Zoka Coffee Roasters – Tangletown
Description on Zoka Coffee Roaster’s website : The flagship store that started it all. Situated snuggly in the beautiful Tangletown neighborhood of Green Lake, Zoka One is a community favorite. Host to a multitude of groups, early morning adventurers, students, and coffee enthusiasts this location has become an invaluable resource to the area. With an offering of hand brewed single origin coffees, freshly baked pastries, and unlimited wifi, its easy to see why this shop is seldom empty.
Neighborhood: Green Lake/Tangletown
Address: 2200 N 56th St, Seattle, WA 98103
What we ate/drank: Doppio Espresso
Comments: Zoka Coffee Roasters has been around as long as I can remember in Tangletown. I believe the first time going there was in the late 90’s. It’s the first coffee place I can remember that had the reputation of having zombie college students taking up every table for hours on end. This is before laptops and wifi became prevalent. Students would come with their backpacks and books and sprawl out until every spot was taken. I remember it being like a library. It was so quiet and you always had to take your drink to go even if you intended to stay unless you were lucky enough to grab a spot when one of the zombies decided to leave.
It also had the reputation of having the stereotypical snooty Seattle barista. The theory was that because Zoka Coffee Roasters was always crowded with people, the workers could be as pleasant or unpleasant as they wanted because their customer service didn’t matter if it was good or bad. They would still get enough business to pack the place regardless. I personally never experienced any bad service, but it was definitely the reputation.
There’s a lot more competition these days, but even today, you can understand why people pack this place. The space is huge by Seattle café standards. They have beautiful exposed wooden beams, wood walls and shelves throughout with multiple tables and chairs. The location is on a corner so it has huge windows facing south and west, which lets in a lot of light. Towards the back is a separated area that’s more conducive for groups or private chats.
Because it’s off a main thoroughfare, it’s easy to find parking in the neighborhood. Like Seven Coffee Roasters Market & Cafe, Lighthouse Roasters and Analog Coffee, Zoka Coffee Roasters is not on a main street. It’s right in the middle of the Tangletown neighborhood, but it’s not really a secret because it’s been around so long everybody knows about it. The coffee is A+ , but food options are limited to pastries and breakfast sandwiches.
Their website doesn’t give a whole lot of information about the company, but it does have video instructions(albeit in cartoon form) on using a French Press, Aeropress, Pour Over, Chemex, but the rest are links to buy beans, gear or subscription. Besides this location, they have one near University Village, another in South Lake Union and one in Kirkland. I’ve been to the University Village location and it’s very similar in vibe and decor to this location.
Our observation is that it’s not as crowded as it used to be and it’s not as difficult to find a spot to sit anymore, which is great. If we had to guess, it’s probably due to the presence of a lot more coffee shops in Seattle now for people to study/work at.
Ratings(1-5)
Favorite Thing: Spacious, but cozy atmosphere
Atmosphere: 4.75
Service: 4.75
Food Options: 3.75
Overall: 4.35
Eavedropping Convo: This was a rather brazen customer to have this conversation with the barista and he was pretty loud.
Customer(C)-I’m so glad your here. The person who was working the mornings the last few weeks was not very good. I haven’t been here for three weeks. I think he was over pouring because the drink was not very good
Barista(B)-Really?
C-I think a lot of people complained because my co-workers said the same thing. Something was just off with the viscosity. I don’t know.
B-hmmmm..
C-Do you guys have a regular schedule so I know when you’re working?
B-Normally I have my schedule two weeks out only.
C-Yeah, I just don’t want to come here when that guy is working here.