Olivia Hendry Young selected as editor-in-chief for Vanguard
Article 22 update: 52 faculty members under layoff risk
How to Survive Drought Season in Oregon
Goalie Mindset Changed My Life
STAFF
EDITORIAL
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Noah Carandanis
MANAGING EDITOR
Olivia Hendry Young
NEWS EDITOR
Grace Peterson
Will Lowe
ARTS & CULTURE
Adyan Hussein
Neumann
Schmitt
COPY CHIEF
Jude Callaway
ONLINE EDITOR
Karli Schwartz
DISTRIBUTION MANAGER
Caleb Dougherty
CONTRIBUTORS
Lilly Santangelo-St. Martin
Faith Younan
PRODUCTION & DESIGN
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Haley Hsu
CONTRIBUTORS
Naue Pagtakhan
ARTS & CULTURE Making a Name For Matcha
Vanguard on Vinyl: “God’s Trashmen Sent to
7 Right the Mess” by Fievel is Glauque
ADVISING & ACCOUNTING COORDINATOR OF STUDENT MEDIA
Reaz Mahmood
SALP ACCOUNTANT
Anne Le
STUDENT MEDIA TECH ADVISOR
Rae Fickle
STUDENT MEDIA TECH DEVELOPER
Kaylee Hynes
WEB DESIGNER
Owen Cook
To contact Portland State Vanguard, email editor@psuvanguard.com.
MISSION STATEMENT
PSU Vanguard’s mission is to serve the Portland State community with timely, accurate, comprehensive and critical content while upholding high journalistic standards. In the process, we aim to enrich our staff with quality, hands on journalism education and a number of skills highly valued in today’s job market.
ABOUT
Vanguard, established in 1946, is published weekly as an independent student newspaper governed by the PSU Student Media Board. Views and editorial content expressed herein are those of the staff, contributors and readers and do not necessarily represent the PSU student body, faculty, staff or administration. Find us online at psuvanguard.com.
COVER DESIGN BY HALEY HSU
Article 22 update: 52 faculty members under layoff risk
New information from PSU administration cites $16 million in savings through layoffs
Additional clarity has been provided on university changes and potential layoffs regarding Portland State University’s $35 million deficit. The Provisional Plan, announced via email by PSU president Ann Cudd, details the potential layoffs of 52 full-time equivalent (FTE) faculty members. This staff reduction would total an estimated $16 million in savings.
In an email sent to all PSU employees, Cudd stated that, upon further review, current conditions require eliminating or reducing certain university departments. This affirms the enactment of Article 22 announced on March 9. The next steps, according to Cudd, are for the campus community to review the new Provisional Plan, which details these eliminations and reductions.
“In sharing this news, I acknowledge the pain of losing even one treasured colleague in our community. These decisions are monumental, but necessary to ensure the thriving future of PSU and to minimize impacts to our students,” wrote Cudd in the email.
In the new Provisional Plan, the original list of potentially affected departments was revised. In the March 9 announcement, three departments were at risk of elimination: University Studies, Conflict Resolution, and Portland Center. According to the Provisional Plan, Portland Center is no longer at risk of elimination, but rather faces a cut of 1 FTE faculty member.
University Studies and Conflict Resolution are still at risk of elimination. According to the email, eliminating these two programs will save the university $11 million while laying off 26 positions.
In a previous interview with Vanguard about the department’s potential elimination, Tom Hastings, Ph.D., said that cuts like those to his department will make PSU “lose its attractiveness” to prospective students.
“If PSU looks very generic, with nothing but the sort of standard issue majors and minors — maybe PSU can survive on that,
but if we want to be full strength ever again, we have to look really attractive in a number of different ways,” said Hastings.
