Can Oregon town take more coffee?

GRANTS PASS, Ore. — Just how coffee-crazy is the Northwest?

Consider this southwestern Oregon city of 24,790, which has 23 places where you can drive-by, walk-up or sit-down for espresso drinks — one for every 953 people.

That far exceeds the national average of one gourmet coffee outlet for every 18,380 people, according to the Specialty Coffee Association of America in Long Beach, Calif.

With so many to choose from, there is a real range, the Oregonian reports. You can grab a mocha and an oil change at Lube N Latte, unload your recycling while ordering a cappuccino at Xtreme Bean or sample hemp lattes at JoeBuzz.

“Hemp seeds themselves are pretty much the most perfect food in the world. It’s incredible how healthy they are. I thought, ‘Wow! I could offer hemp and coffee and that would be a niche,’ ” said JoeBuzz owner Trevis Webb.

The local coffee kings are Travis and Dane Boersma, who started Dutch Bros. Coffee from a used pushcart in 1992 and today oversee a regional brand sold in 61 outlets from Woodland Park, Calif., to Tualatin, Ore.

Their Grants Pass empire includes five drive-throughs, a coffee house and a walk-up stand. A sixth drive-through opens early next year.

“I can’t begin to tell you how much I like to see other people come into the market. I think it keeps us sharp and holds us to a high standard,” said Travis Boersma. “If you’re passionate and you’re motivated and you give everything you’ve got, then I think you can do well.”

Mike Ferguson, marketing communications director of the Specialty Coffee Association, said there is a lot of room to grow nationally, with only 16 percent of U.S. adults indulging in a daily cup of gourmet coffee, and even Grants Pass has a long way to go before it can rattle the world coffee order.

“In Italy, there’s an espresso stand on every street,” he said. “Until every American can walk to a coffee house and get a properly prepared espresso, then we can’t even begin to talk about saturation.”