I have a really weird relationship with coffee. When I was a little girl, my family drank coffee every night with bread, we gathered around the table mostly on the weekends and chatted until midnight all while drinking cafe con leche. I didn’t even know at the time that it was something that was used to keep you awake.
In college I started using it as something to keep myself awake but ended up failing since my body was already used to drinking it before bed. I instead replaced it with candy or sugar to stay awake during all nighters.
Once I hit my mid twenties I started having issues with anxiety and I cut coffee completely. I slowly went back to caffeine starting off with mixing half-caffeine and half decaf. Now, I have recently become completely engulfed in the world of coffee and I can’t stop thinking about the taste and I crave it every single morning.
Lucky for me, my friend asked me to visit Seattle with her for her birthday and as I soon found out, Seattle is Coffee City. According to The Daily Beast article Coffee Capitals: 20 Cities That Drink the Most Caffeine one study stated that there are 35 coffeeshops per 100,000 residents and that Seattle people spend an average of $36 a month on coffee.
While there, we decided to try out a different coffee shop each day, here is a review of each of the places we visited.
Starbucks Reserve Roastery
Our first day in Seattle was long due to travel, we woke up at 5am that day and arrived to our room about 4:00pm. We had plans to visit the Unicorn Bar for trivia night and then after we were to roam the streets to find something else to do.
We found Starbucks Reserve Roastery and decided to try their specialty which was the Shakerato Affogato which is Espresso Shots poured over local ice cream finished with a mint sprig. Adding to that beautiful drink/ dessert, we also received a tasting of the Whiskey Barrel Aged Coffee.
Can I just say that I have never tasted such a complete and beautiful paring. The drink was milky and the ice cream cut a lot of the bitterness that you sometimes have with strong coffee. Definitely a highlight.
Ghost Alley Espresso
Our first full day in Seattle we began with a food tour from Savor Seattle. At the end of the tour I was thirsty for some coffee.
In the hidden lower level of Pikes Market there is a tiny little coffee shop named Ghost Alley Espresso. It is tinnyyyy but damn is it delicious. I had the Mystery Mocha which I heard is different for each customer. The barista decides what they will be putting inside the drink. All I know is my barista poured 4 shots of espresso and I never looked back.
Storyville Coffee Company
After a long and snowy day on Saturday we decided to go get some coffee at Pikes Market. We searched all over for this place, and it was right above or noses. Literally it was on the third floor of Pikes Market.
Ok, so this was one of those hyped up places that I was very excited to experience and then…. I was hugely disappointed. Their coffee was just alright but their pastry… OMFG their pastry was heaven. Skip the latte and just have a pastry instead.
Seattle Coffee Works
Our last day there we packed up our bags and headed back to Pikes Market once again, honestly it is the best place and we just wanted to go back every day.
We stopped by Seattle Coffee Works since it was on the way to the market. I believe the appeal here is that they can brew your coffee many different ways. Drip, Slowbar and Espresso but I think two of those are the same. I’m a simple gal, I just want a latte. I asked for the latte with Oat milk and it was great! The best part were the pastries that I tried out, try the pistachio ravioli, it was not too sweet and had a perfect bite.
My favorite was between the Starbucks Roastery and the Ghost Alley Coffee, they both had great flavor and large amount of caffeine (yum!). There were a few places that I missed out on trying which included Top Pot Doughnuts which I bought donuts from but no coffee.
Overall i had a great trip and I hope this helps you out when you so happen to be in Seattle. Come back on March 4th for a complete synopsis of our trip on the podcast Best [Food] I’ve Ever Had.
Angie Dee 