Changes were also made regarding which departments were at risk of reductions. Originally, a list of 10 departments faced potential cuts; that list has been decreased to six. These cuts will save the university $5 million and could eliminate an additional 26 positions. These departments, along with their possible reductions, include:
WORLD LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES: 6 FTE
EDUCATION LICENSURE: 5 FTE
LEADERSHIP, LEARNING, AND COUNSELING: 4 FTE
PHILOSOPHY: 4 FTE
HISTORY: 3 FTE
SCHOOL OF EARTH, ENVIRONMENT, AND SOCIETY: 3 FTE
The four previously listed departments that are no longer at risk for reduction are as follows: Criminology and Criminal Justice, Economics, Politics & Global Affairs, and Public Administration. At a press conference, Cudd said she does not foresee these departments returning to the reductions list.
Layoff notices to affected FTE faculty members were released the morning of May 14. Combining the potential elimination of University Studies and Conflict Resolution and the potential reduction of the six aforementioned departments, it is estimated that 52 faculty members could be laid off. These layoffs include 39 non-tenure-track faculty members, 11 tenure-track faculty members, and two academic professionals.
In accordance with the PSU administration’s collective bargaining agreement with the university’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors (PSU-AAUP), tenured and continuously appointed faculty members were
given a 12-month notice. At a press conference, Cudd said that the university will assist these laid-off faculty members in their job search. This includes career counseling and assistance in finding work at other universities.
These potential reductions and layoffs were finalized through an examination of each department under six criteria: financial margins, student success, market demand, mission fit and organizational vitality, according to Cudd.
“While this type of change is difficult and will invoke many strong feelings on our campus and in our community, the Article 22 process is designed to accommodate feedback and collaboration, and a timeline that allows for thoughtful implementation,” said Cudd in a press conference.
Cudd emphasized that these layoff notices are still preliminary and may be changed after further review.
In response, PSU-AAUP president Bill Knight says that the PSU administration has little faith in the university and its future. PSU-AAUP has plans to work with affected faculty members and rally against the proposed cuts.
“It’s an incredibly disappointing day,” said Knight. “We have a situation where 52 faculty have been designated for layoffs… It’s a situation that isn’t a matter of necessity; it’s a matter of projections, it’s a matter of refusal to invest in recruitment and enrollment adequately, it’s a refusal to invest in the future of the institution.”
A public comment period has opened, allowing community members to submit their comments about the Provisional Plan until June 13. Until then, Cudd will be meeting with affected departments to discuss next steps.
“I join the entire campus community in lifting up our colleagues who may be affected by these changes,” wrote Cudd. “I look forward to further input through your comments and meetings with the affected departments in the weeks to come.”
OLIVIA HENDRY YOUNG
President Cudd responds to student questions at a town hall lead earlier this month.
NASH BENNETT
Olivia Hendry Young selected as editor-in-chief for Vanguard
The Student Media Board has selected Olivia Hendry Young as the editor-in-chief of Vanguard for the 2026-2027 academic year. Her tenure begins at the start of summer term, on June 22, 2026. She will begin her time as editor-in-chief by overseeing the summer term production cycle and hiring editorial staff for the upcoming academic year.
Hendry Young, a senior communications major, began her journalism career at Tigard High School where she enrolled in an Introduction to Publications class.
“I got into that class and I was like, I love writing and journalism seems fun … I [knew] this is what I’m supposed to do,” Hendry Young said. “I felt this intense love for it and this comfortability that I think could have only come with knowing that [this] was something I was gonna do for the rest of my life.”
Local news stations such as KGW, KATU and national shows such as The Today Show were regular programming in Hendry Young’s childhood. This environment fostered a love of journalism that would take her into student media work in both high school and college.
Hendry Young began her college career at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, working as a public relations journalist. She then moved to the role of radio production assistant for the show “Top of Mind with Julie Rose.”
“My job [was] to research different segment ideas [since] I was responsible for two 20-minute segments a week,” Hendry Young said. “It really gave me a love for just getting really deep into a topic, and finding all the nitty-gritty details.”
Following a brief stint out of college, Hendry Young enrolled at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan, where she held the position of managing editor for The Eastern Echo. Here, she developed skills such as laying out an edition of the paper and assisting the editor-inchief with managing a publication’s newsroom. After nine months in the role, she moved back to Oregon after her husband received a job offer in Portland. Even after leaving, she continued to hope that she would one day lead a student publication.
