Westlake Center

After our lunch and walk around Pike Place Market, we headed up Pike Street to the new Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room. It just opened earlier this month and I expected it to be crowded but no at all like what we found. There was a line out the door at 2pm. They had a security guard that would allow people in as soon as others left. We did appreciate that they were controlling the entry. We waited about 10 minutes.

What we didn’t expect was another 30 minute wait to order our coffee. The experience is very different from your standard Starbucks. You have your choice of an espress or drip and then the type of bean. You can also order pastry or sandwich.

Once ordered, it was about an other 10 minutes to finally get our drinks and then find a place to sit. The coffees were very good. I like that they served them with a small glass of mineral water and a small cookie. We both had cappuccinos – G had a roast from Nicaragua and I had a roast from Sumatra. We both really like the smooth rich taste of the beans from Nicaragua.

We also had a chance to walk around the roastery. It is definitely like a Willy Wonka Factory. We got a chance to sit at the bar where you could order a coffee made using a siphon-vaccum method. It was very cool watching the water heat via light. Once it heated into the upper chamber, coffee was stirred into it and then the vacuum created by the bottom chamber cooling would pull it through the filter. It was fun to watch. There were several other bars where you could watch other methods of making coffee.

After our coffee we walked to the Pine Box – one of the premium bars for craft beers. It was originally a mortuary (get it – pine box!). Excellent list of beers from Washington, West Coast and Europe. I love sours so I had a Le Terroir a hopped Sour from New Belgium – Loved it; Wild Devil – an IPA with funky brettanomyces which G really liked and a Rodenbach Grand Cru – a classic sour. G also had a Ruud Awakening IPA from Old Schoolhouse in Winthrop.

By now the sun was setting and we walked back down Pine towards downtown – enjoying the lights reflecting off the wet streets. One last item – the carousel at Westlake and Macy’s star before heading home.

Waiting to get in Starbucks Roastery

Two cappuccinos

Hand drip

Siphon coffee in the making

Siphon Coffee almost ready

Roasting machines

Pine Box

Taps at the Pine Box

Pine Street lights

Carousel and Star