Barista Jacob hard at work.
Pike Place Market, near our tour starting place.
When I was a child, coffee occupied the same space in my mind as did alcohol. It just had a very adult aura about it. It smelled dark and cozy and everytime I asked my dad about his steaming mugful, he’d snatch it away from me say, “NOT FOR KIDS.”
I didn’t drink it regularly until after college, at which point it was regarded as fuel - something purely utilitarian, just a tool to get me through the day. It didn’t help that most of the habitual coffee drinkers I knew were the same way, putting away 3 cups of bland liquid every morning to stay focused and productive.
I moved to Seattle with little sense of local coffee history / culture other than a vague impression of the rise of Starbucks. But this city has a way of endearing you to its passions, and it was about time I filled in the gaps. This past weekend I took a downtown specialty coffee tour with Lucas, offered through Airbnb experiences.
Easily the best cold brew of my life.
Our friendly tour guide.
First coffee I’ve had that was made in a Hario V60.
Over about a 2-hour period, we walked to a few iconic spots and had surprisingly in-depth conversations about the role of coffee in our lives, the ethics of pricing, and even extraction curves (?) and particle size and how those elements affect the taste of what eventually ends up in a cup. Got a long way to go before I’m tossing glassware around and making fancy “slow bar” drinks in a Chemex like Seattle Coffee Works barista Jacob, but at the very least…maybe it’s time I got my old French press out of storage.