Favorites
Coffee favorites
The roasters, beans, and cafés I keep coming back to, logged and rated in BeanBench. It's a personal list, updated as I find new ones. Links go straight to each roaster or shop. A ★ marks a current top pick.
50 locations mapped. Online-only sellers like Airworks aren't pinned.
Roasters
Hydrangea Coffee Roasters Top pick
Berkeley, CA, USA
A Bay Area light-roast specialist with a knack for vivid, experimental Colombian and Panamanian lots.
@hydrangeacoffeeroasterLa Cabra Top pick
Aarhus, Denmark
Danish roaster (with NYC cafés) known for clean, modern light roasts of dense, high-grown coffees.
@lacabracoffeeFulcrum Coffee Roasters Top pick
Seattle, WA, USA
Solidly priced beans from a favorite Seattle roaster; see Fulcrum Café for the lattes.
@fulcrumcoffeeroastersCozy Monster Coffee Roasters Top pick
Bellevue, WA, USA
Eastside online/wholesale roaster behind Story Coffee, with a standout lineup of washed and natural Geshas.
@cozymonstercoffeeSan Jose, CA, USA
Competition-grade light roasts, including some exceptional Geshas.
@moonwakecoffeeroastersSeattle, WA, USA
Roasting arm behind Seattle's Café Hagen; clean, sweet coffees.
@hagencoffeeroastersStittsville (Ottawa), ON, Canada
Ottawa-area microroastery with a competition pedigree.
@september.coffee.coSimple Kaffa
Taipei, Taiwan
Berg Wu's Taipei roaster-café; Berg is a former World Barista Champion.
@simplekaffaKula (Maui), HI, USA
An upcountry Maui estate growing, processing, and roasting its own coffee.
@oofarm_mauiBoston, MA, USA
A New England institution from a coffee legend; clean, classic, and expertly sourced.
@ghowellcoffeeRogers, AR, USA
Arkansas powerhouse with a competition pedigree and a stunning flagship.
@onyxcoffeelabLondon, England, UK
London roaster (wholesale and online, no walk-in café) behind much of the UK's modern coffee scene.
@squaremilecoffeeShanghai, China
A Shanghai roaster-café (Loring-roasted) with serious direct-trade sourcing.
@bigsurcoffeeroasteryMĀCS Roasters
Anyang, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
A small-batch roastery south of Seoul, doing clean, delicate washed Ethiopias. Reaches the US through Airworks.
@macsroastersCopenhagen, Denmark
Patrik Rolf's Copenhagen roastery and store, roasting in Solrød Strand. Also makes the flat-bed brewers a lot of light-roast people brew on.
@aprilcoffeecphBeans I loved
RA/CR #3 Natural Gesha
Moonwake Coffee Roasters · Panama (Boquete) · Natural
About as expressive as a natural Gesha gets.
Colombia Bayter Sidra
Café Hagen · Colombia (Tolima) · Anaerobic natural
A loud, fruit-forward Sidra.
Jose & Roger Ureña
Mirra Coffee · Costa Rica (Tarrazú) · Washed Gesha
Delicate and floral, beautifully clean.
El Burro Lot #17
Hydrangea Coffee Roasters · Panama (Chiriquí) · Washed Gesha
Classic washed-Gesha jasmine and bergamot.
Salma Bermudez
Hydrangea Coffee Roasters · Colombia (Piendamó, Cauca) · Anaerobic washed Gesha
Mango from the moment you grind it, with dulce de leche and elderflower behind.
Mora Azul Blueberry
Hydrangea Coffee Roasters · Colombia (San Adolfo, Huila) · Blueberry co-fermented washed
Fermented blueberry at full volume, with raspberry and milk chocolate behind it.
Lemon Squeeze
DAK Coffee Roasters · Ethiopia (Arbegona, Sidama) · Washed
Sweet lemon up front, nectarine as it cools, a soft floral finish. A clean, high-grown washed heirloom.
Faysel Abdosh Triple Fermentation
Big Sur Coffee · Ethiopia (Hambela Wamena, Guji) · Triple fermented washed
Floral and lychee you can name without hunting, from Testi's newest Guji station. Roasted very light, and it keeps changing as it cools.
Sewda Premium
Big Sur Coffee · Ethiopia (Oddo Shakisso, Guji) · Washed
A plain washed lot from a Testi mill its other buyers know for naturals. Florals and peach first, bergamot once it cools.
Shyira
La Cabra · Rwanda (Nyabihu) · Washed
Bright, structured, and very tidy in the cup.
