The much cheaper, under appreciated coffee extravagance, the americano. My regular is a double split (1 shot cafe/1 shot decaf), shot of hazelnut, room for cream. If there ever was a place that had the possibility of nurturing the coffee snob in me, it is Seattle. Here I have learned the difference between swill, diner coffee, Starbucks coffee, and the ubiquitous Seattle independently owned coffee. If Starbucks is Seattle, despite it being on every half block, and then Seattle is some strange simulacrum I only see when out of towners come to see me.
I suppose I should apologize for being a coffee snob. But to me it is more than good coffee. It's good business. Being a cafe dweller and a local business advocate, the two just fit together nicely. Locally owned, fair-trade purchases, quality product that I am more than willing to spend an extra dollar on. But I'm not about dissing the Starbucks. I just prefer my smaller businesses. Admittedly, I have hung out at this cleverly disguised Starbucks on Roy and Harvard once or twice.
The featured americano came from Volunteer Park Cafe. You can usually find me writing or reading at one of these three Capitol Hill Cafes: Bauhaus, Vivace, or Joe's Bar. I prefer Joe's Bar americano, the espresso crema is dark and heady; mysterious. For a soy mocha I love Bauhaus' and usually order the largest, which comes in a 16 oz pint glass. Tall, smooth, warm, creamy, bold, and utterly chocolaty in all the right places. Pretty much utopia in a glass.
I suppose I should apologize for being a coffee snob. But to me it is more than good coffee. It's good business. Being a cafe dweller and a local business advocate, the two just fit together nicely. Locally owned, fair-trade purchases, quality product that I am more than willing to spend an extra dollar on. But I'm not about dissing the Starbucks. I just prefer my smaller businesses. Admittedly, I have hung out at this cleverly disguised Starbucks on Roy and Harvard once or twice.
The featured americano came from Volunteer Park Cafe. You can usually find me writing or reading at one of these three Capitol Hill Cafes: Bauhaus, Vivace, or Joe's Bar. I prefer Joe's Bar americano, the espresso crema is dark and heady; mysterious. For a soy mocha I love Bauhaus' and usually order the largest, which comes in a 16 oz pint glass. Tall, smooth, warm, creamy, bold, and utterly chocolaty in all the right places. Pretty much utopia in a glass.