“My [Eastern Echo] advisor was basically like, if you stay here, you have the editor-in-chief’s job. You are absolutely qualified to be editorin-chief,” Hendry Young said. “Even if I do feel some Imposter Syndrome … I know the work I’ve done. I know what I’m capable of doing. And I know that these people that are saying these things about my writing, my leadership— they’re not lying to me.”
Hendry Young transferred to Portland State University during the summer 2025 term. She was hired as the managing editor for Vanguard after Lee Shaker, the chair of the Communications Department and member of the Student Media Board, suggested she apply.
“I’m really excited that Olivia will return next year as the editor-in-chief at Vanguard,” Shaker said. “I think she’s got a lot of good experience, practical skills and a great disposition to be a strong leader for the Vanguard
both in terms of leading compelling reporting for the paper, but also in terms of building a team of students who have fulfilling experiences working with the paper.”
As managing editor, Hendry Young oversaw the entire editorial staff, interviewed and hired contributors and compiled budget presentations for the publication. Alongside her administrative tasks, Hendry Young has reported on the PSU American Association of University Professors, conducted a press conference interview with PSU President Ann Cudd and covered PSU being found guilty of unfair labor practices.
“My time at Vanguard has been, [despite] the late night and the hard work and the tough questions, it has been so much fun … It’s been so rewarding,” Hendry Young said. “I’m very proud of the coverage, the work I’ve done here, the [leadership] that I’ve been able to do [and] the people that I’ve been able to lead.”
Hendry Young recognizes the challenges facing PSU and the need for the student body to have a publication they can rely on for accurate and timely information.
“I want Vanguard to continue to be a trusted publication on campus, that people can go to and say, ‘I’m dealing with this thing, and I want you all to cover this because I trust you and I know you,’” Hendry Young said.
She wants to continue developing Vanguard’s breaking news coverage and foster an environment where students from all backgrounds can learn about the craft of journalism and leave PSU with connections to local publications.
“I WANT PEOPLE TO HAVE AN OUTLET TO BE JOURNALISTS IN A SAFE, EDUCATIONAL AND ETHICAL ENVIRONMENT. AND KNOW THAT THEY ARE LISTENED TO AND THAT THEY HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO BECOME GREAT WRITERS AND LEADERS HERE,” HENDRY YOUNG SAID.
Reaz Mahmood, the student media coordinator, notes the passion Hendry Young brought to her role of managing editor after transferring to PSU. According to Mahmood, she navigated Vanguard’s transition to the new Connect platform, budget processes and confusing logistical tasks with earnestness and effort.
“[Hendry Young] has been taking on challenging stories, maintaining poise under challenging circumstances. I was just especially floored by the press conference interview she did with Ann Cudd, because it was very professional … but it also included the questions that needed to be asked that might be uncomfortable,” Mahmood said. “And that was her first time doing that. That was even more impressive.”
According to Mahmood, her tenacity for journalism has been apparent during her time as managing editor.
“One of the reasons why I’m so confident [in Olivia], apart from demonstrated character, work ethic and ability … is really that journalism is very much the goal,” Mahmood said. “For Olivia, it’s been clear that journalism is the goal.”
NOAH CARANDANIS
NASH BENNETT
Hendry young smiles to the camera
How to Survive Drought Season in Oregon
Oregonians encouraged to be water conscious amidst potential droughts
In an executive order on May 11, 2026, Gov. Tina Kotek declared Coos, Klamath and Wheeler counties to be in a state of drought emergency. Though these are the only counties currently in a state of emergency, the State is encouraging all Oregonians to prepare for a drought this summer. Conditions are similar to those in 2015, where 25 out of Oregon’s 36 counties received emergency drought declarations. A drought is a prolonged period of abnormally dry weather that causes negative impacts on land, animals and humans. Droughts in Oregon are not new, but, according to Oregon’s Water Resource Department (OWRD), they have become more intense and persistent in recent years.
All three affected counties face significantly above-normal temperatures, slightly below-normal precipitation and long-term precipitation deficits. They are also experiencing below normal streamflow and drier-than-normal soil moisture conditions, per Gov. Kotek’s executive order. As detailed, Wheeler County is the only county of the three facing wellbelow-normal snowpack conditions.
