Tillamook - Stumptown

Stumptown - Cold Brew Coffee Ice Cream

There is a new TV show this fall called Stumptown.  It is a private eye show with a cast of folks I normally associate with comedies (Cobie Smulders from How I Met Your Mother, Jake Johnson from New Girl, etc).  I have watched a few episodes.  It's been OK so far, but the cast is very likeable so it has the potential to get much better.  At this point, you are probably wondering if you are reading the wrong blog.  This is not 'David's Network Television Reviews'!  Anyhow, I was talking to a friend of mine about the show and I said, "you know there is a Stumptown ice cream..." and they replied "No, there is not!  Not everything is about ice cream you know!!"  Then I forwarded them this link from the Tillamook Creamery in Oregon and they just rolled their eyes.  Naturally, I had to get this pint and review it.  I found it at Kowalski's Market on Grand Avenue in Saint Paul (check the whole freezer case, there are multiple sections of Tillamook pints).

"Stumptown" is a nickname for Portland Oregon.  The story goes that the town was growing so rapidly in the 1840s and 1850s that as they were clearing the forest to allow the town the grow, they did not have time to remove all the tree stumps.  The nickname stuck.  It is also the name of a chain of coffee shops which started in Portland.  I can tell by the typeface that this is the connection to the Tillamook ice cream flavor.  This is a cold brew coffee flavored ice cream.  Let's check it out!

Removing the lid and the foil protective cover, I see the ice cream is a fairly light beige color.  Digging in, the ice cream is quite thick and dense.  It is a homogeneous pint with no mix-ins.  I taste the coffee flavor but none of the bitterness.  I have read that is one of the differences between cold brew and hot brew.  That is definitely the case here.  The coffee flavor is still there, though.  I checked with one of my coffee-loving friends and they give this a thumbs up.  This is one of the better coffee-based ice creams that they have tried.

This is an excellent coffee ice cream -- very simple and clean with no mix-ins.  Tillamook does ice cream bases quite well and this pint is no exception.  Coffee-lovers should check this out.  Also, if you like that new TV show, you could eat it during the show to create an extra Portland experience while you watch.