Seattle's love of coffee is like "Wenn der Altenberg nicht im Kaffeehaus ist, ist er am Weg dorthin", the famous saying from the Vienna writer Peter Altenberg. For Seattleers, drinking coffee is not only a motivation to stimulate adrenaline, but also a major part of everyday life.
As everyone knows, Starbucks, the world's largest coffee chain store, opened its first store in Seattle in 1971. But in addition to Starbucks coffee, there are Caffe Ladro and Victrola, as well as many independent coffee shops. Today, we like to introduce a few special coffee shops for everyone :
～Caffe Ladro
West Seattle Caffe Ladro was the first coffee shop we loved on the road, and we went to the coffee shop every morning for the next 5 days. They are particularly strict about the roasting quality and expiry date of coffee. In order to make every guest enjoy the best coffee, they insist on using the freshest coffee beans. The shop assistants are friendly. One evening, I ordered two cups of low-caffeine coffee (worried about not sleeping well at night), and the manager of the store asked us if we wanted low-caffeine beans, because those beans were about to expire and they would be sent directly to us, otherwise they would have to recycle. At the same time, we bought another packet of fresh coffee beans. Because this coffee shop opened in a small community, we thought it was an independent coffee shop. After checking the packaging on coffee beans until we returning to New York, it surprised us that the coffee shop is a well-known chain coffee shop in Seattle. The freshness of this shop`s coffee is no worse than Blue Bottle.
～ Victrola Coffee Roaster
Due to the lack of a good coffee shop in a small community at the time, the founder opened his first coffee shop in 15 Avenue in 2000. It started with a commitment to roasting the finest coffee beans and was named as gramophone Victrola of the 1920s and became one of Seattle's favorite coffee shops. There were interviewers asked the shop where the best coffee came from? The answer is: from the soil, growing conditions, harvesting, drying, selection and processing, etc., all the natural and interpersonal interactions with coffee constitute the essence of coffee, which is subsequently unlocked during the roasting process. It has nothing to do with the local coffee or type of coffee, but more about the care people take in the process of growing, harvesting and roasting. In addition, there is a lot of knowledge about coffee. You can check out their official blog ~ It`s really admirable that the coffee shop to delve into for a good cup of coffee! The branch on Pike street holds regular internal staff tasting coffee events every Wednesday morning at 11:00. Consumers can look through the glass to see how they select the whole process of freshly roasted coffee beans.
～Herkimer Coffee
Herkimer Coffee, a coffee bean roaster that opened in 2003, is very strict about selecting beans. They use traditional old-world farming methods to buy high-quality green coffee, and then grow coffee in a natural shade. They found that the best and most complex coffees - our favorite and used coffee of all products - come from small farms that grow coffee in this tradition. This coffee shop seems to be an expert in the selection and roasting of beans. The coffee has only a strong mellow aroma that removes the jerky flavor. Single Origin coffee and desserts are also one of their specialties. You will get a small cup of sparkling water while comes the coffee, which the purpose is to purify the taste in the mouth and enjoy a good cup of coffee!
～Olympia Coffee
Olympia Coffee, also a coffee roaster, was founded in 2005 and opened its first cafe in 2007 with the purpose of selling the freshest coffee. The two founders, Sam Schroeder and Oliver Stormshak, continue to innovate and develop roasted coffee and flavors, and their research spirit made them won many awards locally and in the United States.
We specially went to Downtown Olympia. The space behind the coffee shop separated by a large glass window is the area for coffee roasting and research. Everyone can watch their staff doing research or roasting at any time. The assistants are very friendly, will give a small glass of sparkling water when ordering coffee. More than half of the customers who come into the store are familiar customers, and they are very familiar with the staff, and single Origin coffee is also one of their specialties. The freshness of their coffee is beyond doubt. The coffee we drank that day was rich and smooth, with a strong caramel flavor. Interested people can go to their website, which contains rich and diverse coffee information.
In addition, if you don’t have much time in Seattle and you want to taste the good local coffee, you can try Seattle Coffee Crawl. Local guides will take tourists around the coffee shop on the same day. You can taste more than 6 coffee shops at the same time.
Figure 1 ：Downtown Olympia，photo by YIART
Figure 2 top left ：© Herkimer Coffee
Figure 2 top right： West Seattle Caffe Ladro，photo by YIART
Figure 2 left bottom： Downtown Olympia，photo by YIART
Figure 2 right bottom：© Victrola Coffee Roaster
