The Seattle Coffee Shop Awards – Part 3

As you know Seattleites have the stereotype of being coffee drinking fools. This is no stereotype, we take our coffee seriously. And if you ask 20 different locals what their favorite coffee place is, you’ll most likely get 20 different answers.  These are our choices for Best Seattle Coffee Shop Awards. With two young’uns, we’ve had to trade in our frequency of night life in Seattle bars and pubs to morning life in a lot of Seattle coffee cafes. In doing so, we’ve gotten to revisit a lot of coffee shops we hadn’t been to in a while and also got a chance to visit a lot of new places that had always been on our radar but never been able to go to.  We Seattleites are so lucky to have so many varieties of roasters and cafes in such a condensed area.

You’ll notice in our Coffee Shop blog posts we rarely mention how good the coffee is in each place, because we feel like it’s a given we’re going to get exceptional coffee.  If we happen upon a coffee shop in which the coffee is not good, we will not review it. This might be the reason you may not see a particular coffee shop on our blog.

See our other installments of Seattle Coffee Shop Awards:
Part 1 – Best Coffee Neighborhood, Most Popular, Most Underrated
Part 2 – Best Coffee Shops for Groups or You Want To Be Alone.
Part 4 – Best Seattle Coffee Shops to Impress Visitors, Impress Visiting Coffee Snobs, Make Visitors Feel Like Locals.
Part 5 – Best Seattle Coffee Shops for Food Options, Friendliest Service 
Part 6 – Seattle Coffee With Most Character, Best Seattle Coffee Shops Overall.

Best Seattle Coffee Drink Sets –  Slate Coffee Roasters’ Deconstructed Espresso + Milk

These are the Seattle Coffee Shop versions of the McDonalds Happy Meals.  Why just get one drink when you can enjoy a variety of preparations or combinations?

1. Slate Coffee Roasters ($7)
2. Kaladi Brothers Coffee ($6)
3. Elm Coffee Roasters  ($5)
4. Cherry Street Coffee House ($3.35)
5. Third Culture Coffee ($8)

Slate Coffee Roasters’s Deconstructed Espresso + Milk was featured in our Seattle Coffee Places For Each Stage of Dating post.  We thought it was a great way to share a tasting. What makes this number one in our book is the extensive explanation of all the ingredients by the barista. You can also taste the quality of the ingredients. It was very evident, especially the milk. I think it was fun to taste the ingredients separately and together.

Kaladi Brothers Coffee has the most unusual drink set with their Brew and Brew, which is a very strange combination of a macchiato and a Rainier Beer.  I’m not sure if you get drunk and use the caffeine to sober up or get hyped off caffeine and use the alcohol to come back down.

Elm Coffee Roasters has a few combinations, but the One of Everything has the most variety of coffee drinks. You get a macchiato, espresso shot and a brewed coffee for only $5.

Cherry Street Coffee House has a smaller version called the One & One, which is a solo macchiato and a solo espresso. Short and sweet, but you still get a variety to test the palette.

You’ve got to go all the way to Bellevue’s Third Culture Coffee to enjoy their Atalia combo set, which is an espresso, americano and a macchiato.

Best Seattle Coffee Shop View –  Milstead & Co.

1. Milstead & Co. – Fremont
2. Storyville Coffee in Pike Place Market
3. Cherry Street Public House – Pioneer Square
4. Caffe Umbria– Pioneer Square
5. Victrola Coffee Roasters – 3rd & Pine(Crime)

Milstead & Co is located on Troll Ave & N. 34th Ave a few blocks down from the famous Troll under the 99 Bridge.  Because it’s on a corner with windows facing east and south, you get an unobstructed view of the 99 Bridge and Lake Union. They also have a pretty big patio, so you can enjoy your coffee outside and really get a the full effect of the view.

If you sit right next to the huge half circle windows at Storyville Coffee in Pike Place Market you can look down on the market and also see the Puget Sound.  It’s a great place to take out of town visitors and the view is one of the main reasons.

Cherry Street Public House is located right in Occidental Park in Pioneer Square.  As little as 7 years ago, this was a pretty shady park, but with new businesses hear and an upgrade to the park, it’s now a nice place to sit and enjoy the view.

Caffe Umbria is right down the block in Pioneer Square and located on the pedestrian only stretch on Occidental Ave.  It’s a nice place to people watch during First Thursday in Pioneer Square or people going to the  Mariners/Sounders/Seahawks game.  This last one doesn’t have a nice view like the other four, but the view might provide a good bit of entertainment.

Victrola Coffee Roasters on 3rd and Pine, which we deemed, The Most Heavily Guarded Coffee Shop in Seattle. As mentioned in the post, this corner is notorious for it’s constant crime and hang out for shady characters. Sit back in the café and watch the drug deals go down.

See our other installments of Seattle Coffee Shop Awards:

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Seattle Coffee Shops
Part 1 – Best Coffee Neighborhood, Most Popular, Most Underrated
Part 2 – Best Coffee Shops for Groups or You Want To Be Alone.
Part 4 – Best Seattle Coffee Shops to Impress Visitors, Impress Visiting Coffee Snobs, Make Visitors Feel Like Locals.
Part 5 – Best Seattle Coffee Shops for Food Options, Friendliest Service 
Part 6 – Seattle Coffee With Most Character, Best Seattle Coffee Shops Overall.