Coffee in Seattle Informations

Seattle is regarded as a world center for coffee roasting and coffee supply chain management. Related to this, many of the city's inhabitants are coffee enthusiasts; the city is known for its prominent coffee culture and numerous coffeehouses.

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 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.

Seattle is home to several coffee roasters.

Starbucks is Seattle's largest coffee retailer. It was founded in 1971 in Pike Place Market 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 is Seattle's second-largest coffee retailer. Tom Tully O'Keefe founded the chain in Kent, Washington in 1992 to rival the expansion of Starbucks with an alternative business model. A distinguishing feature between Tully's and Starbucks is that Tully's uses a milder roast and keeps overstuffed chairs and fireplaces in its stores to set a mood.

Caffé 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.

Caffe Ladro - Ladro Roasting

Caffe Ladro was founded in 1997 on Upper Queen Anne by Jack Kelly. The company began sourcing and roasting coffee in 2011 and continues roast at its Queen Anne Roastery.

Espresso Vivace is a set of coffeehouses and a roaster. Founded in 1988 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.

Victrola Coffee Roasters is a coffeehouse which gives regular classes on coffee appreciation.

Lighthouse Roasters was founded in 1993 by Ed Leebrick. They source from small coffee farms, and roast in small batches.

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, a German conglomerate) would acquire Stumptown.

Other Seattle roasters include Fonté Coffee Roasters, River Trail Roasters, Caffè Umbria, Torrefazione Italia, Fremont Coffee Company, Herkimer Coffee, Seattle Coffee Works, and Zoka Coffee Roaster and Tea Company.

In addition to the international success of coffee mega-chains like Starbucks, Tully's Coffee and Seattle's Best Coffee, Seattle coffee culture is found in the many independently owned coffee shops. Independently owned coffee shops include bauhaus books + coffee, Café Allegro, Caffè Umbria, Caffe Ladro, Caffé Vita, Espresso Vivace, Monorail Espresso, Top Pot Doughnuts, Slate Coffee, Victrola, and Zoka Coffee Roaster and Tea Company . Most of these coffeehouses offer daily or weekly coffee cupping to the public. They roast their coffee in the back and open it for public viewing.

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.

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 was founded in 2002 as a pastry bakery which also sells coffee.

Bauhaus was founded on October 5, 1993, and is notable for an unusual coffeehouse space design, which founder Joel Radin later applied to the design of Top Pot Doughnuts when he co-founded that company with others.

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 on December 13, 2015, for unexplained reasons.

Owner Joel Radin filed bankruptcy in February 2017.

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