Coffee after five…

More to love ’bout the Portland area:

• The United States Barista Championship is gearing up for competition — and workshops — March 5 – 8.
• Capping the USBC is a Barista Prom on March 7, dress up encouraged, but not required.
• And my neighborhood coffee joint hosts not only weekly coffee tastings (think wine tasting, but without the sulfites), but also weeekly trivia games, emceed by the editor of a local alt weekly.
• Powell’s is overflowing with used books, thanks to readers who hope to turn their dusty books into cash during a sagging economy. (The latter, of course, is not more to love on the economic front.)

-Christy