Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

is regarded as a world center for

coffee roasting Roasting coffee transforms the chemical and physical properties of green coffee beans into roasted coffee products. The roasting process is what produces the characteristic flavor of coffee by causing the green coffee beans to change in taste. ...

and coffee

supply chain management In commerce, supply chain management (SCM) is the management of the flow of goods and services including all processes that transform raw materials into final products between businesses and locations. This can include the movement and sto ...

. Related to this, many of the city's inhabitants are

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...

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 primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other no ...

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 areas in a city are areas, districts, or neighborhoods primarily composed of commercial buildings, such as a strip mall, office parks, downtown, central business district, financial district, " Main Street", or shopping centers. C ...

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 The Rainier Valley is a district in southeast Seattle. 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 South End. History W ...

, 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

Sign Seattle Coffee Works Pike Street Seattle Washington

Numerous coffee roasting companies are headquartered in Seattle, including: * Anchorhead Coffee * Conduit Coffee Roasters * Fonté Coffee Roasters * River Trail Roasters *

Caffè Umbria Caffè Umbria is a coffee roaster based on Seattle, Washington, United States. The chain has been described as "an Italian family business". Caffè Umbria was established by third-generation roaster Emanuele Bizzarri, the son of Umberto.

* Torrefazione Italia * Fremont Coffee Company * Herkimer Coffee * Kuma Coffee * Caffe Appassionato *

Caffe Ladro Caffe Ladro is a coffee shop chain and roastery in the Seattle metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of Washington. Established in Seattle's Queen Anne neighborhood in 1994, the business operated fifteen locations as of 2017. Description Ca ...

* 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 chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 ...

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 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 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 in 1992 to rival the expansion of Starbucks with an alternative business model.

Caffé Vita Coffee Roasting Company

Caffé Vita Coffee Roasting Company Caffè Vita Coffee Roasting Company, commonly known as Caffè Vita, is an American coffee roasting company based in Seattle, Washington. Part of the third wave of coffee movement, it has been named one of 10 places offering "the best coffee in Am ...

was founded in 1995 to produce excellent artisan coffee and to implement an ethical model for coffee production which bypassed the

fair trade Fair trade is an arrangement designed to help producers in developing countries achieve sustainable and equitable trade relationships. The fair trade movement combines the payment of higher prices to exporters with improved social and envir ...

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 i ...

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 opened a roasting facility in Seattle in 2010. On October 6, 2015, it was announced that San Francisco-based Peet's Coffee (a division of

JAB Holding Company JAB Holding Company ("JAB" or Joh. A. Benckiser) is a German conglomerate, headquartered in Luxembourg, that includes investments in companies operating in the areas of consumer goods, forestry, coffee, luxury fashion, animal health, and fast foo ...

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: * Boon Boona Coffee *

Café Allegro Café Allegro is a coffeeshop in the University District of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is notable for being one of the city's first espresso shops and for its role in the history of Starbucks, as the place where founding proprietor D ...

* Caffé D’arte * Caffè Umbria * Caffé Vita * Cherry Street Coffee House *

Drinkmore Cafe The Drinkmore Cafe was a coffee shop on Capitol Hill in Seattle, Washington. History Opened on April 1, 2000, as the Bit Star, it was reported by InfoWorld to be the first commercial business to offer free wireless internet Wi-Fi services. Alth ...

* Ghost Alley Espresso * Hello Em * Kaladi Brothers Coffee *

Monorail Espresso Monorail Espresso is a coffeehouse in Seattle. It is notable as having been founded as the first espresso cart in the world. An espresso cart is a food cart from which a barista can make espresso. The business now operates as a walkup window with ...

* Overcast Coffee Company * Pegasus Coffee Company * Top Pot Doughnuts * Elm Coffee Roasters * Slate Coffee * Victrola * Zeitgeist Coffee * Zoka Coffee

Café Allegro

is a coffeeshop in

University District University District can refer to a location in the United States: *University District, Detroit, Michigan * University District, Columbus, Ohio *University District, San Bernardino, California *University District, Seattle The 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 The Last Exit on Brooklyn was a Seattle University District coffeehouse established in 1967 by Irv Cisski. It is known for its part in the history of Seattle's counterculture, for its pioneering role in establishing Seattle's coffee culture, ...

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 was founded in 2002 on

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the ...

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 the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County wi ...

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 location ...

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 Coffee Equipment Company was a Seattle-based manufacturer of coffee equipment. The company focused on producing equipment that creates high-quality brewed coffee. It was purchased in 2008 by Starbucks. The company's first product was the Clover 1 ...

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 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 English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

series ''

Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons. It premiered on September 16, 1993, and ended on May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee (as Grub ...

'', 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 Café.

References

External links

* {{Coffee in Seattle

Culture of Seattle Tourist attractions in Seattle