“Forecasted snowpack, temperature, precipitation and water supply conditions suggest that drought conditions in the Counties are unlikely to improve in the near-term. Drought is likely to have a significant economic impact on agriculture, livestock, natural resource and recreational tourism sectors in the Counties,” wrote Gov. Kotek in the executive order.
Gov. Kotek plans to monitor these counties through Oregon’s public safety agencies, including the Water Resources Department, the Department of Emergency Management, the Office of State Fire Marshal and the Department of Forestry’s Fire Protection Program.
According to OWRD, Oregon and the western United States are in the worst megadrought on record. A megadrought is a drought that lasts for years or decades and has lasting effects on agriculture, livestock and humans.
“The leading contributors to drought are temperature and precipitation such as rain or snowfall. These two factors influence snowpack, soil moisture and streamflows, which are common indicators of drought,” wrote OWRD on its website.
Drought increases the risk for wildfires because drier areas are more susceptible to fires. Poor crop conditions are also a result of drought, as water demand exceeds its supply.
While the impacted counties are in southern Oregon, Portland State University community members have many opportunities to get involved and learn more about the Oregonians facing this issue. PSU’s Association of Environmental Science Students (AESS) hosts weekly seminars to discuss all things environmental science. They encourage an open space to present new research and ideas to fellow students in environmental studies.
Additionally, understanding the importance of environmental studies enables officials and professionals to develop guidelines for those impacted by the drought season. PSU’s Environmental Science department has various labs that students can participate in to engage with different sectors of environmental studies.
Max Neilson-Picus manages the Natural Resource Policy Management lab, which supports research on the human dimensions of natural resource and environmental policy management.
“We use a mix of social science tools (e.g., surveys, interviews, and focus groups) and modeling to answer questions about the role of institutions and human behavior in natural resource and environmental management,” reads their website.
Their past research projects cover topics on wildfire risk management, the Clackamas River watershed, conservation easements and community solar. Students interested in learning more about the Natural Resource Policy Management lab can reach out to Neilson-Picus for more information.
PSU’s Department of Environmental Sciences offers another lab, the Environmental Biochemistry Lab. This is managed by Jennifer Morse, associate professor of Environmental Sciences and Management. This lab focuses on the ecosystem functions that affect water quality, climate regulation and carbon sequestration in natural and human-modified ecosystems.
“We study the retention and processing of nutrients (nitrogen, carbon, and phosphorus) and the flux of greenhouse gases in wetlands, streams, forests, agricultural, and urban ecosystems. We use approaches from ecosystem ecology and biogeochemistry in our work and collaborate across social and biophysical sciences,” reads their website.
One of their research projects, the Clean Water for All collaboration, worked with collaborators from across the U.K. and the Portland area to investigate how green infrastructure for stormwater management intersects with biophysical and socio-economic dimensions of urban watersheds.
Morse’s lab has many opportunities for students to volunteer, research and intern. Guidance for how to get involved can be found on their webpage.
For Oregonians who want to be more conscious of their water consumption, OWRD’s fact sheet provides many examples of how every individual can save water at home. For example, they encourage turning off the faucet when brushing your teeth or shaving, as it will save hundreds of gallons of water per week on average. Taking shorter showers and running a full load of laundry will also minimize water usage.
Additionally, tracking how much water your household uses is a helpful tool for effectively reducing water use. Oregon’s fact sheet offers a helpful water calculator tool to estimate each household’s water usage. The calculator also estimates your household’s carbon footprint from water use.
For other fact sheets and specific information on how to be water conscious during droughts, please visit the OWRD’s website.
LILLY SANTANGELO-ST. MARTIN
HALEY HSU
The Goalie Mindset Changed My Life
How playing hockey helps me face the “real world.”
A Google search asking the hardest position to play in all of sports lists “ice hockey goalie” in the top five, sometimes top three of nearly every result. Due to its high physical demands — incredible mobility, flexibility, strength, speed and not to mention that you’re doing this all on ice, for goodness’ sake — the goaltender position is arguably very difficult to play. And while these are all true, and something I can attest to, I don’t think those are the primary reasons why it’s a challenging position.
