Coffee In Seattle
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Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
is regarded as a world center for
coffee roasting Roasting coffee transforms the chemical and physical properties of Coffee processing, green coffee beans into roasted coffee products. The roasting process produces the characteristic flavor of coffee by causing the green coffee beans to change ...
and coffee
supply chain management In commerce, supply chain management (SCM) deals with a system of procurement (purchasing raw materials/components), operations management, logistics and marketing channels, through which raw materials can be developed into finished produc ...
. Related to this, many of the city's inhabitants are
coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...
enthusiasts; the city is known for its prominent
coffee culture Coffee culture is the set of traditions and social behaviors that surround the consumption of coffee, particularly as a social lubricant. The term also refers to the cultural diffusion and adoption of coffee as a widely consumed stimulant. In the ...
and numerous
coffeehouse A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargi ...
s.


Coffee consumption and culture

People in Seattle consume more coffee than in any other American city; one study stated that there are 35 coffee shops per 100,000 residents and that Seattle people spend an average of $36 a month on coffee. It is nearly impossible to walk past a single block in a
commercial area Commercial area, commercial district or commercial zone in a city is an area, district, or neighborhoods primarily composed of commerce, commercial buildings, such as a strip mall, business parks, office parks, downtown, central business distric ...
in Seattle without walking past at least one coffee shop. Coffee drinkers can get coffee at a local sidewalk stand, parking lot, tiny coffee houses, big coffee houses, drive-through, and even delivery. Several Seattle Ethiopian restaurants carry forward one or another degree of Ethiopian coffee tradition, which includes doing their own roasting. These include the Jebena Cafe in Pinehurst, Kaffa Coffee & Wine Bar in the
Rainier Valley Rainier Valley ( ) is a neighborhood in southeastern Seattle, Washington. It is located east of Beacon Hill; west of Mount Baker, Seward Park, and Leschi; south of the Central District and north of Rainier Beach. It is part of Seattle's So ...
, and Adey Abeba in the Central District. In the early 2000s in Seattle a coffee concept called the
bikini barista A bikini barista is a woman who works as a barista, preparing and serving coffee beverages, while dressed in scanty attire such as a bikini, lingerie or a crop top combined with bikini bottoms or hotpants. In the United States, this marketing tec ...
began to be implemented by various marketers throughout the area. Coffee distribution in this business model utilizes baristas wearing little clothing to prepare and serve the coffee.


Roasters

Numerous coffee roasting companies are headquartered in Seattle, including: * QED Coffee * Anchorhead Coffee * Conduit Coffee Roasters * Fonté Coffee Roasters * Fulcrum Coffee * River Trail Roasters * Caffè Umbria * Torrefazione Italia * Fremont Coffee Company * Herkimer Coffee * Kuma Coffee * Caffe Appassionato * Caffe Ladro * Top Pot Coffee Roasters * Victrola Coffee Roasters * Lighthouse Roaster, * Zoka Coffee Roaster and Tea Company
Storyville Coffee Storyville Coffee (sometimes Storyville Coffee Company or simply Storyville) is a coffee company operating in the Seattle metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of Washington. Description Storyville Coffee operates multiple coffee shops in the Se ...
also operates within the Seattle metropolitan area.


Starbucks

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational List of coffeehouse chains, chain of coffeehouses and Starbucks Reserve, roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gor ...
is Seattle's largest coffee retailer. It was founded in 1971 in
Pike Place Market Pike Place Market is a Marketplaces#Types, public market in Seattle, Washington, United States. It opened on August 17, 1907, and is one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers' markets in the United States. Overlooking the Elliott B ...
as a roaster, but only later became an espresso bar. In 1984 ownership of the company changed and
Howard Schultz Howard D. Schultz (born July 19, 1953) is an American businessman and author who was the chairman and chief executive officer of Starbucks from 1986 to 2000, from 2008 to 2017, and interim CEO from 2022 to 2023. Schultz owned the Seattle SuperS ...
led a massive international expansion of the company. In 2003, Starbucks acquired pioneering Seattle roaster Seattle's Best Coffee (SBC, originally Stewart Brothers' Coffee).


