Ballard Coffee Works

Pike Place and Capitol Hill are well known coffee culture sanctuary but Seattle seems to have "hideaways" in a neighborhood.  

Ballard, a neighborhood located in the northwestern part of Seattle, is one of the outstanding/focused area, where a many high-end apartments are now under construction.  Along Market St., on the corner of Market St. and 22nd Ave., there are three cafes, including Starbucks, gather and welcome us with nice coffee aroma.

Ballard Coffee works seems to the busiest cafe I have ever visited in Seattle.  At 7 AM, there are already a line for a cup and only few seat open.  Revisited at 9 PM, the cafe is still packed with people even on a weekday.     

Ballard Coffee Works belongs to Seattle Coffee Works located on Pike St., between 2nd and 1st Ave., near Pike Place Market.  Reading their history, there is a similar story to the one Storyville Coffee company has.  The capital of Coffee could not satisfy "coffee nuts" with the biggest expectation toward "coffee sanctuary", then "coffee nuts" begin roastery to meet their own expectation together with providing "real" coffee to people to create a genuine sanctuary.  

Spending years, heir business grows gradually.  In 2012, Seattle Coffee Works opened a second cafe in Ballard, called Ballard Coffee Works.  

Ballard Coffee Works is filled with warm atmosphere, warm enough to sit for hours and hours to make the space as our personal office.  The space is supplied with high speed WIFI, number of outlets, lots enough to call personal outlets assigned each seats!, and hide-away seat locations.  Actually, there are many occupies seats "working" there.  

Besides espresso drink and machine made drip coffee, there were specialty coffee choices with Aeropress, CEMEX, V60 and maybe others.  Espresso drinks were priced reasonably, maybe a bit lower than average price range, thus quality was good enough.  The choice of visiting day was Cafe latte with soy milk.  
Flavor of soy latte tastes satisfying for morning cups minus the form of soy milk is a little bit fuzzy.  Some may say espresso is weak for latte, depending on your　taste.       

Prologue ~ Storyville's House Blend

Name:　Prologue
Roaster: Stryville coffee company
Roasting degree: Full City

【Flavor scale】
Aroma: 3
Sweetness: 4
Acidity: 2
Bitterness: 3
Richness: 3          ※Grade 1 to 5 

【Impression】
Medium, sweet and mellow, milk chocolate, a touch of cardamon, well balanced sweetness and bitterness, no notable acidity detected in hot cups, mild, hot chocolate like sweetness, a bit earthy as African beans, cinnamon, raw cacao like sweetness as a long lasting after taste.

【Note】
According to them, Prologue is the signature blend, only one Stryville has, sourced from three continents.  If you prefer decaf, pick epilogue blend. 

Stryville is simple.  There are only two kind of coffee beans they carry:  Prologue and Epilogue.  This simplicity make things easier if for people feeling tired of choosing specialty beans by regions and estates.  The Prologue is the signature blend, also the only one coffee they carry besides decaf, Epilogue.  This makes much easier for both customers and the roaster, but much bigger challenge for the roaster to present who they are through one blend.  
Signature means does not change.  However, unchangeable matter gradually changes underneath along the change in environments.  Hope Stryville will stay as challenging as they are now from now on.  

Storyville Coffee company

Pulled attention by the sign on the sidewalk, there was a new cafe found on the top floor at pike place market, where Starbucks gave birth.

Storyville coffee company,originally founded as a coffee roaster in 2006, started to run cafe in last year, September 2013.  There have been a lot of news about the roaster even before they opens cafes for some reason, taking an opposition to "Big coffee roasters" who over roast the beans and serve a cup with "milk", "vanilla syrup" and "hazelnuts syrup" magics.  
Certainly, Seattle is the place where "espresso-based" drinks boosted to spread around the States, swiping out old fashioned "American diner" style coffee.  This means also, Seattle is the place begin to over-roast beans by naming "Italian roast" or "Dark roast".  So, they made a statement: Coffee should not over roasted".  This statement wasn't made by Storyville coffee but by, so called, the third waver.

After years of roasting, Storyville coffee company finally  opened the cafe at Pike Place Market, where "the big coffee" history launched.  

On top of the location, their cafe may offer you more than you expected.  
Once you passed the door, modern but woody interior design welcomes you there: Atmosphere was cozy and quiet, feels the best hideout from noisy and busy outside.

Pastries are house baked and offered fresh everyday and have variety of choice from ordinarily "turnovers" to creative "salty caramel rolls".  My order was "Caramel roll", which might have differently named, caramel graced crispy pie roll with sea salt flake.  This was kind too sweet but good with their coffee.

The best was atmosphere: teams hospitality filled in the cafe.  They know how to treat people and how to make their customer comfortable.  

Maybe, this is because the are new.  Maybe, so.  
however, there are the way to treat people who noticed the sign on the side walk and came up stairs to visit the cafe on the third floor, which Storyville's baristas know very well. 

