This is the only Seattle cafe that I was genuinely impressed with.
This past February (before all the quarantine craziness), I took a trip around the west coast of the States to San Francisco, Seattle & Portland, Oregon. So far, I’ve done coffee guides to both San Francisco and Portland but not Seattle.
To be completely honest, I was disappointed with the Seattle coffee scene.
I know, I’m as shocked as you are.
I would always here how Seattle is the best for coffee and it’s the ultimate place to go to for all things coffee. Now, in the time I spent in Seattle I obviously could only visit a certain number of coffee shops. This is completely based off of my personal experience. There were a couple that were decent but I’m not going to sit here and pretend to praise them for the sake of blog content. Nor am I going to bash on some well known coffee roasters in Seattle that I personally didn’t think was worth any of my money.
…so what is that one coffee shop that I would genuinely want to go back to?
Related:
Where to find the BEST coffee in San Francisco.
The 3 things I look for when choosing a coffee shop.
A guide to Portland, Oregon’s coffee scene.
Cafe Hagen
South Lake Unioin
1252 Thomas St, Seattle, WA 98109
In recent years, Scandinavia has been described as the happiest place on earth.
Central to this happiness is a little known word called “hygge”(hyoo-gah). Hygge is about coziness, comfort, and warmth, but also about being kind to yourself — giving yourself a treat, and giving yourself, and each other, a break from the demands of todays’ fast-paced life.
A slice of this happiness and hygge is nested in Seattle in the modern Café Hagen, in the heart of the bustling Seattle South Lake Union.
cafehagen.com
I think one of the reasons why Cafe Hagen stood out to me so much in the first place is because of their unique branding. They are emulating the ultimate European cafe experience. It’s no secret that there is no “American” cafe experience, at least not in my book. If you’ve read some of my older posts I have ranted already about how much I enjoy Australian owned & inspired cafes – they know how to do a great flat white, what can I say!!
When I went they were still in the process of a “soft opening”, but regardless they clearly had all their crap together and were ready to take on the world.
Their menu was pure quality; the options were really different and prestigious. They roast their own coffee and we’re very knowledgeable on creating their menu highlighting all of their own unique flavors.
The decor was very minimalistic, yet bold. The cafe had different spots all around catering to lots of different clientele: the “productive get work done“ ones, the “i’m on a date” ones & the “takeaway I’m running to work now” ones.
To me, coffee is more of an experience. My favorite cafes are my favorite not only for quality, taste and all that jazz but the experience I had going there in the first place.
When I went I got a tasting flight. There is nothing more that SCREAMS quality than a tasting flight. It proves to me that they care to have the knowledge to piece together their coffee in a way that creates an EXPERIENCE for their guests.
These were the three roasts I had in my tasting. All were super flavorful and gave me the kick I needed that morning.
*fun fact* it was actually my birthday the day I went here & also my boyfriends birthday, as we were traveling together and share a birthday! crazy stuff!
We also ended up getting food, I got the avocado toast (what a surprise) and my boyfriend got this smoked salmon toast. Pretty sure they also have a menu geared more for grabbing a drink with your friends after work, but brunch is more my vibe!
Interested in what I look for when choosing what coffee spots to try out when traveling? I have a whole post on it!
This is in no way meant to be an advertisement. I found this cafe over on instagram before traveling and was immediately interested in stopping by.
As always, thanks so much for reading.
Lots of love,
