Washington Roasters - Page 2

Discuss flavors, brew temperatures, blending, and cupping notes.
RockyIII
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#11: Post by RockyIII »

Elliot,

I recommend Caffè Lusso Coffee Roasters in Redmond and Velton's Coffee Roasting Company in Everett.

Rocky

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pGolay
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#12: Post by pGolay »

Another vote for Lusso (more classic espresso, Lion's Share and Gran Miscela, both fab, I found I preferred the latter) and Veltons. I tried the Bonsai Blend, which for my tastes and my machine was a 'brighter' espresso, more 'what's happenin' now' than Lusso's, but was outstanding as AeroPress.
My my new favorite is Victrola's Streamline. If you want to head north, Camber in Bellingham is outstanding.
-PG

RyanP
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#13: Post by RyanP replying to pGolay »

Victrola Streamline really is an awesome reliable blend. I just picked up a bag last week for the first time in a year and it's just as well done as I remember it.

hellojava
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#14: Post by hellojava »

Hey,

I've been going down the aisle at Whole Foods trying to find their best espresso roast so far. I've also explored around Redmond's local coffee shops. Here's my take on a few that are local to my store (Redmond).

Kumo: I tried one of their light Ethiopian roasts. I had issues getting a good shot out of it. Maybe I should try one of their medium roasts.
Middle Fork: this one was amazing for milk drinks. I tried their full city espresso.
Cafe lusso: standard espresso. Can't go wrong here. Goes really well with a little milk!
Cafe ladro: standard espresso. Can't go wrong here.
Herminker: my favorite americano so far.
Victors in Redmond: their roasts are very dark and oily for espresso. I wasn't impressed at all.
Cafe Vita: very well known out here, but I wasn't impressed by their espresso roast.

Also, before purchasing, I try to make sure I'm buying the freshest coffee possible. There's so many amazing options around here that you would never get tired of trying new roasters! Please share if you find one you really love.

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grog
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#15: Post by grog »

I'll second the prior recommendations of Kuma, Olympia, Victrola - those are my go-to local roasters. I've always got at least one coffee from one of them in my daily shot rotation.

Also, Slate. Another Seattle roaster with great stuff regularly in rotation.
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TheWhiteYeti
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#16: Post by TheWhiteYeti »

grog wrote: Also, Slate. Another Seattle roaster with great stuff regularly in rotation.
I second Slate, I've been drinking their Colombia San Antonio pretty regularly as pour over for the last few months. I had it as espresso once there (only because I haven't seen them offer it as espresso again) and it was a blueberry bomb.

Elm coffee is pretty good too, they do a free tasting on Sundays if you sign up on the website.

NOTE: Elm only has washed processed coffees and Slate has both washed and natural - in case you are looking for something specific.

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drgary
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#17: Post by drgary »

roadman wrote:Head out one of the Seattle Coffee Gear stores in Lynnwood or Bellevue.

At any given time they have around 30-40 different coffees for you to sample. The coffee offered is from top notch local and national roasters. Their staff is knowledgeable, helpful, and can guide to find something you might like. Also they're happy to grind and brew up any coffee you'd like to sample.
Jonathan took me there yesterday, at their Bellevue store. It was one of the best tasting experiences I've had. Val was our coffee sommelier. Here's what their display looked like. Each coffee was ready for a pourover brew in its own Baratza grinder. Coffees were further divided into categories like fruit forward, balanced, floral, decaf, etc. This was not a strictly WA area roaster display but included several WA roasters, so you could ask for a selection of them.



Coffees were presented in a flight of three small cups, accompanied by water to cleanse the palate, cards describing that coffee, a pad and pen for making notes.



I walked away with a very unusual coffee by a roaster in Delaware that I would not have known of otherwise, the Kenya on the right, comprised of SL-28 and SL-34 coffees made with a lactic acid process. It wasn't Jonathan's favorite, but it was Val's so far this year - something Val shared after our tasting.




Gary
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What I WOULD do for a good cup of coffee!

r7
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#18: Post by r7 »

Vinaccio Coffee - Quattro e Uno espresso (Monroe WA) Great traditional northern Italian style medium roast
Velton's (Everett)
Café Lusso (Redmond)
Vivace (Seattle)

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SteveRhinehart
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#19: Post by SteveRhinehart »

grog wrote:Also, Slate. Another Seattle roaster with great stuff regularly in rotation.
At least to my knowledge these complaints against Slate remain unresolved. https://sprudge.com/citing-a-toxic-work ... 46039.html

jdv
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#20: Post by jdv »

Have you tried Caffé d'Arte? They use traditional Italian-style roasting methods. Dark, but not as charred as Starbucks, and the resulting brews are not as acidic/sour as the currently-popular "third wave" espressos.

I think most of their product is sold to the restaurant trade. But they have a cafe in Pioneer Square (Seattle), where you can buy whole beans. Some of the Seattle-area QFC grocery stores carry their coffee, under the "Capri" branding. But who knows how long it's been sitting on the shelf.