The view is wonderful.  Their coffee is tasty.  
Hope this cafe stays here as it is from now on.

Smatra Tiger Peaberry

Name:　Smatra Tiger Peaberry
Roaster: Home roast
Roasting degree: Full City
Area: Siborong-borong, DolokSanggul, 　　
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Indonesia
Variety:  Classic Sumatra, Jember(Lasuna), 
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Ateng
Grade: N/A
Screen: 14up
Altitude: 1,200m
Defect: N/A
Processing Method: Traditional Smatran Methods

【Flavor scale】
Aroma: 4
Sweetness: 4
Acidity: 3
Bitterness: 4
Richness: 5     
※Grade 1 to 5 

【Impression】
Medium dark to dark, spicy as cinnamon, nutmeg, blackcurrants, hint of Madeline, mellow, deep sweetness, high tone cacao, round bitterness followed, citric sourness, limes, kumquats, white grape, tangy acidity, earthy, tangy acidity and earthiness as a long lasting aftertaste.     

【Note】
Highly sensitive with water temperature.  Tangy bitterness pronounces loudly and hides other flavor characteristics depending on the temperature.  Beans coarseness and water temperature balance may varies the flavor profile more and I still have difficulty to find "strike" zone for this beans.  

Yirgacheffe G1 Natural

Name:　Yirgacheffe G1 Natural
Roaster: Home roast
Roasting degree: City
Area: Sidamo, Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia
Variety:  Ethiopian heirloom
Grade: G-1
Screen: N/A
Altitude: 1,900 - 2,000m
Defect: ～ 3
Processing Method: Natural, 
                                100% sun dried

【Flavor scale】
Aroma: 5
Sweetness: 5
Acidity: 3
Bitterness: 3
Richness: 4      
※Grade 1 to 5 

【Note】
Coffee of the dream came with process sampling.  Ethiopia's highest rated coffee "Yirgacheffe" came with natural processing.  Usually, Yirgacheffe processed washed, hulled + washed + dried, to produce "very clean" flavor.  However, this one comes with natural processing, uniqueness of Yirgacheffe beans flavor reserved with high Mocha aroma.  Not all beans increase flavor with natural processing, but this one does.
Mocha has iron image of "high acidity, lemony flavor coffee", but this may over-wright an general definition. 

Elgon Mountain

Name:　Elgon Mountain
Roaster: Home roast
Roasting degree: Full City
Area: Mt. Elgon, Uganda
Variety:  Typica
Grade: A
Screen: 16up
Altitude: 1,700 - 2,200m
Defect: None
Processing Method: Fully washed, 100% sun dried

【Flavor scale】
Aroma: 4
Sweetness: 3
Acidity: 3
Bitterness: 3
Richness: 4      
※Grade 1 to 5 

【Impression】
Light to medium light, calming, moca aroma, cacao, a touch of citrus, sweet orange, blood orange, watery, light texture, mellow but light, slight sourness of citrus, lime, kabosu-citrus as a top note, very thin layer, juicy sweetness of dried fruits follows, such as pineapple, mango, white fig, papaya, milk chocolate like cacao bitterness hidden, juicy and vivid sweetness as sugar cane as a long lasting aftertaste.

Mellow flavor and highly balanced bitterness-sweetness-acidity.  Very comfortable Mouth feel and suitable flavor for daily use. 

Kagombe washing-station

Name:　Kagombe washing-station
Roaster: Home roast
Roasting degree: Full City
Area: Mwakiro, Muyinga Province, Burundi 
Variety:  Bourbon
Grade: FWA
Screen: 16up
Altitude: 1,650m
Defect: 0 - 6/300g
Processing Method: Fully washed, Sun dried

【Flavor scale】
Aroma: 3
Sweetness: 5
Acidity: 3
Bitterness: 3
Richness: 2      
※Grade 1 to 5 

【Impression】
Medium dark, fruity, green apple, Meyer lemon, well matured pears, mix of bartlett and Starkrimson, a touch of roasted almonds, juicy, soothing but tangy acidity, dark chocolate, 85% cocoa Green & Black's Chocolate, bitterness, cacao nib, mellow and creamy sweetness, toffee, rich, full range flavor without lemony acidity, mellow and deep chocolaty sweetness as a long lasting aftertaste.

【Note】
Found in 1999, Kagombe washing-station is located in the north-east Muyinga, not far from the Tanzanian border and managed by Sogestal Kirundo Muyinga.  Burundi is often referred as "developing" or "new face" in the coffee society; however, there are several high quality coffee growers and Washing stations preparing for export.   We cannot deny Tanzanian coffee influence over them, but Burundi coffee has very unique character on top of  "earthiness" and full bodied characteristics of African beans.  This rot may fit very well with deeper roasting for espresso.  Caffe-Latte will be the choice to bring out clear but mellow flavor of this.