It is also said that one of the reasons for the large number of cafes is the rain. In Seattle, once the refreshing summer ends, autumn passes quickly and winter arrives quickly. Winter is a rainy time, with gray skies that last until around April. There is also a theory that it is precisely because it is such a rainy city that so many coffee shops were established as places to shelter from the rain.
This time, we will introduce some long-established and noteworthy cafes in Seattle where local coffee lovers gather. Why not enjoy chatting with the locals over a delicious cup of coffee?
Text: Ryoko Iwata
Highly recommended for coffee lovers. Enjoy a delicious Americano in a shop filled with the aroma of roasted coffee.
Lighthouse Roasters
About a five-minute drive south from Green Lake Park, in a quiet residential area of Fremont, you'll find Lighthouse Roasters, which is constantly bustling with local customers.
If you ask Seattle coffee lovers "Where can I get good coffee?", most of them will mention this cafe, which is so famous among coffee lovers. Many cafes and restaurants in Seattle use beans from this cafe.
The delicious aroma of roasting wafts from the large roaster inside the store all day long.
This is a cafe with no Wi-Fi and few tables, but it's full of humanity.
One day, I came here to buy coffee as usual. When I went to pay, I was told, "I don't need it today!" It turned out that it was the 20th anniversary of the cafe's opening, so the cafe was offering free coffee.
When I looked at the tip basket, I noticed it was overflowing with bills. The strong bond between the cafe and the local people was apparent from the way the locals expressed their gratitude to the cafe.
Lighthouse Roasters
Well, if you go to Lighthouse Roasters, you should definitely try their Americano. In particular, the crema (the foam floating on the surface of the espresso) is a perfect balance of bitterness and sweetness, making it taste like chocolate. If you visit Green Lake Park, be sure to stop by and try the flavor.
| Lighthouse Roasters | ||
|---|---|---|
| business hours | ： | 6:00-19:00 (Monday-Friday), 6:30-19:00 (Saturday and Sunday) |
| Closed Day | ： | https://lighthouseroasters.com/ |
| web | ： | https://lighthouseroasters.com/ |
| address | ： | 400 N 43rd St, Seattle, WA 98103 |
It's like a select shop for coffee. A third wave cafe where you can find your very own cup of coffee.
Milstead & Co.
Currently, the cafe scene is in the midst of a "third wave" coffee boom, which focuses on high-quality beans made by face-to-face makers and careful brewing methods to bring out the individuality of the beans, but the previous second wave is said to have started with Seattle-style coffee.
From the late 19th century to the 1960s, the development of distribution in the United States led to instant coffee becoming widely available in ordinary households. This wave is known as the First Wave.
Starbucks was founded in Seattle in 1971 and began serving high-quality, darkly roasted beans, in stark contrast to the light coffee that had been available up until then. Around 1990, the chain began to expand in earnest. As it was now possible to casually enjoy delicious espresso coffee, it became popular worldwide, sparking the second wave of coffee. This made espresso coffee a familiar drink to us all.
A friend of mine who is in charge of purchasing beans at Starbucks recommended to me, "I've found an amazing cafe. You should check it out right away." It's a third wave cafe called "Milstead" that opened in 2011 on the south side of Fremont.
Inside Milstead Photo courtesy of Dan Cole
This restaurant is located right next to Lake Union, a U-shaped lake. There are many boathouses on Lake Union, including one that was used as a location for the movie "Sleepless in Seattle" starring Tom Hanks.
Boat shed on Lake Union. Photo credit: shutterstock
Milstead's biggest feature is that it is a multi-roaster, operating like a select shop that sources beans from roasters (roasting factories) all over the world.
In Seattle, there are many "single roaster" cafes that contract with a small number of roasters, but here they import over 30 types of beans, mainly from roasters in Seattle and Poland, so you're sure to find a coffee that suits your taste.
The beans used in the cafe can also be purchased.
After enjoying the drip coffee, be sure to try the cafe mocha. It uses chocolate from the famous Seattle organic chocolate shop "THEO," and you can feel the sweet aroma and strong flavor of the original cacao along with the bitterness of the coffee.
If you come to Milstead, why not pick up your favorite coffee to go and take a leisurely stroll along the lakeside overlooking the beautiful Union Lake? It's sure to be a special cup of coffee.
Seattle city. Lake Union can be seen in the background. Photo courtesy of shutterstock
| Milstead & Co. | ||
|---|---|---|
| business hours | ： | 6:00-18:00 (Monday-Friday) / 7:00-18:00 (Saturday and Sunday) |
| Closed Day | ： | none |
| web | ： | http://milsteadandco.com/ |
| address | ： | 754 N 34th St, Seattle, WA 98103 |
In addition to the cafes introduced here, Seattle has plenty of other tourist attractions, such as a tour of the Amazon headquarters, and strolls through parks and lakeside areas rich in nature. You can enjoy a different side of the city just by walking a little. Why not enjoy a stroll around Seattle with a delicious coffee in hand?
Ryoko Iwata
A columnist who has lived in the United States for 13 years. Former specialist researcher at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Runs the coffee illustration website "I Love Coffee." His books include "A Textbook on Black Coffee from Seattle."
www.ryokoiwata.com
The contents published are accurate at the time of publication and are subject to change.
