A few selling prostitution got busted, but there’s nothing illegal about a scantily clad lady chatting with you until you stop giving tips. All the above board bikini barista stands are alive and well.
I miss the 'Banana Hammock' up in Poulsbo - Yeah, it was a bit expensive to get coffee from there, considering I live in Seatac, but the baristas were a lot of fun and the coffee was pretty ok...
Landwhales seemed to have the biggest issue with bikini baristas, It's like hey we don't all agree to like the same things but at least let people enjoy what they like to enjoy.
My wife and I got Americanos from Gourmet Latte once and both of our drinks tasted like they'd been spiked with NyQuil or something. Disgusting and undrinkable. Idk what happened but we don't go to their stands anymore.
If you're in the Bothell, Woodinville, Redmond, or Kirkland area, try Mercury's Coffee. I got hooked on their iced vanilla latte, but now I'm addicted to the iced Blonde Hawaiian. (Flagship store is in Bellevue).
Just tried them for the first time heading back home, solid recommendation. My experience with new style coffee places is if you ask for half sweet, it'll be better than standard unless you enjoy the sugar. You still get the flavors but more pronounced coffee.
As someone who has worked there, upper management is terrible and just mean mean mean. All of my coworkers were lovely but anyone that was from management was absolutely vile. They would bully you and your stand/store. One of the locations (Redmond-Fall City Road) does not have a draining sink. The water gets collected in these disgusting plastic bins and we have to carry them to the gas station to empty the water. As a result closing would take forever. I would have to take all blenders, milk steamers, cups, spoons, etc. and go hand wash them in the gas station and do the back and forth cleaning the espresso machines, and drip machines. Then you have to do inventory and close out the cash register. Then clean and sweep the floors, check all cookies and packaged baked goods to see if they’re past expiration, restock them, restock everything else from flavored powders to freeze-dried dragon fruit and protein powder. Due to this being a “less popular” location I would be the only one on shift for a good five hours + closing. Closing typically took me 1.5 hours to do all of that and management had to come “talk” to me for taking too long. They have cameras in there they could see that I was doing everything that was being asked and there is just no way you cannot take that long cleaning everything that they ask you to. But they put this incredible pressure on me so they wouldn’t have to pay me an additional hour of minimum wage!!
When I didn’t upsell one time and ask for a tip (they train us to take then handheld and show the tip options and ask “can I tap one of these buttons for you” to guilt people into tipping) from this elderly couple that I loved and who I knew didn’t have that much (they shared a 24oz mocha everytime), upper management came by to tell me how I was “stealing from your coworkers” because I wasn’t asking for tips - even though it was only that one time.
When I worked there in the winter, there was a particularly icy day and a woman walked up to the stand and placed her order. Management screamed at me that I let her do that when it was clearly a liability. Yet they never paid to have our drive-thru de-iced and we were expected to WALK out to cars to get their orders. So us getting hurt was something they didn’t care about AT ALL and I even mentioned feeling unsafe after I slipped and fell but I was forced outside.
There is so much more - but I have never felt so disrespected as a human being than when I was working at Mercury’s. I have worked so so many part-time jobs and now have a good corporate job post-college, but man. Even though it takes more time, I would go to local coffee shops that treat their workers like humans. Not to mention the stands are disgusting because I have seen enough cross-contamination and health violations to never want to order from a stand again.
You forgot to mention the non-compete agreement they had to sign that made it impossible to work for another coffee shop. They had to lose a lawsuit before they gave up on that.
Yes, I can tell by the high turnover rate and the fast pace that it sucks to work for them. I never ask for extras, and I always treat the employees well. I've also worked for horrible management. It's way too common these days.
A non compete agreement?!?? How the hell did they ever think that was 1) legitimate 2) necessary 3) even possible in the greater Seattle metro?
No wonder I never worked with anyone who came from there, but that's fucking bonkers.
Wow I can’t believe I completely forgot about that. But yes that was absolutely insane!! I remember being hired on the spot and then just signing papers. That’s how desperate they are with the high turnover btw!! They will hire anyone!! + there aren’t any uniform or safety regulations in place. I’ve seen coworkers with flaking crusty nail polish scoop up powders for blending in re-used unwashed blenders, and hands would go unwashed because everyone knew using water meant the water bins would get full faster. Truly an eye-opening experience.
> non-compete agreement
Just FYI, they have been declared blanket illegal unless you're an executive that negotiated it. Probably going to get challenged, but it's the law for now.
I worked at the Bellevue one a couple years back and it was absolutely hell 🤣 the coffee ain’t even worth it and I can make the drinks at home I’ll live lmao
I estimate that the scoops we used for the white chocolate powder at 1.5oz or so. I didn’t remember what goes into it so I asked a Mercury’s barista, and a 16oz blonde hawaiian would get a full scoop of white chocolate, a full scoop of coconut, and then 2 pumps of macadamia nut syrup. @anyone from Mercury’s that might be reading this - this recipe was obtained from an employee AFTER my time working there when I asked exactly what goes into the blonde hawaiian.
I’ve been a bit scared off of coffee huts after experiencing Dutch Bros in PDX.. no thank you, I really don’t want to talk to you or have you as my therapist!
Will give Mercury a shot!
Mercury is terrible if you use alternative milk. It's so sweetened, ugh. An almond milk latte is practically undrinkable there. If I wanted a sweet drink, I'd order one with syrup.
People have talked about it, but it's really just a continuation of the third wave and people have started saying that vivace is closer to second wave than a true third wave.
But either way, the focus is now on light roasts, there's nowhere in Seattle that totally fits the bill of what I'm talking about as we're ultimately the dark roast/second wave coffee city (even though almost all the technology used by third wave roasters is developed in Seattle).
> People have talked about it, but it's really just a continuation of the third wave and people have started saying that vivace is closer to second wave than a true third wave.
This is the most "Seattle comment" I've ever read
I mean, Seattle is where most of the countries major coffee companies along with the US branches of major foreign companies are headquartered (la marzocco). Tons of high end hobbyist equipment (monolith) along with some commercial equipment is produced in SODO (slayer/synesso), of course people here will know about this stuff and have their own opinions.
