I think everyone in the United States, and many people outside of the United States, probably are well aware that Seattle is heaven on Earth for coffee lovers.
(Fair warning to skip this part unless you’re interested in hearing my lengthy personal journey with coffee). Now, I have never been a big coffee drinker. This past fall has been my first several months with coffee, and it has been a bumpy road. It started in Vienna, Austria on a rainy night when I and some new friends that I met in Budapest decided to go to a café. The Viennese looove their coffee and their cafés. Feeling a little extra stingy, I ordered an espresso, the cheapest thing on the menu.
My first coffee EVER.
I sucked it down after drowning it in cream and sugar and was actually impressed. It was good! I actually liked it, and it was a perfect complement to the dessert that I was also sucking down in record time. Obviously, the heart palpitations did not stop for hours afterwards. I was shaken, but not scared away. I ordered espressos about five more times in the weeks I was traveling in Eastern Europe, many times after several beers as I was trying to stay awake (do not recommend).
When I got back to the States, I went out for coffee with a boy I had known from college. Nervous, I slurped down my entire iced coffee within the first five minutes and proceeded to try to discreetly hide my eye-twitch and restrain myself from screaming everything I said. I monopolized the conversation, and am pretty sure there was nothing left to know about me after those two hours. Why did he need to know my entire family tree, or that I was dripping in sweat? That much energy is not always good. I walked away vowing to never drink coffee again.
But I can’t HELP myself. I keep coming back for more. Caffeine has never been a part of my daily diet, or my diet in general. I mean never. No soda, no coffee, nothing. I have always been afraid of becoming too reliant on it to function. Now, the thought of a hot cup of coffee excites me more than it should. I always look forward to the next time I can have a coffee. If I’m bored or in the dumps, I’ll gulp down a coffee (extra sugar). I go visit my mom and drink all of her coffee while she’s at work. For the first time I am understanding Lorelai’s and Rory’s obsession. Isn’t caffeine the same thing as cocaine, but just a little less extreme? That’s disturbing. I have always thought I’d rather boil myself alive than snort a line of hard, rocky powder up my nose.
Now that you know the entire history of Robin+Coffee (as I’m sure you were hoping to read about today), that brings me to Seattle coffee. When you’re in Seattle, you need to get yourself some cups. As many as possible. You can’t go to Seattle without lots of coffee just like you can’t go to Munich without lots of beer, or to Tuscany without lots of wine, or to Budapest without lots of goulash. It is a part of the cultural experience. Here is a list of Seattle coffee places for every day of the week, because trust me. There are too many places all around the city to skip a single day.
Sunday – Fremont Coffee Company (Fremont)
The neighborhood of Fremont is located right in the heart of Seattle, and is one of its artsier neighborhoods, boasting the Fremont troll, the Fremont Bridge, Gasworks Park, and a very funky, bohemian vibe. In a small, repurposed house on N 36th Street is Fremont Coffee Company, a coffee shop that is incredibly in keeping with the Fremont theme: creatively organized, eclectic, and cozy.
There are lots of rooms throughout the house with all sorts of different seating arrangements, plus a huge wrap-around porch with even MORE seating. We stayed here for a long time, hanging out in the beautiful November weather, sipping our coffee and enjoying the day.
I am new to the coffee world, so I have only seen lattes with cream flowers (is that what they’re called?). Leave it to Fremont Coffee Company to do something a little different. Also, I had been on the prowl all day for some kind of pastry, and this shop sells its day-old muffins for $1. Earned itself some brownie points in my book (get it? Because baked goods).
Monday – Caffe Ladro (Queen Anne’s)
Queen Anne’s is a neighborhood named after Queen Anne’s hill, which is the biggest, steepest hill in all of Seattle. It was the last neighborhood to be established because that hill is so dang steep. It is quaint in that some parts of it feel more like a small, historical town rather than a neighborhood situated in the middle of a sprawling metropolis.
Caffe Ladro is nestled within the restaurants on Queen Anne Ave and is a staple Seattle coffee establishment (it is actually a chain of coffee shops spread throughout the city; there are two in Queen Anne itself!)(and when I say nestled I do mean it is a bit tight. A little bit of outdoor seating in the back, but it is definitely a great place to grab a cup to go).
Caffe Ladro has the whole seasonal beverage thing down, offering pumpkin and gingerbread lattes in the late fall to its customers (my first pumpkin-flavored coffee, if you can believe it. I know pumpkin lattes were cool about five years ago, but it is very typical for me to not pick up on trends until they are not even trends anymore. But the latte was tasty).
