The Pacific Northwest offers an incredible array of fantastic coffees roasted a stone’s throw from (fill in nearly any location in the region). But that doesn’t mean there’s an absence of out-of-town visitors. As much as we like to shop/eat/drink local, Northwesterners also love expanding our palates by trying new things. Looking to sample a coffee you don’t see every day? There’s a lot to be found if you know where to look.
Good bets on places to hunt down out-of-town roasts are multi-roaster coffee shops (such as Vancouver’s Revolver, Portland’s Barista and Seattle’s Milstead & Co.), which tend to offer a frequently changing mix of local and farther-flung beans. That said, sometimes you’ll find an unexpected roast at a tiny coffee bar within a brewery (RIP, MmmHmm Coffee), on the after-dinner coffee menu at your favorite restaurant, or even in a multi-roaster coffee truck. Keep an eye out around the region for the following and other great out-of-town coffees.
The Coffee: Counter Culture Coffee (Durham, NC)
Where to Find It: Roaster and wholesaler Counter Culture is famous for selectivity when it comes to who can carry its beans—hopeful retailers must study at one the roaster’s training centers and pass tests before being allowed to serve the highly regarded coffee. Among a limited number of locations accorded the privilege are Canlis in Seattle and Barista in Portland.
The Coffee: Verve Coffee Roasters (Santa Cruz, CA)
Where to Find It: Recently opened in Seattle, Miir offers a lot of things: bikes, growlers, water bottles, brews on tap and a full-scale specialty coffee bar. In fact, they’ve gone as far as implementing a multi-roaster café model, and along with Northwest favorites Heart and Kuma, you’ll find various roasts flown up the West Coast from Verve in Santa Cruz. The best part is that every coffee purchased from Miir provides clean water to someone for a day. Don’t believe it? Use the code on your receipt to track your impact online.
The Coffee: The Barn (Berlin, Germany)
Where to Find It: Of the handful of multi-roaster cafes in the Northwest, Vancouver, BC’s Revolver offers one of the most expansive menus in terms of roaster locations. Currently on hand at the Vancouver café are coffees from across Canada, down the West Coast of the U.S. and as far away as famed roaster The Barn in Berlin, Germany.
The Coffee: Madcap Coffee (Grand Rapids, MI)
Where to Find It: Portland’s vaguely yet aptly named Good Coffee carries a variety of good roasts from various good roasters. Among those roasters is Michigan’s duly respected Madcap Coffee, which, unlike bigger names like Blue Bottle, Counter Culture and Intelligentsia, remains largely unknown in the Northwest. Visit Good Coffee and check Madcap out for yourself!
