How important is your coffee ritual to you? So important that you take the ritual with you on your travels? Or do you suffer through free hotel room coffee and call it a day? I am not a brewed coffee kinda person so unless I’m desperate the hotel room coffee will never do. I must go off in search of my current locales best coffee house. However the first leg of my journey starts in Seattle, Wa. and I’d have to drink about forty cups of coffee a day to put a dent in the coffee shop scene. Most people are familiar with a rather large chain of coffee shops that started in Seattle but “the scene” started long before that. The 60’s with it’s beatniks and hippies looking for a place to hang out and talk about their art and political views helped fuel a trend of chill spaces they could get out of the rain in.

And maybe because people were in search of coffee, Kent Bakke,previous CEO of La Marzocco, went in search (to Italy of course) of the best espresso machines and started to import them back to Seattle, soon after legends were born. I recently went to the flagship La Marzocco Cafe here in Seattle. It’s an awesome, industrial space inside the KEXP radio station. High ceilings, glass garage doors, a myriad of seating choices and cool record shop all help to create a super hip environment. This cafe sets itself apart by having a “coffee in residence” program. Every month they feature different coffee from roasters around the world. The roasters will even come and train the baristas on how to brew their particular coffee just right. They also feature a specialty drink for the month. Currently they are featuring four different roasters from around the Pacific Northwest:

Sisters Coffee Company, Sisters, OR

Batdorf & Bronson Coffee Roasters, Olympia, WA

Blue Star Coffee Roasters, Twisp, WA

Fulcrum Coffee Roasters, Seattle, WA

The feature drink is an Espresso Tonic made with Fulcrum Coffee’s single-origin Kenyan espresso, Fever-Tree Tonic and a citrus garnish. I tried this…tonic is a drink that, of course has a bitter slightly medicinal tang which seemed to enhance the bitterness of the espresso but the citrus did bring out the fruity vibes of the coffee. Overall, an intriguing take on an iced coffee to be sure, but I think I’ll stick to my basic lattes (also I’m not really a fan of tonic unless it’s paired with gin…).

I also had a latte (cuz, yes to more coffee!) and it did not disappoint. I would definitely put this cafe on my rotation if I lived in town and I highly recommend making a trip to La Marzocco Cafe if you happen to be crossing the border anytime soon!