Now, I have only ever played hockey. I can’t even begin to tell you exactly what goes into playing quarterback in football, or what goes on in a catcher’s mind during a softball game. Research, and what I’ve learned doing live coverage, tells me they’re trying positions, and I have massive respect for them.
But Portland State University has both a football and softball team. We, unfortunately, don’t have the infrastructure for a PSU hockey team, so I play for the Portland United Hockey League (PUHL)– not that I’d be ready to play college hockey if I had the chance. Regardless, I’m willing to bet I’m one of the very few hockey players on PSU campus, not to mention likely one of the only goalies.
A goalie’s mindset can make or break a game. We are solitary creatures, standing in our crease for 60 minutes at a time, isolated from the rest of the players who get to hang out on the bench and take shifts. When we don’t make the save, it can feel like we’ve failed the entire team.
“It feels like every loss is personally your fault and you share every win,” said Charlie Huxley, a goalie for Portland Roller Hockey, who’s transitioning to ice. “Sure, the puck got through five other people before it got to you, but that’s your job. And when you fail at your job, the one thing you’re supposed to be doing, it feels really bad.”
This is one of the first lessons playing goalie is continuously teaching Huxley and me: don’t take responsibility for things you cannot control. Sometimes a bad bounce is all it takes for a goal to be scored, and there’s genuinely nothing you can do. Focus on what you can control, and don’t hyperfixate on things that weren’t your fault, even if they may feel like they were.
Additionally, there are people in your corner who are there to help you. Sure, you can’t rely on them 100% of the time, and you need to support both yourself and them as best you can in return. But they have a job, too. Your defenders are there to help clear the zone; your friends are there to help lift you up. Sometimes, they’ll fail to do their job. It’s a simple fact of life and hockey. Sometimes, your defender may make a silly mistake, like passing the puck to an opponent who then scores on you when you aren’t expecting it. All you can do is bounce back, acknowledge it wasn’t entirely your fault and focus on the next shot.
I’ve been playing for just over a year and a half — not very long at all, but enough time to learn a lot. I’m getting better, but one of my main struggles remains self-talk and my approach to the sport. I could be having a really good game, and then I’ll let one goal in, and suddenly it’s like I’m a sieve. I’ve already let in one, why not another three?
Obviously, I don’t want to let in another three — quite the opposite. But my brain loves a pattern, and it’s no surprise it latches onto the negative one rather than the positive. Who cares if I just had an insane five-save sequence? I just let in a goal. Clearly, that’s what I should be focusing on.
Except it’s not. When you’re looking for patterns, you’ll find them. If you look for the negative, you’ll notice it. You’ll see all the bad in your life, all the things going wrong, and forget what’s going well. But if you make an effort to notice the positives, more will become obvious, and soon it becomes easier to manage the bad stuff. I don’t care if it sounds cringe. Cringe is dead. Live with whimsy. Focus on the positives. Focus on the next shot, the next save, the next good day.
“It’s so important to have a short memory,” said Alyce Traverso, a fellow PUHL goalie. “Don’t beat yourself up. Don’t get it into your head when something doesn’t go your way. Learn something, then move forward.”
Traverso also pointed out that it’s important not to stay in the moment too long after a really big save. Sometimes, you’ll be celebrating and won’t be dialed in when the next shot comes, and then you’ll let in the puck. Celebrating small wins is important, but so is staying grounded and focused so that you don’t lose sight of the end goal.
Goaltending is what has kept me sane throughout the whirlwind of life. I’m insanely busy, but I know there’s an hour out of my week where the only thing I have to worry about is the game that’s actively happening. I can’t do my homework when I’m in the crease, so why worry about it? I can, and should, only focus on the task at hand: stopping the puck. And my ability to do that is directly impacted by how I respond to what’s in my head, which in turn is based on the mindset I employ when I step foot on the ice.
