.
Alemu $ 3 (Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia; honey, apricot, citrus) was ground and dripped before our very eyes and had a lovely roasted flavor.
Mocha $ 5 (Mast Brothers Belize Dark Chocolate) was delicious, but the cup was more than my friend could handle despite its seemingly small size.
With a single barista handling each step of the process, patience is key, but quite worth your while!

What a gem… We were just driving through Maine and got tired of drinking coffee-​flavored water from Starbunkin’ D, so we resorted to our trusty Unilocal and found Tandem Coffee Roasters, a local roaster in Portland, ME. The interior is a beautiful roaster/​café and tried the Iced Malt Coffee and wow, such a refreshing drink! I like it even better the New Orlean’s Ice Coffee from Blue Bottle.
What makes it even better is having the owner/​roaster, Kathleen telling us about her veteran years with Blue Bottle and how their La Marzocco in the house is actually the very first machine used at the garage in Hayes Valley for the very first Blue Bottle Coffee Store. How neat is that?!
Thank you Kathleen for the story, the refreshing iced coffee and best of all, the deep love for the coffee craft!

Very nice interior. Staff is very friendly. Bathrooms and table tops are clean. Plenty of Indoor and outdoor seating.
The coffee is light and slightly acidic. Similar to Blue Bottle/​Four Barrel brews. I prefer coffee with a fuller body so this being said I would probably try the Latte or Cappuccino next visit.

No frills coffee house where you can buy freshly roasted on the premises coffee beans but drink a delicious latte before rushing home to make your own brew. ‘Nuff said, yes?
When you order a fabulous beverage, you have simplified your life by just picking the item without concern for size. One size only works well for me.
The staff is pretty cool, knowledgeable and most importantly, deliver the delicious beverages with precision. The location is somewhat far from the downtown area, but there is easy parking for bike or car. Cute seating outside at a picnic table ‘neath a tree.
Warning: if you come here just for a beverage, you will leave with beans because… It’s just so cool that they roast ‘em here!

Excellent. Best coffee I’ve had in a long long time. Fantastic «everything scone» and chocolate chip cookie. Also its right off the highway, so was the perfect place to stop for a break on my way North.

I make an annual pilgrimage to Portland, ME to visit the art museum and get lunch with a friend. I tried a bag (and cup) of Tandem’s Adado Ethiopia coffee when they were the guest bean at Crema in Cambridge, MA. After this I was determined to drag my friend to their roastery and shop. When I brewed my wife a cuppa of the Tandem Adado she said, «Wow this is special coffee.»
Boy is she right.
The location is nestled betwixt a residential area, industrial buildings, and a couple of shopping destinations. We took a wrong turn (damn you GPS!) and ended up traveling down a cobblestone street and an unpaved road. Thankfully my friend, like a good Mainer, drives a Subaru. THE JOURNEY WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT.
Entering the building you are greeted with an open concept roastery, and today was a roasting day. The roaster going full blast.
The café was all clean lines, reclaimed wood, and white walls. Soft music was playing on the record player. We ordered up and watched the barista make our drinks. My friend got the malted cold brew with almond milk and I got a drip Chelchele Yirgacheffe. Oh baby, it was good. My friend liked her cold brew (she’s super picky) and really liked the almond milk they used. When informed that the bakery now makes their own, well, I think she’ll be making the pilgrimage.
If you are headed to Portland, near Portland or need a rest stop on your way to a Maine destination, you owe it to your under caffeinated taste-​buds to stop in and get a cup of something and a bag of beans to go.
(I wanted to speak toward the vibe of the place. I interacted quite a lot with a regular and the barista while in the café, perhaps my quiet yet friendly demeanor made me feel welcome, but I definitely didn’t get a judgmental or nasty vibe from the barista. I could see myself bringing my tablet and getting some work done here. But then maybe I’m the right kinda clientele? *shrugs*)

Excellent vibe and great espresso. Hello from Lancaster, PA! We loved every drop. Friendly service, happy atmosphere. Clean. Great place to go if your a coffee enthusiast

Excellent coffee roasted on site. Cozy neighborhood atmosphere with lots of regulars. The creamiest cappuccino you’ve had in Maine with a rotating bean selection to keep things interesting. Good music spinning on the record player. What’s not to like?

I seriously count my lucky stars that we have such great coffee here in Portland, Maine. It might be the first coffee that I think actually tastes good.
But now there’s the bakery location on Congress street as well. Everything, literally everything, they make is superb and special; it just doesn’t taste like other baked goods. And I mean that in the best way. Like the sea salt chocolate chip cookies, with huge chunks of chocolate. Or the birdhouse muffin with a fully cooked egg in the middle. It’s a full breakfast in a muffin. I just hope we can keep Tandem around forever.