Tuesday – Analog Coffee (Capitol Hill)
Capitol Hill is like the Adams Morgan in DC or East Village in New York. It doesn’t come cheap, but those who call Capitol Hill home are some of the city’s most vibrant and diverse. Residents and visitors alike flock here for the prominent nightlife and fun, open-minded vibes. And with the dense population and unremittingly revolving door of habitués, the neighborhood is not lacking in the coffee shop department.
One of the collective favorites is Analog Coffee: a bright, open shop with huge windows, friendly baristas, and strong coffee. They have stacks of comic books to look through while you sip. A very hip place; I actually felt not quite hip enough to be there, but then again, I am not hip at all and have no business going anywhere hip in general. Keep in mind that this is Capitol Hill, so prices are just a little bit higher (though I noticed that all my drinks at every place I went while in Seattle stayed around the $3 to $4 mark).
Wednesday – Starbucks…the First (Downtown)
Since we’re talking about coffee so much in this post, I suppose it’s worth mentioning that the very first Starbucks opened in Seattle. Seattle is obsessed with Starbucks. There are some places downtown where there are multiple Starbucks within three blocks of one another. Who needs that many Starbucks? It’s kind of cute how proud they are of what was once, back in 1971, a standalone coffee shop situated in downtown Seattle, and has now, 45 years later, morphed into the largest coffee chain in the world, claiming more than 20,000 locations globally. Like, yes, that is impressive.
The original Starbucks, sitting at 1912 Pike Place as part of Seattle’s famous Pike Place Market, is actually a very popular tourist attraction. You see that line extending way out the door and down the street? The rustic store is not big at all, and the menu is exactly what you would see at any other location anywhere, but people want to see it. It is an important part of history, especially for coffee lovers. So avoid the line by going early or late to this shop right on Seattle’s waterfront, and step back in time to honor this immensely successful franchise.
Thursday – Voxx Coffee (Eastlake)
Eastlake is a really, really cool neighborhood. It’s called EASTLAKE for a reason: it is on the EASTern shore of LAKE Union. It’s a hop, skip, and a jump away from bustling Capitol Hill and a longer hop, skip, and a jump (albeit still very close) from downtown Seattle. There are houseboats all along the shore of the lake, and land-based housing in the area is surprisingly affordable for everything that you get (I mean, the VIEW in and of itself is something else).
Smack dab in the middle of Eastlake is Voxx Coffee. This was the first place that I went to when I got to Seattle, and I was really struck by how personable the staff is. The barista was asking all about me and what my plans were for the rest of the day (when I told him I was from DC, he said he’d never been there but heard that Seattle is cooler. I think the very fact that he made the effort to have a conversation with me demonstrates the difference between DC and Seattle pretty handily). Very quick service, a very good, strong coffee (they also serve snacks and beer and wine for those so inclined), and a nice, quiet place to chat or get some work done.
Friday – Good Citizen (Capitol Hill)
Admittedly, Good Citizen was my favorite of all the coffee places I visited in Seattle. And it has an almost unheard of five-star rating on Yelp, which I think is well-deserved (it is new and still only has 15 reviews, but give it time). It is massive inside with lots of comfy couches for relaxing or working and a really cozy, homey feel. There’s also some outdoor seating for when the weather’s nice. Just a very friendly, cool vibe overall.
My latte was beautifully executed and delicious and the barista was sweet and one of the nicest people I met during my stay. I cannot say enough great things and insist that everyone visiting Seattle stops into this place at least once.
Caturday – Meowtropolitan (Queen Anne’s)
What are Saturdays for if not for playing with cats (well, maybe playing with dogs, but I am a biased dog mother)? Meowtropolitan is a very new, very popular cat lounge slash coffee shop in Queen Anne’s where anyone can go to grab a delicious cup of coffee and sit in the café, or, for an extra $10, gain access to an hour of purring little balls of love inside the cat lounge. You will need a reservation a week or two in advance to be able to go into the cat lounge, especially given that the establishment is so new and the only one in the entire city (not that this is surprising because I have literally never heard of a cat lounge slash coffee shop in my entire life), but with a little patience you can de-stress and refuel all at once!
So there you have it. Craving a latte yet? Seattle is a place that necessitates at least one visit to a coffee place to fully understand this embodiment of the city’s culture, and being the world center for coffee roasting and teeming with high-quality options, it isn’t a difficult task.
Have you visited any of these shops? Where is your go-to place for coffee in Seattle?