Estate Coffee
O'o Farm · Maui, Hawaii · Honey
A rare estate-grown Hawaiian honey lot.
Doi Saket
Fulcrum Coffee Roasters · Thailand (Chiang Mai) · Anaerobic natural
A reminder that Thailand grows excellent coffee.
Habtamu Fikadu
Heart Coffee Roasters · Ethiopia (Yirgacheffe) · Washed
Textbook washed Yirgacheffe: floral and tea-like.
Clinton Ossa Micro Lot
Olympia Coffee Roasters · Colombia · Washed
Sweet, balanced, and easy to love.
Nancy Mendoza
Poem Roasting · Peru (Cajamarca) · Washed Gesha
A quieter, elegant take on Gesha.
Janson Washed Gesha #999
Cozy Monster Coffee Roasters · Panama (Chiriquí) · Washed Gesha
Jasmine, sweet orange, and cocoa with a long oolong-tea finish, a standout washed Gesha.
Gesha IPA
Cozy Monster Coffee Roasters · Colombia (Circasia, Quindío) · Black honey, mosto IPA
Enormous floral and stone-fruit aroma off the grinder, still clean and tea-like in the cup.
Cafés
Story Coffee Top pick
Bellevue, WA, USA
Cozy Monster's exclusive Eastside café, a bright, plant-filled room that pours their Geshas by the cup.
@story_coffee_bellevueFulcrum Café Top pick
Seattle, WA, USA
Fulcrum's Belltown café—home of my favorite specialty lattes.
@fulcrumcoffeeroastersCardoon
Seattle, WA, USA
A Ballard multi-roaster café bar with a rotating single-origin list.
@cardoonseattleAnalog Coffee
Seattle, WA, USA
A no-frills Capitol Hill room serving rotating local roasters.
@analogcoffeeseattleCoffee TAB
Seattle, WA, USA
A Belltown nonprofit café running a barista apprenticeship.
@coffeetab_seattleOffline Coffee
Seattle, WA, USA
A Capitol Hill newcomer with a globally-minded menu.
@offlinecoffee.coSlow Day Coffee
Seattle, WA, USA
A Belltown pour-over bar with a rotating multi-roaster list; recent pours from September, Mirra, and DAK. Hours are limited (open daily 7 to 2), and it's not an easy stop with a stroller.
@slowday.coffeeAkamai Coffee Co.
Kahului (Maui), HI, USA
Reliable specialty coffee with a few spots around Maui.
@akamaicoffeeCafé Hagen
Seattle, WA, USA
A cozy Scandinavian café in South Lake Union—hygge interior, in-house pastry, and coffee from Hagen Roasters.
@cafehagenOlympia Coffee – Downtown Seattle
Seattle, WA, USA
Olympia's first downtown café, in the US Bank Centre near the convention center—their sweet, well-developed roasts on 5th Ave.
@olympiacoffeeOlympia Coffee – West Seattle
Seattle, WA, USA
A bright, welcoming West Seattle café on California Ave SW pouring Olympia's award-winning coffees.
@olympiacoffeeMedio Cafe
Friday Harbor, WA, USA
Inside Friday Harbor Suites on San Juan Island, pouring three single-origin hand pour-overs off a Stereoscope lineup. Closed Wednesdays, and there is a wooden toy espresso machine in the corner for small children.
@medio_cafeNo favorites match those filters.
Worth knowing
Airworks Coffee
Online seller · occasional in-person tastings · Seattle, WA, USA
A Seattle-based online curator that tracks down rare light-roast lots from small international roasters, with the occasional in-person tasting.
Questions
What are the best specialty coffee roasters in Seattle?
Seattle roasters on this list include Fulcrum (a current top pick), Elm, Victrola, Anchorhead, Herkimer, Stamp Act, and Hagen. For rare international light roasts, Airworks curates online drops out of Seattle.
Where can I get a good pour-over in Belltown?
Slow Day Coffee at 2103 3rd Ave runs a rotating multi-roaster pour-over bar and is open daily from 7 to 2. Coffee TAB on Lenora Street is another Belltown option.
Do these roasters ship coffee nationally?
Most of the roasters here sell beans through their own websites and ship within the US, including Hydrangea, La Cabra, Heart, Sey, and Olympia. Airworks is an online-only curator of small-roaster lots.
Are there recommendations outside Seattle?
Yes. The list spans Portland (Heart, Coava, Stumptown), the Bay Area (Hydrangea, Ritual, Moonwake), plus New York, Denmark (La Cabra), the UK, Taiwan, and more.
Found via the coffees and check-ins logged in BeanBench. Dialing one of these in? Start with a recipe or read the guides.