I discovered Pete Fry, “The Goalie Mindset Guy,” before I began playing hockey. Years later, when I started doing my own research on how to develop a solid goalie mindset, I fell right back down the rabbit hole of Fry’s work, from his podcast to his books to the programs he’s developed over the years. He’s been studying the psychology of peak performance for over thirty years, coaching goalies of all levels, from junior players to the NHL.
“At any time, we’re not responding to reality,” said Fry. “We’re responding to the movies and sounds in our head. And if those are not positive, not powerful, we’re going to self-sabotage ourselves. If we get control of them and how we move, we’re destined to be totally successful.”
I could write an entire article of its own about Fry’s work and advice for goaltenders. Everything is carefully crafted to help shape how someone approaches their game, which ultimately affects their outlook on life and how they tackle non-hockey challenges. Even in our phone call, which was just meant to get his perspective on the position, he gave me an impromptu mindset coaching session that helped me craft a reset routine after I’ve failed to make a save.
If a goalie’s baseline is not built on confidence, they’ll revert to bad habits and negative self-talk which will hurt their game. Conversely, if they work their mindset like a muscle, building a repertoire of positive self-talk, healthy habits and routines, it’ll become second nature and they’ll perform better.
“I always go back to the subconscious mind,” said Fry. “That’s where all the keys are. And goaltending has a lot of metaphors for that. If we’re going into anything, a sales meeting, for example, if we feel confident and powerful when we’re going into that situation, chances are we’re going to have a lot more success.”
HAYDEN NEUMANN
Neumann during a hockey game, wearing their goalie attire.
HAYDEN NEUMANN
Making a Name For Matcha
How a New Local Matcha Mill is Changing the Matcha Game
On their opening day, Feb. 18, 2026, Mako Matcha Mill owners Emily Dewey and Edison Zeng gave themselves a two-year window to make a name for themselves; within five days, there was a line wrapped around the block.
Mako Matcha Mill is one of Portland’s newest matcha cafes. Matcha originally started in Japan around 1190, where it was refined into the form used today. However, it is commonly believed by westerners that matcha has to be made under a ceremonial cover to be quality. Contrary to its origins, western civilization has shifted the way matcha can be appreciated. This change reflects a shift in the form of matcha, not its quality.
“Other matcha shops are trying to be Japanese-inspired, quiet and calm,” said employee Quinton Brown. “But Edison is [adding] an American aspect.””
Co-owner Zeng has been working in the matcha community for 13 years. He began working in Southern California doing wholesale for various cafes before deciding it was time to build his own business in Portland.
“Every detail matters,” said Zeng. “I think education on the lore behind matcha is one of the most important things in the western world — we want to end the misrepresentations of matcha.”
Shortly after opening, Mako Matcha Mill quickly began collaborating with various companies in downtown Portland, including Daisy’s Ceramic, a pottery business, for in store events. For one event, participants created their own ceramic matcha whisking bowls while enjoying the shop’s drink menu. Attendees received a whisk, and tin of matcha along with the bowl they made so they could enjoy their own matcha from home.
Mako Matcha Mill plans on hosting various events in the future to educate the community about matcha. Whether it be the process of making it from leaves to drink, or the history behind the tea, Mako Matcha Mill’s team is passionate about prioritizing education.
“I think we have graduated way beyond the era of labeling things as ceremonial grade; we’re moving into third-wave matcha,” said Zeng, “How was it milled, what is the origin, what harvest is it? All of these things matter and customers are starting to gain interest in these little details.”
There are different varieties of matcha leaf, including what those at the cafe calls their ‘Kill Green’ strains. These Kill Green’s offer a stronger matcha flavor as opposed to their basic level leaf. This allows matcha fans to taste the difference between leaves and how matcha is produced.
“This is the best of the matcha,” said Zeng, “Getting it sweetened would be a huge disrespect to the quality and the farm.”
By preventing flavor additions to Kill Green, the cafe is inviting customers to dive deeper into the flavor notes of different leaves and blends. These matcha blends are made in store and can be curated to include different flavor hints depending on the combination of leaves used.
Mako Matcha’s Block Party invited the community out after hours to connect with each other and begin bringing locals to the cafe.
