Nossa Familia Coffee

Nossa Familia is Brazilian-family-owned, and the SE Division Street cafe is the triangular building near Ladd's Addition where the brand shows its full personality, signage and all. Politically vocal messaging is part of the room. Some customers find it cool and welcoming, others find it unwelcoming, and you should know that going in because reviews consistently flag the staff or the messaging as the polarizing piece.

The space itself is warm and neighborhoody, with big glass windows pouring light onto casual seating, short stools, and a sunny laptop window. Multiple cafe locations exist around Portland for anyone who wants to find one closer to home. Direct-from-farm sourcing is the brand pitch, and it's a real one rather than marketing language. The family has actual ties to Brazilian coffee farms, and that shows up in the lineup.

Food and drinks. The Brazilian cheese waffles, made with Brazi Bites, are the signature food and the thing to order if you've never been. The Bee Sting latte is the signature drink and earns the title. From there: the oatmeal latte, the matcha latte with soy and lavender, the marionberry pastry, a mocha with chocolate whipped cream, and Teodoro's Italian Roast beans for home. Bring your own mug for a discount and to join the take-a-cup-leave-a-cup mug program, which is exactly what it sounds like and works as a community ritual.

Remote workers can land here for a few hours. Outlets exist. Wifi exists, though with occasional outages that customers have flagged. Dog owners are welcome, which fits the Portland default for cafes worth visiting. The crowd is Portland to the core, including a steady flow of regulars who treat the place as a neighborhood living room and don't seem to want it any other way.

If the politics on the signage matches yours, you'll love it. If it doesn't, you may not. Either way, the cheese waffles do what they're supposed to do, the Bee Sting earned its place on the menu, and Teodoro's Italian Roast is a real reason to take a bag home.