Anytime I need to buy a fun gift, Kobos is a first stop. The industrial exterior looks like you're going into a plain wholesale coffee bean warehouse, but walk in and you'll immediately see a gorgeous burst of Fiesta-like porcelain, bright red Bodum coffee presses and a bevy of kitchen gadgets in colors like grassy green, purple and tangerine. For myself, I appreciate the bulk Jasmine Green tea pearls, that are hard to find in Portland, and obscure accessories like a ceramic salt ""pig."" Kobos has a full menu of drinks of pastries but is one of the few joints in this coffee-heavy town to offer classic cafe au laits. And for $2, I'll take one of their rich brews with steamed milk over a $4.25 flavored latte anytime.
Last but not least, children are treated like welcome customers not pests, hence the perfect five star score.
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