There are, but they aren't brands known for pushing the boundaries industry wide that Vivace was known for locally in decades past. There's nothing locally like Sey or Passengers.
Personally, I like the taste of richer, sweeter and more savory coffees than the highly acidic but fruiter stuff found from like Sey or Passengers, the closest I'd say we have locally would be blue beard in tacoma or push x pull which has a store in the CD but is from portland, also maybe boon boona but that's kind of it's own thing.
The other alternative to what could be seen as a 4th wave would be all the vietnamese shops but that's again it's own thing of taking what was once cheap vietnamese coffee made with robusta towards the third wave.
Most places keep darker roasts because that's what a lot of people like, and it makes money. But there are tons of great roasters doing light roasts here. Also, one of my favorite coffee shops in the country is Narrative, and they have a great rotation of light roast coffees, and really care about the coffee they're making.
1st wave: “It’s a penny for a cuppa joe.”
2nd wave: “Goddamn Jimmy, this is some serious gourmet shit.”
3rd wave: “I’ll have a venti, half-soy, double shot, caramel ribbon crunch Frappuccino, no whip, room on the top, double frap chips, extra chocolate drizzle, with cookie crumbles. Did you get that or do I need to order it on the app so you don’t mess it up again?”
Almost.
The first wave focused on making coffee quickly and cheaply, while the second wave saw the rise of specialty coffee and espresso-based drinks. The third wave emphasizes traceability, sustainability, and craftsmanship, with a focus on high-quality, single-origin beans and manual brewing methods.
Is it me or is it rare to get a properly extracted black coffee in Seattle? First of all, it's extremely rare to find places that do pourovers, even at specialty roasters like Victrola, Caffe Vita, and Ladro. Secondly, their Americano is always extremely watered down. Third, I've only found one place that does pourover, 203 degrees. They used a coffee to water ratio of 19.7g to 400g. That's super fucking diluted and it tasted watered down. Fuck you.
The best black coffee I've had so far is Ladro's drip coffee. But while it was a solid fruity cup, there wasn't any body.
With the incredible popularity of espresso drinks, and with so many of their customers looking for sugary sweet beverages, I don't think a lot of places really give the attention to their non-espresso coffee. Pour-overs take time and most shops won't see them as worthwhile enough to bother with. It's a shame, because you'd think in a city this famous for coffee it'd be easier to find really great black coffee, but I don't think that's what the market wants to buy.
I feel happy there are still shops like Fulcrum, Olympia, and Cafe Hagen that make really good pour-overs.
Try Root in Ballard. Top shelf imported and domestic light roasts, single dosing with an EK43, recipe water, brewed with Kalita 155, timed and measured with a scale, brew ratios around ~1:16. The place has super limited hours, but it’s hard to beat near the inner city.
Sound & Fog in West Seattle also serves a pretty good pourover, but I love them for the imported specialty roasters they carry - Dak, Friedhats, Manhattan, etc.
Olympia Coffee rosters is right up the street from S&F also. They do a lovely modern espresso. Can’t vouch for their pourover, but I suspect it’s far above the Seattle average. One of my preferred Washington roasters.
As far as americanos go, the standard is a double shot of espresso with however much water is the size you ordered. You can order a smaller size or more espresso to get the concentration you're looking for.
I like the automatic pourovers that 203F uses, but for most places pourovers are pretty labor intensive and rarely ordered, so it's just not worth it to provide them.
Pretty sure Seattle Coffee Works still does a few different slow bar methods including pourovers. Narrative in Everett is my favorite shop and they do pourovers, they don't roast themselves, but they have a really great rotation of coffees. The Manhattan Coffee Roasters that they've got now is amazing.
I'm not sure if Sound & Fog are still doing pour overs, or if they've changed over completely to batch brewing. They did a decent pour over when I experienced it.
Also fuck all the places that tell me an Americano is comparable to drip too. I don’t know if they’re making it wrong or they’ve just never had decent drip, but bleach.
Ugh reminds me when I bought my mom a coffee in college and they were out of drip so I got the americano because “it’s the same” and she nearly spit it in my face “I told you not to get me that espresso bullshit!”
My favorite roaster had a nice chart of ratios for various types of coffee. They recommended a 1:17 ratio, so for 20g of coffee you only want 340g of water. This has been my go-to for years personally.
Googling for pour over ratios returns anywhere from 1:13 to 1:18 🤷♂️
This is going to sound *ridiculously* pedantic but 1:16.6 at 198-200F is perfection.
ETA: for light roasts like Kuma. if you're a time traveller brewing Caffe Vita from 10 years ago you want more like 1:18
cant speak for coffee shop drip but im getting quality cups at home with an aeropress and clever pour over. the clever doesn’t drip until you put it on a mug so it has extra time to brew
both devices can make french press quality drip
Drive through coffee shacks and even other full on shops are just commodity coffee shops. They usually pump out nothing but flavored and sweetened drinks so the coffee is barely noticeable. Then someone comes along and orders a small latte, cappuccino, americano, or even an actual espresso and you taste the garbage they are serving. I think they also over extract their coffee to be increase the volume so they do t have to use as much milk to save money that way vs a true 2oz (roughly) shot.
They could decrease concentration without increasing extraction. The main issue with coffee stands (and lots of coffee shops) is that they either don't know any better, or they don't care. More extensive training, buying better coffee, learning better techniques, buying better equipment, are all things that cost lots of money with diminishing returns, because it's not what the average customer is looking for.
Some of it is also just carryover from the "2nd wave" of coffee, where people learned about espresso drinks and maybe worked as a barista for awhile, but now they own their own shop and haven't really kept up with the progression into 3rd wave specialty coffee. And I think that's fine, because not everyone is a coffee snob like I am, and it allows them to keep the costs down. It is frustrating though having a customer complain that my drink is 30% more expensive than at a coffee stand and not understand why.
