****NOTE: This review was done prior to the Covid-19 outbreak. Of course, things are much different at the moment, but we hope things will get back to normal soon and hope you will continue to support these local businesses****
Herkimer Coffee – Phinney Ridge
Description on Herkimer Coffee website : At Herkimer Coffee our purpose is to create a coffee experience of the highest possible quality. Whether it’s your double espresso, latte to go, or the bag of beans you brew at home, we want your experience to be the best it can be.
Neighborhood: Greenwood
What we ate/drank: Macchiato
Comments:We previously reviewed the Herkimer location in Ravenna. If you want to learn about the origin of Herkimer’s name, their relationship with their pastry supplier, Café Besalu, and the reason for their odd pricing, you can read about it here.
Herkimer Coffee is a well regarded roaster in Seattle as evidenced by their coffee being served at Brother Joe, Analog Coffee, Porchlight Coffee & Records, and Revolutions Coffee to name a few.
The Herkimer – Phinney Ridge location is their flagship and where their roasting takes place. They have a nice seating section that allows you to look directly into the roastery. The only two other roasters I can think of that do their roasting on premises and allows you to watch are Lighthouse Roasters in Fremont and Elm Coffee Roasters in Pioneer Square. I think Victrola Coffee Roasters in Capitol Hill has one too. But at the Herkimer – Phinney Ridge location you’re encouraged to watch the roasting process with seating set up facing the roaster. The other locations have the roasting process going on, but mainly going on in the background.
This space has an “L” shaped configuration with the balance of the space being used for the roastery. Apart from the sitting area where you can watch the roasting process, there’s a few chairs on the outside store front, lots of window seating, a large community table a separate smaller tables throughout.
One of the quirky items they have is a pencil sharpener on the wall for those doing their crosswords or sodoku. One thing to note, during the roasting process it can get quite loud if you intend to have a conversation or bring in a sleeping infant.
Ratings(1-5)
Favorite Thing: There’s a pencil sharper on the wall! So bring your pencils when doing your NY Times crossword puzzles. Also the seating looking in on the roastery.
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 5
Food Options: 3.75
Overall: 4.25
Eavedropping Convo: Two guys having coffee on a counter near the window
Guy 1(G1) – Awe, hell no!
Guy 2(G2) – Stands up really quick from spilled coffee. What happened?!
G1 – I wasn’t paying attention and spilled my drink. Damn, all over my phone too. Can you grab some napkins?
G2 – Rushes to get napkins and brings back.
G1 – Well might be time for a new phone. Attempts to power up his phone. Oh good, it’s still working. Phew. Honestly, there’s a part of me that wishes it was busted, so I could get a new phone.
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