I am trying to help a regular customer at my shop find good coffee abroad, can anybody give me a list of places to be in Seattle and/or Fullerton California?
Permalink Reply by Kevin on November 16, 2009 at 11:02pm
For Seattle (and Portland) I would recommend Stumptown, they have cafes in both cities which do regular cuppings. On a recent trip to Seattle I had a great time with Herkimer and Zoka. Herkimer does cuppings upon request at their cafe in the Ballard neighborhood, it's also where they roast. Zoka does daily cuppings at their offices, just give them a call. Cafe Vita and Victrola are supposed to be good, or not depending on who you talk to, either way I'd recommend their shops on Pike (Pine?) for being cool cafes. Vivace is great as well.
A little outside of Seattle is Olympia Coffee Roasters which I have really enjoyed over the last couple months. They do a fantastic job.
This is off the subject, but has anyone else thought about the quality of customer service we are seeing here? I mean, getting online and finding out-of-town shops of high quality for a traveling customer! That just ROCKS! Props to you, man! Keep up that kind of customer service and you will go far!
As far as I know, there is only one quality specialty coffee retailer in Orange County, and that would be Kean Coffee, owned by Karen and Martin Diedrich. See their website for details: www.keancoffee.com BTW, Fullerton is just a little suburb city in North Orange County. They do have a Cal State University, but evidently, that's not enough to prompt competent coffee. The Tustin Kean store is about 15-20 minutes down the road, by freeway, from Fullerton. It's rather funny to see "Fullerton" paired with "Seattle" when thinking of coffee.
Erik....you are an awesome barista for helping your customer find quality shops for his/her travels. That is taking customer service to a new level. Keep up the great work.
The United States Barista Championship (USBC) is an event designed to encourage and recognize professional achievement in the art of espresso beverage preparation and service. The 2009 USBC will take place in Portland, OR, March 5-8.
Shiloh Nelson Thoughts and prayers go to the fallen officer's families who were shot in our Forza franchise store. Pray for the officers safety on duty!