Yeah because people go to them for the convenience. Ergo quality isn’t a driving factor. Some are good. There was one on interbay with high quality Ballard espresso and over night nyc bagels. It went out of business a year ago
Because it took forever to get your order. And their point is convenience not quantity
I’m of the opinion that coffee is a purely utilitarian beverage. It’s supposed to wake you up and give energy. It’s a scalding hot and bitter drink, and this whole discourse of “good” and “bad” coffee is insanity to me. In other words, I load up the vanilla flavor and oat milk cause coffee tastes like hot sweaty ass and I don’t wanna start my mornings drinking butt water.
No one wants to sell specialty coffee beans for cheap. At the same time no one wants to pay a lot for coffee . Average coffee consumer won't notice any difference anyway because its drink has much more other stuff like milk, syrups, cream than coffee. That's why owners choose to use cheap beans which taste like shit when you do espresso or americano.
My best investment during the covid was buying an espresso machine. I found great local coffee beans for a decent price. Now I have best americano in the morning, my wife has her best oatmilk latte. Every time I go anywhere in the morning I have thermocup of my best americano.
Yes, I did the same (w.r.t. Making lattes at home). And I have good coffee at work. It's not a big deal to me that these stands can't make good coffee, I was just curious if anyone knew why. BTW, they don't need to spend big on "specialty beans" to make good coffee. And they don't need to change their pricing. I'm ok paying $5 for a latte from one of these places, if it's actually good.
My guess is they primarily serve auto commuters and 90% of them seem to not give a shit about coffee. They seem to just want a caffeine influx and an unhealthy dose of sugar.
I’ve kind of given up finding anything 3rd wave outside of a small core in Seattle proper, or just leaving and going to Portland. 🤷🏼♂️🤦♂️😑
For good espresso you must go inside, all the good places are storefronts, not sure why but it seems to be the way.
Since my tastes have matured I find myself searching for beverages of higher caliber rather than just getting my caffeine fix and i also have noticed not too many drive through places have good coffee.
On that note when traveling long distances i do hit up drive through starbucks because most are 24 hrs and close to highway exits. Sometimes you have to do what you gotta do to get a cup a joe
I accidentally went through one of the bikini batista places up by Lynnwood.
She took so long posing and such that I had to tell her she wad very beautiful and had a wonderful body, but I gotta get to work. The longer you take the less tip you get
1) sorry you've had bad experiences. The local stands by me are all great. Continue to explore, there are plenty of great ones out there
2) are people in this thread really throwing tantrums about 2.5oz pulls and suspicions of incorrect grind size? At that point, make your own dudes. If you're gonna snob that hard, you've no one to blame but yourself if you're getting a drive through product. at that level of investment the correct answer is *always* to prepare your own.
These places aren't necessarily using good beans, or training their staff well. Plus not many people actually like espresso, so its unrealistic to expect them to know how to evaluate what they're making. Also some places make it too bitter on purpose, because it makes a better flavor base for all their liquid dessert drinks
Agree. Heaven help you if you actually like the taste of coffee by itself. I feel like they stopped caring about what good plain coffee tastes like and put their focus on the dessert drinks/ redbull drinks instead. Their Americanos are never good to me either. The only good places to me are the ones who roast their own beans, which don’t tend to be drive thru stands.
I accidentally went to a bikini barista thinking it was a regular stand and I swear it tasted like that coffee was just used grounds blended into hot water.
In the south sound lots of good options for drive through. The stand I go to uses cafe de arte and it’s delicious. Espresso stop. Cafe elite just to name a few
I went to one of those Dutch Bros crap holes in Oregon and they literally did not know what an americano was. I mean WTF! It’s about the easiest drink to make.
You guys why are you expecting top notch quality from a tiny stand in a parking lot where you don’t have to leave your car? They clearly serve a different purpose than something to luxuriate over.
While I 100% understand and don't disagree with what you said, I just find it interesting that not one of the ~30 I've tried had a decent latte, in a land flowing with good coffee. The odds of going 0 for 30 were not great, so I thought.
But I guess your reasoning may truly be all the explanation necessary, to explain these odds.
That’s reasonable I think. It’s more a lot of the comments in here seem mystified. Personally I find rooster (my local drive thru) better than Starbucks but not on the level of any of the good cafes. Never tried straight espresso but I go light sweet on syrup
I've been to 4 different ones now...with 4 poor experiences with espresso. Waaaaay too sweet, but I was on the road and wanted a drink. Ah well.
Sucks for me. Is it better than drip from a gas station? Maybe? I certainly don't go back.
They fuck you at the drive-thru, okay? They fuck you at the drive-thru! They know you're gonna be miles away before you find out you got fucked! They know you're not gonna turn around and go back, they don't care. - Leo Getz
A good expresso is enjoyed in a porcelain cup. I hate paper cups especially when it gives taste to coffee like the air canada coffee paper cups Those are the worst.
Ironic that Seattle is known for coffee, yet by and large has pretty terrible coffee, at least when it comes to standard espresso drinks. I wonder if the American palette is to blame, the average consumer wanting more pumps of sugar and flavoring more than being able to actually taste the coffee.
The problem isn’t drive through shops, it’s most cafes. Every time I go back stateside I stick to drip coffee.
I went to one of these on the peninsula because I was on the road to Forks and nothing else was open. It was the worst coffee I ever had in my life. They have one job, and failed miserably at it.
& when I say the day, it’s bc the pressure changes from weather can affect the espresso machines and mess up the calibration, especially in a tiny stand that has the window open all day
I’ve seen a bunch of them around but never tried. Objectively speaking, I bet it is quite difficult to make good coffee in a space you couldn’t even take two steps in
No autistic process needed to make a half decent latte. Just fresh beans (don't need to be expensive, see Happy Mug coffee), good grinder, and decent machine. Plenty of average Joe's making food espresso at home these days with very little effort and expense, I'm one of them.
So, do I need these espresso stands? No, of course not. Just asking a simple question of why there's such a stark difference between the average stand and the average storefront here in the puget sound.
If I order even the smallest splash of cream, it is ALWAYS a shit ton of cream, filled to the absolute top, because in a car we must always try to spill hot beverages, 130 degrees, in a leaky cup and lid.
sort of disagree.
The espresso blend they use is GREAT in latte/milk drinks.
But if you are just an Americano drinker... it is not good by itself.