Aside from matcha — and the occasional espresso drink — Mako Matcha Mill prides itself on offering community. Whether that is daily interactions with customers, or the events hosted after hours, Mako Matcha Mill wants to become a social hotspot.
“We value being personal with people,” said employee Arlo Dibble. “It’s about creating long term regulars and friends with our customers.”
Mako Matcha Mill aims to make matcha social with an inviting, homey atmosphere. Dewey and Zeng put a lot of thought into the cafe’s design. The vintage American flag, the jade countertops and an authentic grandfather clock have created a space that is both traditional and sleek.
The silks that stretch across the ceiling were hand-dyed by co-owners Dewey and Zeng. With natural dyes, and lots of error, they were able to create a captivating first sight for the cafe; something they said was very important to their design.
“Honestly, we’re only about 30 percent done with the build-out,” said Zeng. “I thought we would have more time to do projects, but we didn’t.”
Aside from the atmosphere, Mako Matcha Mill’s in-store mill is what truly sets this location apart. The 400 pound granite mill was custom-built for the space. It sits at the edge of the work station and produces roughly 15 grams of fresh matcha per hour. The mill is motorized and runs slowly to ensure the matcha is ground to the ideal grain size. At the end of each hour, the powder is collected and sifted through. Then, all remaining pieces go back into the mill to be ground again, promising full use of the product.
“The mill creates enough to produce maybe 3 or 4 cups per hour,” said Zeng. “That will be reserved for our Super Kill Green, which placed fifth and above last year in Japan.”
Soon, Mako Matcha Mill will be milling matcha from the worldwide Uji Matcha Competition. The competition-grade matcha will be one of many Kill Green options available instore for customers to experience. This powder will be sold in tins or added to specific drinks as quality, freshly milled matcha.
“They won’t know how good it is,” said Zeng. “It’s going to set the bar high like it did for me 13 years ago.”
Mako Matcha Mill has a mission to prioritize quality and education over cost, and are passionate about producing matcha that can be accessible for everyone. Co-owners Dewey and Zeng agree that they would rather take a small loss to provide quality matcha and set the bar higher for other cafes.
Mako Matcha Mill’s menu is driven by vibrant, fruity options such as the coconut cloud matcha, the blue berry matcha and the strawberry matcha. They’re also known for a signature matcha soft-serve, commonly swirled with a secondary flavor.
“We know that people are looking for a third space,” said Dewey. “What can we do that isn’t going to a club? Let’s go hang out at a matcha shop.”
NOAH CARANDANIS
Summer is peeking at us from behind our weather apps. The sun shines, prompting Portlanders to shed their jackets and whip out their best graphic tees. From the sun’s lips, she whispers one album recommendation to listen to as you sip your Aperol Spritz in your park of choice, “God’s Trashment Sent to Right the Mess.”
There is a feverish quality to the sound of Fievel is Glauque, the jazz-pop duo composed of Zach Phillips and Ma Clément. The first sound your ears are met with is that of a fireball crashing into your brain on the opening of the debut song “The Perfect Idiot.” Clément soothingly sings with an accent surely originating from the European Union, “If we might be free / Can you know / That you’re the perfect idiot for me.” The tap of the drum drives the multiinstrumental track, immediately showcasing its lo-fi sound and existentially poetic lyrics. Clément’s voice is wonderfully disjointed and tucked into the track “No Writing,” in which she punctuates stanzas with the name “Snusmuriken,” a reference to the beloved “Moomin” character known in English as Snufkin. This seems to be an apt characterization of the sound presented. Soft sounding in the way that induces cartoon characters of the past to waltz across your closed eyes as you doze away on a picnic blanket.
The song “Mr. Nice” declares in its first line that, “Lifelike souls do shed those lifelike tears.” The noise collected on this album has a music-like quality to it, never letting you settle into the thought that you’ve heard music like this before. When you wake up from this dream of an album, you’ll hear the faint refrain of the last lines beckoning you back into reality. Like every good nap, it ends at just the right time, leaving you feeling refreshed and reflective on the hallucinations sleep had given to you.
FAITH YOUNAN
FAITH YOUNAN