At Fetch Coffee, Dogs Are Just as Important as the Quality of the Beans

Fetch Coffee Roasters

1540 SE Bybee Blvd., 503-954-1865, fetchroasters.com. 7 am-5 pm Monday-Friday, 7:30 am-5 pm Saturday, 8 am-4 pm Sunday.

Portlanders love their dogs so much that there’s a coffee shop and roastery dedicated entirely to canines. This isn’t quite a dog version of one of those cat cafes, but at Fetch’s sun-washed corner in Sellwood, dogs are as important as the quality of the beans. The latter are dutifully roasted just past the cash register in a commanding custom-built San Franciscan SF-25 that could double as an art installation, which is surrounded by enough greenery to make the space feel like a millennial’s Brooklyn apartment. The concept of Fetch is the work of owner and roaster Sarah Witter, who donates $1 from every bag of beans sold to organizations that help dogs (to date, she’s raised just over $17,000). In keeping with the theme, beans come with cutesy canine-referencing names like Muddy Paws, Dimples’ Rescue Roast, and Squirrel!!, and the cafe is dog-friendly (obviously). While some of that might sound a bit gimmicky, Fetch actually serves quality beans that meet the high standards of Portland’s coffee junkies. The nitro cold brew, with notes of blueberry and a creaminess that balances out the bitter notes, is the way to go if you want to keep it pure, but you can also dive into Fetch’s adventurous menu that includes everything from a cardamom sticky bun latte to a cherry mocha to something called a “Forest Witch” that mixes Chagaccino and organic blackberry syrup with a double shot of espresso.