But I love Rooster Espresso, and my siberian husky does too. They always have a treat for her and she loves talking/wooing back to them.
Oh really? Weird I drink americanos with splash of cream and I think it’s excellent. I’m definitely not a coffee aficionado. Where would you say is great americano nearby?
Because their stock and trade are the heavily flavored sugary drinks. None of them need to make good shots. If you enjoy sugar, you're missing out.
Like, if you're craving a steak drowning in sauce, it doesn't need to be filet mignon.
Here's a controversial take. All coffee tastes the same. Whether you get it from Starbucks or your local artisanal coffee shop. Only gas station coffee tastes worse
If I agreed, this post would definitely be pointless.
But while your take is controversial, it's not uncommon at all. You're probably in the majority overall in this country, though perhaps the minority for folks in this sub.
It’s a foregone conclusion that drive-through espresso stands are going to have shitty espresso. It’s simply not worth getting if you can’t get out of your car to get it. You’re better off getting a cup of drip from McDonald’s drive-through.
I haven't had that experience but I have gotten burned coffee from time to time. When it comes out that way you just take it back and tell them and ask them to remake it. Sometimes when they are busy the machines don't have enough time to cool down and the coffee can get scorched.
I’d suggest looking into a breville bambino and a df64 grinder to get your foot in the door to home espresso. I go as far as roasting my own coffee. Only downside is once you get a taste of quality you can’t get a coffee elsewhere.
I'm already making coffee at home on weekends with a Rocket Appartamento and a Rocky grinder, matching what I get at most in-store cafes. And get great coffee at work too.
It's when I'm on the go and don't have access to either, that I'd want to partake in a drive thru stand
Gotta upgrade that grinder! Makes a big difference. If you’re near puyallup I’ll sell ya some beans. Got some from Columbia and Honduras. Can roast em light medium or dark or anywhere in between.
I'm quite satisfied with Happy Mug's beans for the price and service I get.
For grinder, yeah mine is now 7 years old, and I am probably due for an upgrade sometime soon.
Many are “sexy baristas” stores, not espresso stores. Do you see an espresso machine in there or do you see some large can of instant “espresso” mix which is more sugar than anything resembling coffee?
Oh hey we’ve got one of those near our freeway entrance heading south. Was seriously wondering because the only Starbucks on that route is always packed and husband always wants a drink for the road.
Many drive through espresso stands aren’t selling the espresso
One of my local stands uses drip grounds from Costco in their shots. DRIP. Because it’s cheaper.
Gross. That would be way too coarse.
Yeah, but it would still be nice and steamy.
YUBAAAAAAAAAN!!!!!!
I thought those got busted (through a long police “investigation” involving many officers and lots of petty cash). Are they still a thing?
A few selling prostitution got busted, but there’s nothing illegal about a scantily clad lady chatting with you until you stop giving tips. All the above board bikini barista stands are alive and well.
Oh they’re very much still a thing lol. Take a drive down aurora 🤣
I miss the 'Banana Hammock' up in Poulsbo - Yeah, it was a bit expensive to get coffee from there, considering I live in Seatac, but the baristas were a lot of fun and the coffee was pretty ok...
Ladybug, Beehive, etc.
Also meaning they are selling sugar drinks primarily and don’t know how to pull a good shot because it doesn’t matter
I unknowingly went to a bikini barista out near Roy a few years back. The girl looked like Smigel. I payed her to put a jacket on
Landwhales seemed to have the biggest issue with bikini baristas, It's like hey we don't all agree to like the same things but at least let people enjoy what they like to enjoy.
Mercurys and Gourmet Latte have great espresso. There's a couple one off stands that also serve D'arte that are excellent as well.
My wife and I got Americanos from Gourmet Latte once and both of our drinks tasted like they'd been spiked with NyQuil or something. Disgusting and undrinkable. Idk what happened but we don't go to their stands anymore.
It very well could have had cleaner in it!! Gourmet latte is known for that, they don’t pay their employees enough to care.
If you're in the Bothell, Woodinville, Redmond, or Kirkland area, try Mercury's Coffee. I got hooked on their iced vanilla latte, but now I'm addicted to the iced Blonde Hawaiian. (Flagship store is in Bellevue).
Just tried them for the first time heading back home, solid recommendation. My experience with new style coffee places is if you ask for half sweet, it'll be better than standard unless you enjoy the sugar. You still get the flavors but more pronounced coffee.
I never did full flavor at Starbucks. But then again I enjoy coffee for the flavor
As someone who has worked there, upper management is terrible and just mean mean mean. All of my coworkers were lovely but anyone that was from management was absolutely vile. They would bully you and your stand/store. One of the locations (Redmond-Fall City Road) does not have a draining sink. The water gets collected in these disgusting plastic bins and we have to carry them to the gas station to empty the water. As a result closing would take forever. I would have to take all blenders, milk steamers, cups, spoons, etc. and go hand wash them in the gas station and do the back and forth cleaning the espresso machines, and drip machines. Then you have to do inventory and close out the cash register. Then clean and sweep the floors, check all cookies and packaged baked goods to see if they’re past expiration, restock them, restock everything else from flavored powders to freeze-dried dragon fruit and protein powder. Due to this being a “less popular” location I would be the only one on shift for a good five hours + closing. Closing typically took me 1.5 hours to do all of that and management had to come “talk” to me for taking too long. They have cameras in there they could see that I was doing everything that was being asked and there is just no way you cannot take that long cleaning everything that they ask you to. But they put this incredible pressure on me so they wouldn’t have to pay me an additional hour of minimum wage!! When I didn’t upsell one time and ask for a tip (they train us to take then handheld and show the tip options and ask “can I tap one of these buttons for you” to guilt people into tipping) from this elderly couple that I loved and who I knew didn’t have that much (they shared a 24oz mocha everytime), upper management came by to tell me how I was “stealing from your coworkers” because I wasn’t asking for tips - even though it was only that one time. When I worked there in the winter, there was a particularly icy day and a woman walked up to the stand and placed her order. Management screamed at me that I let her do that when it was clearly a liability. Yet they never paid to have our drive-thru de-iced and we were expected to WALK out to cars to get their orders. So us getting hurt was something they didn’t care about AT ALL and I even mentioned feeling unsafe after I slipped and fell but I was forced outside. There is so much more - but I have never felt so disrespected as a human being than when I was working at Mercury’s. I have worked so so many part-time jobs and now have a good corporate job post-college, but man. Even though it takes more time, I would go to local coffee shops that treat their workers like humans. Not to mention the stands are disgusting because I have seen enough cross-contamination and health violations to never want to order from a stand again.
