Sunday, May 12, 2013

CC: Empire Espresso Bar



Subject: Empire Espresso Bar
Location: Seattle, WA
Free WiFi ? : yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]


One brisk morning south of downtown Seattle, I found a great prospect for morning coffee in the Empire Espresso Bar. Situated in a sleek brick building within the Columbia City neighborhood, Empire seemed to have the all the trappings of a worthwhile destination: a good reputation and Kuma Coffee

Inside the cafe is cozy with an intimate layout allowing for maximum seating and close proximity to a team of chipper baristas. In the back, there's even a garage door that opens in nice weather to a pleasant shared courtyard. For my coffee, I ordered an Ethiopian for the espresso and a Panama via a Clever Dripper. The espresso, pulled short with a tannish/brown crema, spelled out a melody of heavy lime, seltzer, tomato, rosemary, hefeweizen and pine, proving bright and complex. The drip of the Panama doled out notes of apple, molasses, brown sugar, sunflower seeds, beef bullion and some spinach amidst a medium body; a coffee all together nutty, sweet and scrumptious.

The Empire Espresso Bar proved to be every bit worth the stop, a fact it seems the locals have not overlooked (i.e. it was packed). If you happen to be in the proximate vicinity, stop by for some great coffee.



1 comment:

James Langdon said...

I just returned from a holiday in Seattle and went to this place, great service and great tasting coffee, very good and will recommend, Jamie from UK