coffee guide

Seattle Magazine’s Ultimate Coffee Guide

A celebration of Seattle's caffeinated culture

For many of us, it’s the first word we croak in the morning: Coffee. Not a question, nor a command (though sometimes a plea), but most often a statement—a fact of daily life, especially in Seattle, where, as you may have heard, we drink a lot of coffee. Lately, our beloved local ritual of going…

Seattle Coffee Guide: Coffee Shop Combos

Find unique blends at These Seattle shops where sipping is no longer a singular obsession

BARK! ESPRESSO Bring Fido for a cup of joe where dogs and their humans can mingle with their coffee (roasted by Caffe Vita) in the Hound Hang Out Café located next door at GREAT DOG. Canine-less customers are also welcome to their own haven right inside BARK! 11335 Roosevelt Way N.E. 206.364.0185 SIP AND SHIPSipping,…

Perfect Pastries

Perfect Pastries

With the right accompaniment, a good cup of coffee plays on a much larger stage. Here are some of ou

The figgy maple scone from Volunteer Park Café is utter perfection. Buttery, with bits of fig scattered about in the flaky dough, it may be the best in town. Capitol Hill, 1501 17th Ave. E; 206.328.3155; alwaysfreshgoodness.com No local bakery can match James Miller’s croissant expertise at his decade-old Café Besalu. Pull it apart slowly…

Seattle Coffee Guide: The Personalities

Seattle Coffee Guide: The Personalities

The people behind Seattle's coffee culture

The game changerHoward Schultz, CEO, Starbucks  After he fell in love with the café culture in Italy in the early ’80s, Schultz introduced Seattle (and the U.S.) to lattes and popularized the concept of the “third place”—a caffeine-centered community gathering spot. With shops seemingly in every mall, on every airport concourse and at every urban…

Seattle Coffee Guide: Coffee Carts

What began nearly 30 years ago as a coffee cart gracing various city sidewalks (at one point it was

Monorail Espresso  What began nearly 30 years ago as a coffee cart gracing various city sidewalks (at one point it was situated beneath the monorail) now operates as a walk-up counter near the Banana Republic store on Pike Street. Friendly baristas suggest offerings made from Mukilteo Coffee Co. beans and take orders at a window…

Seattle Coffee Guide: Starbucks and Tully’s

The Changing Face of Starbucks After being shunned by the cool kids for seeming too corporate, Starbucks wants to be popular again. Over the past year, the chain has been trying on new outfits faster than a teenage girl getting ready for the prom, especially in the coffee epicenter of Capitol Hill. Kambiz Hemati, Starbucks’…

Seattle Coffee Guide: The Independent Shops

Caffè Umbria Pioneer Square SHOP founded in 2005 (Company founded in 2002)Beans: Caffè UmbriaMost popular drink: AmericanoWi-Fi: None (gasp!)Caffè Umbria is a split shot: one part Pioneer Square (exposed brick) and one part Perugia (Italian tile and ceramic). OK, make that two parts Perugia: Not only is the espresso machine imported from Italy, so is…

Seattle Coffee Guide: The Iconic Shops

From Bauhaus to Zeitgeist, our picks for Seattle's iconic shops

Bauhaus Books & Coffee Capitol Hill, founded in 1993Beans: Lighthouse (exclusive house blend)Most popular drink: Americano Wi-Fi: FreeUsing the name Bauhaus demonstrates, to use a German term, cojones. Are you comparing yourself to history’s most famous design school, history’s most famous Goth band, or both? Bauhaus, the coffeehouse, is flirting with legendary status itself: As…

Seattle Coffee Guide: Locally Roasted Beans

The bean has arrived. Once a mere commodity, coffee beans in the past decade or so have been treated

The bean has arrived. Once a mere commodity, coffee beans in the past decade or so have been treated like wine grapes—coddled, encouraged and coaxed into their full potential. Now, more than ever, the coffee bean’s pedigree is everything.  As with many culinary offshoots, the coffee world has adopted the term “terroir”—the special characteristics of…

Seattle Coffee Guide: Seattle Coffee Shops

Given the throngs of people filling Seattle’s countless coffee shops morning, noon and night, it’s a

Given the throngs of people filling Seattle’s countless coffee shops morning, noon and night, it’s a wonder any of the city’s office buildings are occupied at all. The phenomenon speaks to our sincere love of java, but also our fervent belief in the essential “third place” between work and home.   The Independents Shops: Given the…

Seattle Coffee Guide: What the Locals Order

We asked some of our city's celebs to reveal their morning-coffee rituals. Here's what they told us.

P Smoov, Hip hop artist with Mad Rad and Fresh Espresso Quad shot Americano with soy milk, preferably at Caffé Vita, but he’ll go anywhere that has cute, flirtatious baristas.   Linda Derschang, Queen of clubsCappuccino, straight up Jesse Jones, KING 5 News consumer reporterHomemade (by his wife) double-shot caramel latte using Fidalgo Bay coffee Rick…

Seattle Magazine’s Ultimate Coffee Guide

A celebration of Seattle's caffeinated culture

For many of us, it’s the first word we croak in the morning: Coffee. Not a question, nor a command (though sometimes a plea), but most often a statement—a fact of daily life, especially in Seattle, where, as you may have heard, we drink a lot of coffee. Lately, our beloved local ritual of going…

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