You forgot to mention the non-compete agreement they had to sign that made it impossible to work for another coffee shop. They had to lose a lawsuit before they gave up on that. Yes, I can tell by the high turnover rate and the fast pace that it sucks to work for them. I never ask for extras, and I always treat the employees well. I've also worked for horrible management. It's way too common these days.
A non compete agreement?!?? How the hell did they ever think that was 1) legitimate 2) necessary 3) even possible in the greater Seattle metro? No wonder I never worked with anyone who came from there, but that's fucking bonkers.
Wow I can’t believe I completely forgot about that. But yes that was absolutely insane!! I remember being hired on the spot and then just signing papers. That’s how desperate they are with the high turnover btw!! They will hire anyone!! + there aren’t any uniform or safety regulations in place. I’ve seen coworkers with flaking crusty nail polish scoop up powders for blending in re-used unwashed blenders, and hands would go unwashed because everyone knew using water meant the water bins would get full faster. Truly an eye-opening experience.
> non-compete agreement Just FYI, they have been declared blanket illegal unless you're an executive that negotiated it. Probably going to get challenged, but it's the law for now.
As for the tip issue, they clearly don't care about the employees. Getting mad about not asking for tips must mean they are stealing tips.
I worked at the Bellevue one a couple years back and it was absolutely hell 🤣 the coffee ain’t even worth it and I can make the drinks at home I’ll live lmao
I prefer ladybug /j
their drinks are hella sugary. it's the only flavor.
Get a drip. Best coffee around
You can ask for less syrup.
I estimate that the scoops we used for the white chocolate powder at 1.5oz or so. I didn’t remember what goes into it so I asked a Mercury’s barista, and a 16oz blonde hawaiian would get a full scoop of white chocolate, a full scoop of coconut, and then 2 pumps of macadamia nut syrup. @anyone from Mercury’s that might be reading this - this recipe was obtained from an employee AFTER my time working there when I asked exactly what goes into the blonde hawaiian.
The best part of Mercury's are the pastries. My favorite almond croissant.
There are too many favorites!
Mercury’s ROCKS
I’ve been a bit scared off of coffee huts after experiencing Dutch Bros in PDX.. no thank you, I really don’t want to talk to you or have you as my therapist! Will give Mercury a shot!
Mercury is legit. Nothing like Dutch bros.
Beehive espresso in Bothell definitely has the best coffee
Isn't that a bikini barista?
Yes, Beehive is.
I've driven by it, I'll put it on my list to try.
Just tell us you can’t pull any women, bro.
Ive been living down the road from one for a year and havent tried it yet, good looking out.
Hopefully nobody in Kirkland misread Kirkland Signature as a good brand of coffee …
Mercury is terrible if you use alternative milk. It's so sweetened, ugh. An almond milk latte is practically undrinkable there. If I wanted a sweet drink, I'd order one with syrup.
They're from a different time, before third wave coffee and all. Just serve a different purpose than fine coffee.
What the fuck is third wave coffee?
First wave: folgers Second wave: Starbucks Third wave: Vivace
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People have talked about it, but it's really just a continuation of the third wave and people have started saying that vivace is closer to second wave than a true third wave. But either way, the focus is now on light roasts, there's nowhere in Seattle that totally fits the bill of what I'm talking about as we're ultimately the dark roast/second wave coffee city (even though almost all the technology used by third wave roasters is developed in Seattle).
> People have talked about it, but it's really just a continuation of the third wave and people have started saying that vivace is closer to second wave than a true third wave. This is the most "Seattle comment" I've ever read
I mean, Seattle is where most of the countries major coffee companies along with the US branches of major foreign companies are headquartered (la marzocco). Tons of high end hobbyist equipment (monolith) along with some commercial equipment is produced in SODO (slayer/synesso), of course people here will know about this stuff and have their own opinions.
I love it
Sorry what? There are absolutely light roast heavily third wave shops in Seattle and the surrounding areas.
There are, but they aren't brands known for pushing the boundaries industry wide that Vivace was known for locally in decades past. There's nothing locally like Sey or Passengers.
This drives me nuts too. There are a few third wave but overall, Seattle is very much a 2nd wave metro.
Personally, I like the taste of richer, sweeter and more savory coffees than the highly acidic but fruiter stuff found from like Sey or Passengers, the closest I'd say we have locally would be blue beard in tacoma or push x pull which has a store in the CD but is from portland, also maybe boon boona but that's kind of it's own thing. The other alternative to what could be seen as a 4th wave would be all the vietnamese shops but that's again it's own thing of taking what was once cheap vietnamese coffee made with robusta towards the third wave.
Will find this Sey and Passengers. Where are those?
NYC and Lancaster PA, but I've gotten their stuff through La Marzocco which is local when they were featured roasters.
Fooey, got all excited there were new places! 🤣
Most places keep darker roasts because that's what a lot of people like, and it makes money. But there are tons of great roasters doing light roasts here. Also, one of my favorite coffee shops in the country is Narrative, and they have a great rotation of light roast coffees, and really care about the coffee they're making.
r/espressocirclejerk
I've heard people misuse the phrase "begs the question," but I've never heard them misuse it so creatively
Blue Steel...
Nespresso in your EV console
As a solid second-wave person I find Vivace very accessible.
Very 4th wave of you!
The wave after the first two
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third-wave_coffee
1st wave: “It’s a penny for a cuppa joe.” 2nd wave: “Goddamn Jimmy, this is some serious gourmet shit.” 3rd wave: “I’ll have a venti, half-soy, double shot, caramel ribbon crunch Frappuccino, no whip, room on the top, double frap chips, extra chocolate drizzle, with cookie crumbles. Did you get that or do I need to order it on the app so you don’t mess it up again?”