Tully's Coffee

Tully's Coffee Tully's Coffee is an American specialty coffee manufacturing brand owned by Keurig Dr Pepper, which acquired ''Tully's'' brand and wholesale business in 2009. Tully's branded coffee continues to be sold by Keurig in its K-Cup format and as bagged ...
was at one time Seattle's second-largest coffee retailer. As of March 2018 there no longer are any Tully’s retail locations in the United States. Tom Tully O'Keefe founded the chain in
Kent, Washington Kent is a city in King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. It is part of the Seattle metropolitan area, Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue metropolitan area and had a population of 136,588 as of the 2020 Unit ...
in 1992 to rival the expansion of Starbucks with an alternative business model.


Caffe Vita Coffee Roasting Company

Caffe Vita Coffee Roasting Company was founded in 1995 to produce excellent artisan coffee and to implement an ethical model for coffee production which bypassed the fair trade business model and sourced coffee beans directly from the farmers producing it.


Espresso Vivace

Espresso Vivace Espresso Vivace is a Seattle area coffee shop and roaster known for its coffee and roasting practices. Vivace's owner, David Schomer, Allison, MelissaVivace founder, David Schomer is a coffee prophet ''Seattle Times.'' Sunday, July 2, 2006 is ...
is a set of coffeehouses and a roaster. Founded in 1988Shannon Borg
Seattle Coffee Guide: Locally Roasted Beans
Seattle Magazine, October 2010. Accessed 2015-10-23.
by a Boeing engineer, the coffee is produced to exacting specifications to match the owner's taste and the taste of patrons who prefer this different blend.


Stumptown

Portland-based
Stumptown Coffee Roasters Stumptown Coffee Roasters is a coffee roaster and retailer based in Portland, Oregon, United States. The chain's first location opened in 1999. Three other cafes, a roastery and a tasting annex have since opened in Portland, as well as location ...
opened a roasting facility in Seattle in 2010. On October 6, 2015, it was announced that San Francisco-based
Peet's Coffee Peet's Coffee is a San Francisco Bay Area-based specialty coffee roaster and retailer owned by Dutch multinational coffee and tea company JDE Peet's. Founded in 1966 by Alfred Peet in Berkeley, California, Peet's introduced the United States to ...
(a division of
JAB Holding Company JAB Holding Company S.à r.l. (JAB or Joh. A. Benckiser) is a German conglomerate, headquartered in Luxembourg, that includes investments in companies operating in the areas of consumer goods, coffee, luxury fashion, animal health, and fast food, ...
of Germany, since 2012) would acquire Stumptown.


Coffeehouses

Seattle coffeehouse culture includes chains, such as Starbucks, Tully's Coffee and Seattle's Best Coffee, alongside many independently owned coffee shops. Independently owned coffee shops include: * Analog Coffee * Black Coffee Northwest * Boon Boona Coffee * Café Allegro * Café Hagen * Caffé D’arte * Caffè Umbria * Caffe Vita * Cherry Street Coffee House * Drinkmore Cafe * Eastern Cafe *
Espresso Vivace Espresso Vivace is a Seattle area coffee shop and roaster known for its coffee and roasting practices. Vivace's owner, David Schomer, Allison, MelissaVivace founder, David Schomer is a coffee prophet ''Seattle Times.'' Sunday, July 2, 2006 is ...
* Fuel Coffee & Books * Ghost Alley Espresso * Ghost Note Coffee * Hello Em *
Kaladi Brothers Coffee Kaladi Brothers Coffee is an American coffee company, based in Anchorage, Alaska. The business began operating from a single espresso cart in 1984. By 2021, there were fifteen stores in the U.S. states of Alaska and Washington (state), Washington ...
* Kitanda * Leon Coffee House * Monorail Espresso * Moore Coffee * Mr. West Cafe Bar * Overcast Coffee Company * Pegasus Coffee Company *
Phin The phin (, ) (, ) is a type of lute with a pear-shaped body, originating in the Isan region of Thailand and played mostly by ethnic Lao people, Laotians in Thailand and Laos. It has frets on the neck over which two or three metal strings run tha ...
* Push x Pull *
Top Pot Doughnuts Top Pot Doughnuts is a chain of coffee and doughnut cafes started in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. Top Pot began in February 2002 and was started by brothers Mark and Michael Klebeck. Locations , Top Pot has 17 cafe loca ...
* Elm Coffee Roasters * QED Coffee * URL Coffee * Victrola * Wunderground Coffee * Zeitgeist Coffee * Zoka Coffee