We really love this place. We were met with two smiling faces as we walked in and a very very modern and sleek design. being that we are from Brooklyn, NY we really felt at home in this space. A great place to come in and get a freshly roasted pour over coffee or a nice handcrafted beverage. I would deathly recommend coming in the morning because you can sip your cup of coffee and watch the roasting process which is really fun and smells delicious. I had a pour over which was very delicious and we will be going back tomorrow before we leave. We are instant fans!

On a recent stroll around Back Cove and walking under Tukey’s Bridge, I needed warming up on this breezy March morning. I steered myself to this vibrant coffee house that is positioned in the gritty yet up-​and-​coming East Bayside neighborhood. The vibe was enticing and the interior smaller than expected but filled with the big hearts of the staff.
The menu is limited but satisfying and I chose a steaming cup of Los Arboles that was accompanied by a charming little square of leather. My companion enjoyed an espresso. Of course, I whipped out my other constant companion, my iPhone to document the experience and was quite satisfied with the results.
At one point, I consulted the interwebs and the wifi connection name that popped up was «Gayle Waters-​Waters» I immediately recognized the inside joke here which is a reference to the overachieving, power walking suburban housewife played by the genius Chris Fleming whose web series is in its 3^rd season thanks to the generous support of Kickstarters. The mustachioed proprietor is indeed a huge fan and we instantly bonded over this discovery and traded quips from the videos. Yes, Gayle would be the first one to stop here after her power yoga class or 5^th time around the Back Cove trail. Anything to trump her frienemy Bonnie.

Stopped into Tandem Coffee Roasters for the first time yesterday after a power yoga class down the street at Portland Power Yoga. I’ve had their malt iced coffee twice before, both times at one of my favorite restaurants: Pai Men Miyake. The first time was excellent — so good that needed to have it again, the second — too malty and not good at all. I sent it back. I’d been dying to come here to check it out and try the malt iced coffee from the original source.
I arrived to find Tandem Coffee Roasters housed in a small (very small), charming brick building with equally charming signage and the sweetest bike rack I ever did see appropriately in the shape of a tandem bicycle. Inside, an impressively mustached gentleman (hello, Portland hipster dude!) appeared to be roasting some beans at the large roaster in view from the entranceway. He greeted me and I expressed my excitement about being there, having wanted to visit for a while. He was very pleasant and engaged me in some light conversation.
To the left of the entrance is where you order food and drinks. The space is stylishly, tastefully minimalistic, with clean lines and light colored wood, whites and taupes, accented with whimsical colorful lights and décor. I am a big fan of this look.
At the counter I ordered what I came for: a malt iced coffee. For a time they also had cold-​brewed coffee (personal favorite) but no one ordered it so they stopping making. I was also tempted by the pastries available for purchase, a croissant and a cinnamon roll from Standard Baking Company, but ultimately decided against getting a snack.
There are seats available at the coffee bar, and more alongside the big windows. There were about five patrons there when I was and probably would have started to feel claustrophobic with just a few more. Thankfully, the iced coffee was just like it was the first time. I was buzzing from caffeine high for several hours after I left. I would definitely return when in the area especially after a yoga class.

Portland, ME goes hand-​in-​hand with loads of things, coffee houses being one of them. There are loads of them throughout the city, some of which have sustained long-​term business, some of which flourish a bit before disappearing altogether, and some of which are still gaining traction outside of their loyal customer base. I think Tandem falls in the last of these categories… if you know it, you love it.
I wasn’t expecting the extremely modern, clean lines of the interior and I appreciated that visual «breath of fresh air» as many of the coffee places in town cater to that artsy, hip vibe (which is usually more line with what I like). The staff seemed friendly-​enough the first time I came in, though I’ve been back multiple times since and they really do seem to cater to and pay more attention to their «regulars»… I often feel judged here by the staff and given the extremely small space, it makes me INSANELY uncomfortable. (AS OF MARCH 2014:) With Coffee By Design so close by now, I’m more prone to go there because I feel a little more welcome and the attitudes of the employees are much warmer.
At the suggestion of others, I first tried the iced malt coffee. I had heard it was interesting and different — usually words that hold negative connotations with them, but not so here. Because the iced malt coffee IS interesting. In a good, you-​should-​try-​this-​once-​in-​your-​life kind of way. It wasn’t necessarily my cup of tea (or coffee in this instance), but the person I was with loved it — it flooded his senses with nostalgic memories of his childhood and the malt drinks he used to enjoy with his family. Yay for that!
Since then I’ve had a latte (made from the exceptionally crafted Time and Temperature espresso, I believe) and a regular drip-​coffee. Both were absolutely lovely, though pricey. I think that coffee is something that could become incredibly pretentious in Portland, so hopefully Tandem’s limited menu comes across as approachable and not snobby as I think it might could.