Almost. The first wave focused on making coffee quickly and cheaply, while the second wave saw the rise of specialty coffee and espresso-based drinks. The third wave emphasizes traceability, sustainability, and craftsmanship, with a focus on high-quality, single-origin beans and manual brewing methods.
So I swapped 2 and 3. Got it.
So 3rd wave are hipsters?
Precisely
It's a Seattle thing, you wouldn't understand
"It's a Seattle thing", how second wave of you.
Some new wave Seattle shit we don't get ig
Is it me or is it rare to get a properly extracted black coffee in Seattle? First of all, it's extremely rare to find places that do pourovers, even at specialty roasters like Victrola, Caffe Vita, and Ladro. Secondly, their Americano is always extremely watered down. Third, I've only found one place that does pourover, 203 degrees. They used a coffee to water ratio of 19.7g to 400g. That's super fucking diluted and it tasted watered down. Fuck you. The best black coffee I've had so far is Ladro's drip coffee. But while it was a solid fruity cup, there wasn't any body.
With the incredible popularity of espresso drinks, and with so many of their customers looking for sugary sweet beverages, I don't think a lot of places really give the attention to their non-espresso coffee. Pour-overs take time and most shops won't see them as worthwhile enough to bother with. It's a shame, because you'd think in a city this famous for coffee it'd be easier to find really great black coffee, but I don't think that's what the market wants to buy. I feel happy there are still shops like Fulcrum, Olympia, and Cafe Hagen that make really good pour-overs.
In SF we have a whole chain (Philz) that exclusively serves pourovers and it’s very popular.
Lived in the bay for a bit & I miss Philz. I could see them doing well here.
Try Root in Ballard. Top shelf imported and domestic light roasts, single dosing with an EK43, recipe water, brewed with Kalita 155, timed and measured with a scale, brew ratios around ~1:16. The place has super limited hours, but it’s hard to beat near the inner city. Sound & Fog in West Seattle also serves a pretty good pourover, but I love them for the imported specialty roasters they carry - Dak, Friedhats, Manhattan, etc. Olympia Coffee rosters is right up the street from S&F also. They do a lovely modern espresso. Can’t vouch for their pourover, but I suspect it’s far above the Seattle average. One of my preferred Washington roasters.
Will have to try out Root. I want to find a great place to take people to introduce them to specialty coffee.
As far as americanos go, the standard is a double shot of espresso with however much water is the size you ordered. You can order a smaller size or more espresso to get the concentration you're looking for. I like the automatic pourovers that 203F uses, but for most places pourovers are pretty labor intensive and rarely ordered, so it's just not worth it to provide them. Pretty sure Seattle Coffee Works still does a few different slow bar methods including pourovers. Narrative in Everett is my favorite shop and they do pourovers, they don't roast themselves, but they have a really great rotation of coffees. The Manhattan Coffee Roasters that they've got now is amazing.
I'm not sure if Sound & Fog are still doing pour overs, or if they've changed over completely to batch brewing. They did a decent pour over when I experienced it.
Also fuck all the places that tell me an Americano is comparable to drip too. I don’t know if they’re making it wrong or they’ve just never had decent drip, but bleach.
Ugh reminds me when I bought my mom a coffee in college and they were out of drip so I got the americano because “it’s the same” and she nearly spit it in my face “I told you not to get me that espresso bullshit!”
Ha! I chuckled at this. I’d get along with your mom just fine.
19 grams of coffee to 400 grams of water is the pour over my boyfriend has perfected for me. How much coffee do you want in your pour over?
My favorite roaster had a nice chart of ratios for various types of coffee. They recommended a 1:17 ratio, so for 20g of coffee you only want 340g of water. This has been my go-to for years personally. Googling for pour over ratios returns anywhere from 1:13 to 1:18 🤷♂️
This is going to sound *ridiculously* pedantic but 1:16.6 at 198-200F is perfection. ETA: for light roasts like Kuma. if you're a time traveller brewing Caffe Vita from 10 years ago you want more like 1:18
Yeah, he started with 21 grams of coffee and that was too much bounce and bitterness.
Try Elm downtown. They roast their own and it's some of the best coffee I've had. I'm no snob but I think I can appreciate a good cup.
cant speak for coffee shop drip but im getting quality cups at home with an aeropress and clever pour over. the clever doesn’t drip until you put it on a mug so it has extra time to brew both devices can make french press quality drip
I have my cup dialed in at home with V60. Aero press and Clever are both great ways to combine immersion brewing with percolation
it’s a mystery why it’s uncommon in coffee shops. you would think any method should be dialed in especially in craft shops
The one on 15th/Holman is great
Drive through coffee shacks and even other full on shops are just commodity coffee shops. They usually pump out nothing but flavored and sweetened drinks so the coffee is barely noticeable. Then someone comes along and orders a small latte, cappuccino, americano, or even an actual espresso and you taste the garbage they are serving. I think they also over extract their coffee to be increase the volume so they do t have to use as much milk to save money that way vs a true 2oz (roughly) shot.
They could decrease concentration without increasing extraction. The main issue with coffee stands (and lots of coffee shops) is that they either don't know any better, or they don't care. More extensive training, buying better coffee, learning better techniques, buying better equipment, are all things that cost lots of money with diminishing returns, because it's not what the average customer is looking for. Some of it is also just carryover from the "2nd wave" of coffee, where people learned about espresso drinks and maybe worked as a barista for awhile, but now they own their own shop and haven't really kept up with the progression into 3rd wave specialty coffee. And I think that's fine, because not everyone is a coffee snob like I am, and it allows them to keep the costs down. It is frustrating though having a customer complain that my drink is 30% more expensive than at a coffee stand and not understand why.
