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

Berkeley, CA, USA

A Bay Area light-roast specialist with a knack for vivid, experimental Colombian and Panamanian lots.

@hydrangeacoffeeroaster

La Cabra Top pick

Aarhus, Denmark

Danish roaster (with NYC cafés) known for clean, modern light roasts of dense, high-grown coffees.

@lacabracoffee

Seattle, WA, USA

Solidly priced beans from a favorite Seattle roaster; see Fulcrum Café for the lattes.

@fulcrumcoffeeroasters

Bellevue, WA, USA

Eastside online/wholesale roaster behind Story Coffee, with a standout lineup of washed and natural Geshas.

@cozymonstercoffee

Portland, OR, USA

A Portland pioneer of the bright, Nordic-leaning roast style.

@heartroasters

Brooklyn, NY, USA

Bushwick roaster with a serious lineup of delicate, transparent lots.

@seycoffee

San Jose, CA, USA

Competition-grade light roasts, including some exceptional Geshas.

@moonwakecoffeeroasters

Portland, OR, USA

The Portland classic that helped define US third-wave coffee.

@stumptowncoffee

Portland, OR, USA

Precise, clean single origins out of a beautiful Portland brew bar.

@coavacoffee

San Francisco, CA, USA

A San Francisco mainstay, roasting in the Mission since 2005.

@ritualcoffee

Olympia, WA, USA

Washington roaster with consistently sweet, well-developed coffees.

@olympiacoffee

Seattle, WA, USA

Seattle roaster with polished downtown cafés.

@anchorheadcoffee

Seattle, WA, USA

Pioneer Square micro-roaster with a light, clean house style.

@elmcoffeeroasters

Seattle, WA, USA

Longtime Capitol Hill roaster-café with free public cuppings.

@victrolacoffee

Seattle, WA, USA

Greenwood neighborhood roaster, going since 2003.

@herkimercoffee

Seattle, WA, USA

Small Ballard roaster with a thoughtful rotating menu.

@stampactcoffee

Seattle, WA, USA

Roasting arm behind Seattle's Café Hagen; clean, sweet coffees.

@hagencoffeeroasters

Annapolis, MD, USA

Maryland roaster with a wide, dependable single-origin range.

@ceremonycoffee

Hyattsville, MD, USA

DC-area roaster-café with a strong neighborhood following.

@vigilantecoffee

Nashville, TN, USA

Nashville roaster and café focused on education and sourcing.

@cremacrema

Kingston, NY, USA

Nordic-style roastery in upstate New York.

@mirracoffee

North Canaan, CT, USA

Connecticut roaster with a precise, filter-forward style.

@ilsecoffee

Philadelphia, PA, USA

Philadelphia roaster with carefully sourced single origins.

@poemroasting

Vancouver, BC, Canada

Vancouver microroastery and café for the deeply curious.

@prototypecoffee.ca

Vancouver, BC, Canada

Design-forward Vancouver roaster-café with a strong bakery.

@nemesis.coffee

Stittsville (Ottawa), ON, Canada

Ottawa-area microroastery with a competition pedigree.

@september.coffee.co

Simple Kaffa

Taipei, Taiwan

Berg Wu's Taipei roaster-café; Berg is a former World Barista Champion.

@simplekaffa

Kula (Maui), HI, USA

An upcountry Maui estate growing, processing, and roasting its own coffee.

@oofarm_maui

Boston, MA, USA

A New England institution from a coffee legend; clean, classic, and expertly sourced.

@ghowellcoffee

Rogers, AR, USA

Arkansas powerhouse with a competition pedigree and a stunning flagship.

@onyxcoffeelab

London, England, UK

London roaster (wholesale and online, no walk-in café) behind much of the UK's modern coffee scene.

@squaremilecoffee

Shanghai, China

A Shanghai roaster-café (Loring-roasted) with serious direct-trade sourcing.

@bigsurcoffeeroastery

MĀCS Roasters

Anyang, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

A small-batch roastery south of Seoul, doing clean, delicate washed Ethiopias. Reaches the US through Airworks.

@macsroasters

Copenhagen, 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.

@aprilcoffeecph

Beans 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

Homage Coffee Top pick

Seattle, WA, USA

My favorite in Seattle.

@homage.coffee

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_bellevue

Fulcrum Café Top pick

Seattle, WA, USA

Fulcrum's Belltown café—home of my favorite specialty lattes.

@fulcrumcoffeeroasters

Cardoon

Seattle, WA, USA

A Ballard multi-roaster café bar with a rotating single-origin list.

@cardoonseattle

Analog Coffee

Seattle, WA, USA

A no-frills Capitol Hill room serving rotating local roasters.

@analogcoffeeseattle

Coffee TAB

Seattle, WA, USA

A Belltown nonprofit café running a barista apprenticeship.

@coffeetab_seattle

Freya Bakery & Cafe

Seattle, WA, USA

Coffee and excellent pastry near Pike Place.

@thefreyabakery

Offline Coffee

Seattle, WA, USA

A Capitol Hill newcomer with a globally-minded menu.

@offlinecoffee.co

Slow 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.coffee

Slo Coffee

Vancouver, BC, Canada

An easygoing Vancouver café on Fraser Street.

@slocoffee_

Akamai Coffee Co.

Kahului (Maui), HI, USA

Reliable specialty coffee with a few spots around Maui.

@akamaicoffee

Santo Coffee

Seattle, WA, USA

A Roosevelt café pouring all-Colombian coffee.

@santocoffeeco

Café Hagen

Seattle, WA, USA

A cozy Scandinavian café in South Lake Union—hygge interior, in-house pastry, and coffee from Hagen Roasters.

@cafehagen

Olympia 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.

@olympiacoffee

Olympia Coffee – West Seattle

Seattle, WA, USA

A bright, welcoming West Seattle café on California Ave SW pouring Olympia's award-winning coffees.

@olympiacoffee

Medio 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_cafe

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.