Café Allegro

Café Allegro is a coffeeshop in University District. Its founder worked with Starbucks roasters to develop the original Starbucks espresso roast, which is darker than most other roasts but still lighter than the darkest roast. That espresso roast remains the standard Starbucks espresso offering, but it was developed for Café Allegro.


Last Exit on Brooklyn

The Last Exit on Brooklyn was a coffee house which opened in 1967 and closed in 2000. It was a gathering place for high-level chess players and intellectuals, and the proprietor worked to "create a haven where students and the benign crazies" were welcome and where "everyone felt equal and there were no sacred cows".


Top Pot Doughnuts

Top Pot Doughnuts Top Pot Doughnuts is a chain of coffee and doughnut cafes started in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. Top Pot began in February 2002 and was started by brothers Mark and Michael Klebeck. Locations , Top Pot has 17 cafe loca ...
was founded in 2002 on
Capitol Hill Capitol Hill is a neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in both the Northeast, Washington, D.C., Northeast and Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast quadrants. It is bounded by 14th Street SE & NE, F S ...
as a pastry bakery which also roasts and sells coffee. It has since expanded to locations across the Puget Sound region and
Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
.


Bauhaus Coffee and Books

A precursor to Top Pot Doughnuts;
Bauhaus Strong Coffee Bauhaus Strong Coffee is a coffee company based in Seattle, in the U.S. state of Washington. Description Bauhaus has had used book sections. In addition to coffee drinks, the menu has included croissants, scones, and tea. The Ballard locati ...
was founded on October 5, 1993, and is notable for an unusual coffeehouse space design, which the Top Pot Doughnuts co-founders later applied to its design. While the original location closed on October 5, 2013, a new Capitol Hill location later opened that year, following two new locations in Ballard and Green Lake. All three were closed abruptly on December 13, 2015. Owner Joel Radin filed bankruptcy in February 2017.


Coffee technology

In 2007 the Coffee Equipment Company released a product called the Clover, which was a machine which brewed coffee one cup at a time. The company was acquired by Starbucks who now produces the Clover.


Coffee events

''Coffee: World in your Cup'' is the name of an exhibition and community series which premiered in Seattle through most of 2009 at the
Burke Museum The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture (commonly as Burke Museum) is a natural history museum on the campus of the University of Washington, in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States. It is administered by the University ...
. The exhibition includes displays of equipment at the museum and a lecture series with talks in various locations wherein experts talk about aspects of the coffee industry. The
World Barista Championship The World Barista Championship (WBC) is an annual barista competition operated by World Coffee Events for the title of World Barista Champion. The competition is composed of the winners of the national barista championships, which are operated by ...
was held in Seattle in April 2015. The competition, and its winner Sasa Sestic, were the subject of a documentary film ''The Coffee Man''.


Seattle coffee in popular culture

In the
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
series ''
Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey (screenwriter), Peter Casey, and David Lee (scr ...
'', the characters are often seen drinking coffee at the fictional Café Nervosa, which is said to have been inspired by the real-life Elliott Bay Book Company. In ''The Sopranos'', two episodes featured coffee shops based on Starbucks. "Our Cafe du jour is New Zealand Peaberry", says a barista, as Paulie Walnuts bemoans the acquisition of Italian coffee culture.


See also

* Coffee in Portland, Oregon


References


External links

* {{Coffee in Seattle
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
Culture of Seattle Tourist attractions in Seattle