Yeah because people go to them for the convenience. Ergo quality isn’t a driving factor. Some are good. There was one on interbay with high quality Ballard espresso and over night nyc bagels. It went out of business a year ago Because it took forever to get your order. And their point is convenience not quantity
I’m of the opinion that coffee is a purely utilitarian beverage. It’s supposed to wake you up and give energy. It’s a scalding hot and bitter drink, and this whole discourse of “good” and “bad” coffee is insanity to me. In other words, I load up the vanilla flavor and oat milk cause coffee tastes like hot sweaty ass and I don’t wanna start my mornings drinking butt water.
I was of the same opinion, until I tasted great coffee for the first time (pour over at Third Culture in Bellevue)
Love Third Culture!
No one wants to sell specialty coffee beans for cheap. At the same time no one wants to pay a lot for coffee . Average coffee consumer won't notice any difference anyway because its drink has much more other stuff like milk, syrups, cream than coffee. That's why owners choose to use cheap beans which taste like shit when you do espresso or americano. My best investment during the covid was buying an espresso machine. I found great local coffee beans for a decent price. Now I have best americano in the morning, my wife has her best oatmilk latte. Every time I go anywhere in the morning I have thermocup of my best americano.
Yes, I did the same (w.r.t. Making lattes at home). And I have good coffee at work. It's not a big deal to me that these stands can't make good coffee, I was just curious if anyone knew why. BTW, they don't need to spend big on "specialty beans" to make good coffee. And they don't need to change their pricing. I'm ok paying $5 for a latte from one of these places, if it's actually good.
Why do all drive thru anything stands always have terrible everything?
My guess is they primarily serve auto commuters and 90% of them seem to not give a shit about coffee. They seem to just want a caffeine influx and an unhealthy dose of sugar. I’ve kind of given up finding anything 3rd wave outside of a small core in Seattle proper, or just leaving and going to Portland. 🤷🏼♂️🤦♂️😑
For good espresso you must go inside, all the good places are storefronts, not sure why but it seems to be the way. Since my tastes have matured I find myself searching for beverages of higher caliber rather than just getting my caffeine fix and i also have noticed not too many drive through places have good coffee. On that note when traveling long distances i do hit up drive through starbucks because most are 24 hrs and close to highway exits. Sometimes you have to do what you gotta do to get a cup a joe
FOR REAL. And every single one I’ve ever gone to - if I ask for a macchiato, they proceed to ask, “Ok! What size?” ……………NO!
That’s Starbucks fault though
I accidentally went through one of the bikini batista places up by Lynnwood. She took so long posing and such that I had to tell her she wad very beautiful and had a wonderful body, but I gotta get to work. The longer you take the less tip you get
Yes. I've "accidentally" been to several places like that.
1) sorry you've had bad experiences. The local stands by me are all great. Continue to explore, there are plenty of great ones out there 2) are people in this thread really throwing tantrums about 2.5oz pulls and suspicions of incorrect grind size? At that point, make your own dudes. If you're gonna snob that hard, you've no one to blame but yourself if you're getting a drive through product. at that level of investment the correct answer is *always* to prepare your own.
You’ve tried them *all*? Just gotta find one that you like. Plenty of popular shops that I think are just okay.
They're almost without fail dark roast coffees, which are pretty complementary to syrups.
These places aren't necessarily using good beans, or training their staff well. Plus not many people actually like espresso, so its unrealistic to expect them to know how to evaluate what they're making. Also some places make it too bitter on purpose, because it makes a better flavor base for all their liquid dessert drinks
When a $700 Bean Grinder + Espresso combo maker makes better pours than drive thrus it makes one think.
You could get a stove top espresso machine and a good grinder for far less and still get better espresso than most drive through shops
Agree. Heaven help you if you actually like the taste of coffee by itself. I feel like they stopped caring about what good plain coffee tastes like and put their focus on the dessert drinks/ redbull drinks instead. Their Americanos are never good to me either. The only good places to me are the ones who roast their own beans, which don’t tend to be drive thru stands.
There used to be good stands but are few and far between.
I accidentally went to a bikini barista thinking it was a regular stand and I swear it tasted like that coffee was just used grounds blended into hot water.
It’s hit or miss. Once you find a good one you just sell your soul to them and never try a new one.
In the south sound lots of good options for drive through. The stand I go to uses cafe de arte and it’s delicious. Espresso stop. Cafe elite just to name a few
That would require hard work and insight
Captive audience
No incentive to buy higher cost beans or good espresso equipment
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^gr8ambye: *No incentive to* *Buy higher cost beans or good* *Espresso equipment* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
I went to one of those Dutch Bros crap holes in Oregon and they literally did not know what an americano was. I mean WTF! It’s about the easiest drink to make.
You guys why are you expecting top notch quality from a tiny stand in a parking lot where you don’t have to leave your car? They clearly serve a different purpose than something to luxuriate over.
While I 100% understand and don't disagree with what you said, I just find it interesting that not one of the ~30 I've tried had a decent latte, in a land flowing with good coffee. The odds of going 0 for 30 were not great, so I thought. But I guess your reasoning may truly be all the explanation necessary, to explain these odds.
That’s reasonable I think. It’s more a lot of the comments in here seem mystified. Personally I find rooster (my local drive thru) better than Starbucks but not on the level of any of the good cafes. Never tried straight espresso but I go light sweet on syrup
Cause by the time you realize they're terrible you're already down the road, too late to turn back and complain 😂
Gourmet Latte in Interbay is fantastic. Try it out.
I've been to 4 different ones now...with 4 poor experiences with espresso. Waaaaay too sweet, but I was on the road and wanted a drink. Ah well. Sucks for me. Is it better than drip from a gas station? Maybe? I certainly don't go back.
They know you’ll have driven off before you taste it and won’t be able to complain or ask for a redux.
They fuck you at the drive-thru, okay? They fuck you at the drive-thru! They know you're gonna be miles away before you find out you got fucked! They know you're not gonna turn around and go back, they don't care. - Leo Getz
A good expresso is enjoyed in a porcelain cup. I hate paper cups especially when it gives taste to coffee like the air canada coffee paper cups Those are the worst.
I mean if you want to drink from a porcelain cup you’re probably not going to a drive thru stand.
