Coffee Hero » History

The Newest and Oldest Coffee Shops in Seattle

MAS — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 15:00:15 +0000

The Coffee Drop Cafe opened on June 8, 2010.

According to their website, Cafe Allegro opened in May 1975.

Sources:

Coffee Drop Cafe -Facebook page. 5001 25th Ave NE, Seattle, WA, 98105

Cafe Allegro – 4214 University Way Northeast, Seattle, WA 98105-5807

Vashon Island Coffee Museum Photos

MAS — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:34:15 +0000

Last weekend I stopped into the Vashon Island Coffee Roasterie for a coffee and found a bunch of cool coffee artifacts. Vashon Island is a ferry ride southwest of Seattle. It was a good thing I had my camera on me. Below are some of the photos I took. At the end of this post is a link to the full gallery.

Photo German Coffee Sorter by INeedCoffee / CoffeeHero

Photo Coffee Scale by INeedCoffee / CoffeeHero

Photo 1909 Sample Coffee Roaster by INeedCoffee / CoffeeHero

Photo Danish Grinding Table by INeedCoffee / CoffeeHero

The Vashon Island Coffee Roasterie website mentions its early history connection with Seattle’s Best Coffee.

The Vashon Island Coffee Roasterie and Minglement, est. 1979 (an organic health food store) now call the Roasterie home. It is also home to Specialty Coffee and Fair Trade pioneer, Jim Stewart’s original coffee company, The Wet Whisker, which eventually became Seattle’s Best Coffee.

How was the espresso and coffee? The espresso was undrinkable and the Fireside Blend tasted burnt and bitter – like it came out of a fire. However, the Guatemalan coffee was extremely good. So my advice is to stick with the lightest drip they have.

Sources:

Vashon Island Coffee Roasterie – The Vashon Island, Washington coffee roaster.

Vashon Island Coffee Museum – Full Photo Gallery.

Seattle’s Best Coffee – Wikipedia page.

Is Starbucks Fooling Seattle Tourists?

MAS — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 15:14:57 +0000

Besides seeing the Space Needle, one of the stops most tourists make when visiting Seattle is visiting Pike Place Market. Every coffee drinker knows this where the first Starbucks opened back in 1971. I visit the Pike Place Market frequently and I began noticing an issue in recent months.

In July of 2008, Starbucks announced they would close 600 stores. Despite the economic downturn, they decided to open a new store at the entrance to Pike Place Market. I wondered why Starbucks would open a location so close to the original, especially considering the prior tenant was Seattle’s Best Coffee and they failed. Now I think I understand why, but first let’s look at some photos of the original Starbucks.

This is the original Starbucks. It is located at 1912 Pike Place. NOTE: According to Seattle historian Daniel Jack Chasan, the current “original location” was moved a block south in 1977, which would make the 1912 Pike Place location the 6th Starbucks.

Notice the original Starbucks still uses the original logo in their sign.

Take a look at the sign on the new Starbucks location. Looks a little retro to me. It looked old school or retro to the Seattle Times as well. From the post Starbucks opens rustic-looking coffeehouse near Pike Place Market, doesn’t post prices for most drinks:

Dark wood. Cracked concrete floor. Coffee bean bags as wall coverings. It is cool, like a real community gathering place — caffeinating hole? — and not some yuppie’s living room.

This is the NEW Starbucks at the corner of 1st Ave and Pike St.

What do I see when I pass the NEW Starbucks location? The same behavior I see in front of the original Starbucks. Tourists are having their photos taken in front of the NEW Starbucks at Pike Market with the retro sign. They think it is the original location! They travel to Seattle, make their way to Pike Place Market and see a Starbucks with a funny sign and assume it is the original. Only later in the day will they realize the original is not on Pike Street, it is on Pike Place. Starbucks gets to ring the register twice. Pretty sneaky.

During my first visit to Seattle in May 2007, I made the pilgrimage. I went to the original Starbucks and ordered an espresso. Unlike the vast majority of stores, this location does not use a super-automatic machine. It grinds every drink to order, just like the old days. I had secretly hoped the espresso I would order would take me back to 1995, when I had my first Starbucks espresso. Unfortunately, the quality of espresso in the original Starbucks location today is no better than a typical airport kiosk. My best Starbucks espresso memories are now more a decade old.

Here is a little tip from a local. When you visit Seattle, poke your head in the original location, take a photo and then seek out better coffee. The Starbucks in Seattle are no better or more special than the ones in your home town. Don’t waste your daily caffeine allotment drinking what you can have back home.

Sources:

The real first Starbucks – Article by Seattle historian Daniel Jack Chasan detailing the very early days of Starbucks at Pike Place Market.

Coffee City – Seattle Time blog post which accurately refers to the new location as “rustic”.

Space Needle – Official site.

The First Fuel Station

MAS — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 06:35:40 +0000

I was walking through Seattle on Saturday when I looked down to my right. In the overgrown weeds I saw a plaque. The plaque stated that this was the site of the very first service station in the world. According to the Wikipedia page on Filling Stations, it was actually the second.

The world’s first purpose built gas station was constructed in St. Louis, Missouri in 1905 at 412 S. Theresa Avenue.[1] The second gas station was constructed in 1907 by Standard Oil of California (now Chevron) in Seattle, Washington.

What does this have to do with coffee?

The service station allowed us to drive across the country fueling up our car along the way. Whereas gasoline and diesel are the fuel for the automobile, coffee and espresso are the fuel for the driver. After I took the photo of the above plaque, I turned around and spotted the world headquarters for Starbucks Coffee.

Fuel for the car. Fuel for the driver.