I’ve been home in Parkersburg all summer, which means that I’ve been coffee deprived for the past like 8 weeks. I’m working an 8-5 job Monday through Friday and that leaves no time for me to drive 25 minutes to the only coffee shop in town, Panera, to grab a cup of coffee and relax. It’s pretty miserable. Don’t get me wrong, I love to spend time with my family and I love that I grew up here, but I can’t help but get the feeling that it’s simply not where I belong anymore. I guess I could be wrong though, we’ll see.
Outside of making a pot of coffee in the morning and my few trips to Panera, I have been completely miserable in the coffee world back home. Luckily, my life will soon send me to coffee heaven where I can bask in all of the coffee goodness I can get my hands on.
So I’ve been doing my research for weeks now and wanted to share some of the places I’ll be trying out in Olympia throughout the next few months. (If you’re already in Washington then give me your feedback on these places and if there’s a great place I missed fill me in on that too.) I’m so excited to pack up my backpack with books, my journal and my computer, head down to these local shops and do nothing but read, write, blog, sip on some fine espresso and relax. I’m seriously dreaming about these days to come.
Cutters Point (http://www.cutterspoint.com/)
So this place seems pretty awesome. It’s actually franchised, but from what I’ve gathered it started in Gig Harbor, Washington. They have various shops throughout Washington, California and even in Georgia. They seem to be pretty serious when it comes to hand crafted coffee, but I’m going to have to go and find out for myself. I think I’m more into non-franchised local coffee shops, but could cutters point change my mind? We’ll see.
Olympia Coffee Roasting Company (http://olympiacoffeeroasting.com/)
After reading up about this place, it’s a must see. These people seem to be seriously dedicated to making the perfect cup of coffee, so much that they “obsess” over it, so they say. The owners of this local shop actually travel overseas and buy the coffee face to face with coffee farmers then they bring it back, roast it and when you buy a cup they say it’s never one week old out of the roaster. The website says that we’ll be shocked at how good the coffee tastes. This is going to put my current coffee lifestyle in Parkersburg to shame. I can’t wait.
Black Bear Diner (http://www.blackbeardiner.com/)
For the sake of the name, obviously, I have to see how it measures up to our infamous Black Bear Burritos in Morgantown. Seems to have a bit of a different feel to it than Black Bear back home, but we’ll see. It’s franchised throughout the west coast with emphasis on family and “old fashion” values. Doesn’t seem to be a place where I can catch a good cup of joe, but it would be cool if it had some sort of Morgantown atmosphere to it.
Sizizis (http://www.myspace.com/sizizis)
So, this will be awesome, and even though it isn’t listed first it will be the first place I go. There site says it’s a place where you can get a huge variety of specialty drinks, even though I’ll probably stick to an Americano or French Press. There seems to be some hype over their spiced mocha so I may have to check it out.
Regardless it seems to have an awesome atmosphere; the wood paneling gives off a somewhat vintage feel to the shop. Some upsides include free wifi, live shows and 24-hour service. If I could compare it to any shop back home I would say it defnitly has a Blue Moose feel to it, which is great, but I bet there coffee is a million times better, no offense Blue Moose goers. Definitely can’t wait to check it out and hopefully catch some fun local shows there too.
Dillanos Coffee Roasters (http://www.dillanos.com/?action=qualitystory4&subm=s_qstory&title=qualitystory)
There are a couple of locations in Olympia, and I’m anxious to see what they’re all about, it seems to me they take it pretty serious. Before serving their coffee they put it through extensive aroma, visual and taste testing. They seem to be a very passionate bunch of people and really love what they do. Their site says they want to have fun and make friends, and I’m into that. I seriously need to make some friends in Olympia, that statement in itself is enough to draw me in for now.
Mud Bay Coffee Company (http://www.mudbaycoffeeco.com/Why_It_Matters.html)
What’s cool about this shop is how focused their business is on helping out small farms. They realize how hard the coffee business is, and they focus their attention on buying their beans from farmers who may be suffering financially and need the cash. I think that’s pretty cool. Their site seems to talk more about the farmers than the coffee, so I don’t know what all they have to offer, or what the atmosphere of their shop is like at all for that matter, but I guess we’ll find out.
So, as you can see by the title of this post, it is only Part One of the short "My Highly Anticipated Coffee Shops in Washington" series . Part Two is yet to come, and will consist of feedback on these places from yours truly. Did I love it? Hate it? Mediocre? Well, we'll see, so stay tuned coffee lovers!
Finally, I’d like to leave you with this statement posted by liveolympia:
“Olympia has some of the most unique coffee houses in the Puget Sound area. If you are looking for a unique blend of coffee you will find it in Olympia. You will find a coffee shop or espresso stand on just about every street corner in Olympia. Many coffee houses in Olympia offer free wireless internet. Olympia has many coffee shops that will satisfy any appetite.”
No comments:
Post a Comment