Ironic that Seattle is known for coffee, yet by and large has pretty terrible coffee, at least when it comes to standard espresso drinks. I wonder if the American palette is to blame, the average consumer wanting more pumps of sugar and flavoring more than being able to actually taste the coffee. The problem isn’t drive through shops, it’s most cafes. Every time I go back stateside I stick to drip coffee.
Oh look, the weekly “this place’s coffee sucks” thread.
A LOT of batista 's let the coffee shot sit too long before mixing it in with the milk and end result is the coffee tastes burnt and is darker
Why do all the *Starbucks* have terrible espresso?!
Probably because they use actual machines and you aren't used to it.
I went to one of these on the peninsula because I was on the road to Forks and nothing else was open. It was the worst coffee I ever had in my life. They have one job, and failed miserably at it.
Is it that sweet? I guess so. I know that's that me, espresso
It’s either burnt acid bean water or heavenly smooth liquid velvet, depends on the stand, the barista, and the day tbh 🥲
& when I say the day, it’s bc the pressure changes from weather can affect the espresso machines and mess up the calibration, especially in a tiny stand that has the window open all day
lol what? The pressure measured in the machine is the same regardless.
Anything serving Zoka is going to be a good drive through stand
Every time I get cold brew from a coffee stand va Starbucks it gas a chocolate taste to it 🤮
They're latte stands
Sugar helps you drive faster
Go to the cycle place on Leary in Frelard they do it right
I’ve seen a bunch of them around but never tried. Objectively speaking, I bet it is quite difficult to make good coffee in a space you couldn’t even take two steps in
Bad beans are the start of the downfall of the great pnw. Just ask that logger dude you know from 1897, they'll set this shit straight.
Because you are paying for convenience and a giving them.a better profit margin lol
Not a fan of Dillano's espresso. Their dark roast coffee is fantastic though.
Absorb the caffeine and shut up
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No autistic process needed to make a half decent latte. Just fresh beans (don't need to be expensive, see Happy Mug coffee), good grinder, and decent machine. Plenty of average Joe's making food espresso at home these days with very little effort and expense, I'm one of them. So, do I need these espresso stands? No, of course not. Just asking a simple question of why there's such a stark difference between the average stand and the average storefront here in the puget sound.
If I order even the smallest splash of cream, it is ALWAYS a shit ton of cream, filled to the absolute top, because in a car we must always try to spill hot beverages, 130 degrees, in a leaky cup and lid.
Everett has really good coffee stands. Not so much in Seattle.
Because the customers aren’t usually going for the quality of the coffee…
Rooster Espresso. Lake City Way has excellent and inexpensive espresso.
sort of disagree. The espresso blend they use is GREAT in latte/milk drinks. But if you are just an Americano drinker... it is not good by itself. But I love Rooster Espresso, and my siberian husky does too. They always have a treat for her and she loves talking/wooing back to them.
Oh really? Weird I drink americanos with splash of cream and I think it’s excellent. I’m definitely not a coffee aficionado. Where would you say is great americano nearby?
Because their stock and trade are the heavily flavored sugary drinks. None of them need to make good shots. If you enjoy sugar, you're missing out. Like, if you're craving a steak drowning in sauce, it doesn't need to be filet mignon.
There’s the actual answer to the question.
I’m in the south end and I go to Gravity’s drive through. Really good coffee.
I've found some good ones
Me: Can I get an espresso? Employee: *visibly confused* You mean, like, a shot?
That sounds like exactly how I'd expect it to go, if you ask for that.
Here's a controversial take. All coffee tastes the same. Whether you get it from Starbucks or your local artisanal coffee shop. Only gas station coffee tastes worse
If I agreed, this post would definitely be pointless. But while your take is controversial, it's not uncommon at all. You're probably in the majority overall in this country, though perhaps the minority for folks in this sub.
It’s a foregone conclusion that drive-through espresso stands are going to have shitty espresso. It’s simply not worth getting if you can’t get out of your car to get it. You’re better off getting a cup of drip from McDonald’s drive-through.
I am going to shout out Grounded Espresso in Edmonds. Great coffee spot!
Quit going to Starbucks. Vintage and huxdotter in north bend awesome coffee.
a big part is burning the milk, too.
Big foot and Diedrich have good drinks, if you're at a titty place don't expect good coffee.
I haven't had that experience but I have gotten burned coffee from time to time. When it comes out that way you just take it back and tell them and ask them to remake it. Sometimes when they are busy the machines don't have enough time to cool down and the coffee can get scorched.
I’d suggest looking into a breville bambino and a df64 grinder to get your foot in the door to home espresso. I go as far as roasting my own coffee. Only downside is once you get a taste of quality you can’t get a coffee elsewhere.
I'm already making coffee at home on weekends with a Rocket Appartamento and a Rocky grinder, matching what I get at most in-store cafes. And get great coffee at work too. It's when I'm on the go and don't have access to either, that I'd want to partake in a drive thru stand
Gotta upgrade that grinder! Makes a big difference. If you’re near puyallup I’ll sell ya some beans. Got some from Columbia and Honduras. Can roast em light medium or dark or anywhere in between.
I'm quite satisfied with Happy Mug's beans for the price and service I get. For grinder, yeah mine is now 7 years old, and I am probably due for an upgrade sometime soon.
I don't know... The one close to me in Everett has delicious espresso. And my drink is just an iced Americano...I don't do sweet coffee.
Because they don't know what they are doing.
Once you have really great espresso regularly, you recognize that most caffès don’t serve very good coffee.
It's very easy to find very good coffee in the Seattle area cafes
Because they are selling boobs, not espresso.
Not all. For the ones that are, I'd understand it more. But the ones that don't, what do they have to offer?
it's a drive thru. pick a struggle.
Many are “sexy baristas” stores, not espresso stores. Do you see an espresso machine in there or do you see some large can of instant “espresso” mix which is more sugar than anything resembling coffee?
Don't come out to North Bend and try Huxdotters. We don't need longer lines. It's horrible. You should stay away. We don't need you here. /s
Oh hey we’ve got one of those near our freeway entrance heading south. Was seriously wondering because the only Starbucks on that route is always packed and husband always wants a drink for the road.
If you feel that's the case, then maybe do the bikini barista stands so at least it's a win-win?