While vising Portland OR last summer, one of the coffee spot that I was excited to visit was Tōv Coffee. Not only they are unique in a sense that they offer Egyptian inspired artisanal coffee, but all the photos I saw showed the coffee shop in a red double decker bus! So, off we went, looking for that classic red bus…but then, we never found it. Well guess what, they are no longer operating out of a bus, which was a bummer. Once I realized that fact, I was able to locate their building location.
It was a nice large space, especially for a cafe that only offers drinks and a handful of small snacks. The color was vibrant everywhere we looked, really fun atmosphere. They had a good amount of seating available, with window bench seat that goes all the way around on half of their walls, and some chairs and tables. I liked how they did not overcrowd the space with too many tables and chairs. The lighting fixtures were really nice, and each piece of furniture was fascinating.
The best looking seating area was at one corner of the cafe. Here, with beautiful decor and furnishings, Tōv Coffee transfer you to a vibrant world, somewhere in the imaginary dessert in a big tent in Egypt. At least that is what I thought of. Unless you are used to sitting very close to the floor instead of an elevated seating like a regular chair, this seating area might not be the most comfortable. But it sure was a wonderful set up.
On this day, unfortunately, they were out of several of their popular coffee offerings. One of the thing we really wanted to try at Tōv Coffee was their iconic Egyptian Coffee that comes in a kanaka pot. But that was also unavailable… So, not double decker bus, no kanaka. It felt like they were out of half of their offerings for some reason, so the offering was limited on this day. Eventually, we settled with Rose Mocha ($7.25) with double espresso, crema, milk chocolate mocha, with a hint of rose essence. Another choice was from their “Limited Tasty Drinks” menu, Date Me ($7.50), a perfect balance of cardamom infused espresso and magical date syrup latte. They were quite nice, creamy, milky, and with strong flavors that went perfectly with coffee. I especially loved the Egyptian mug!
They have two gender-neutral bathrooms in the back, both accessible. In here you can really transport yourself to imaginary Egypt while you do your business. LOL. Joking aside, they have a pretty cool mural on the wall, with pyramids and city scenery. Impressive!
Although we didn’t get to try their coffee in a fun double decker bus, the indoor setting was quite nice. And the coffee, again, we didn’t get what we wanted, but they were quite tasty. Rich and satisfying. We had a nice afternoon coffee pick-me-up. A unique setting and quality coffee, so we still had fun time here.
Tōv Coffee – 3639 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR 97214