Espresso Vivace may be the top hipster pick for coffee in Seattle

It’s Seattle, folks, where Starbucks got started more than 40 years ago and many a novel and email has been read. It’s the place that really put cafe society on the map in North America. So not surprisingly, there are lots and lots of coffee shops around, many of them micro roasters and just as many devoted to the art of making precise cups of java of any style imaginable.

Espresso Vivace pulls a fine, smooth espresso at two cafes and one sidewalk stand, while Victrola Coffee Roaster also has three shops, serving nice pour-overs, some soaring into the price stratosphere depending on the chosen bean. A nice discovery for me is Caffe Ladro, a roaster/scratch bakery with a dozen area cafes and single cups done three ways: Clover, Aeropress or, my choice, Clever (think French press without the sediment).

Much less heralded but a place I thoroughly enjoy is Moore Coffee Shop, in the downtown Moore Hotel. Parking’s a bitch, but the small cafe is a haven of serenity, where I sink into a nice leather chair to savour a strong, double-shot Americano (believe they use local Caffe D’arte beans).

Enjoying a fabulous Americano at Moore Coffee Shop in downtown Seattle

Owner Lupe has included some nice touches such as slices of, say, apple, in a complementary jug of cold water and a little square of good chocolate placed on the saucer. He’s also added some good, $6 sandwiches, like a caprese with fresh mozza, to the menu. Let’s hope the cognoscenti don’t discover this sanctuary.

Moore covers all the nice touches like this jug of fruit-infused water

Moore Coffee Shop
1930 2 Avenue, Seattle
Weekdays 6:30 am-5 pm, Saturday 8 am-3 pm. Closed Sunday