Coffee in Seattle

Seattle is regarded as a world center for coffee roasting and coffee supply chain management. Related to this, many Seattle-area people are coffee enthusiasts and they maintain a coffee culture in Seattle's many coffeehouses.

People in Seattle consume more coffee than in any other American city; one study stated that there are 35 coffeeshops per 100,000 residents and that Seattle people spend an average of $36 a month on coffee. It is nearly impossible to walk past a single block in a commercial area in Seattle without walking past at least one coffee shop. Coffee drinkers can get coffee at a local sidewalk stand, parking lot, tiny coffee houses, big coffee houses, drive-through, and even delivery.

Seattle is home to several coffee roasters.

Starbucks is Seattle's largest coffee retailer. It was founded in 1971 in Pike Place Market as a roaster, but only later became an espresso bar. In 1984 ownership of the company changed and Howard Schultz led a massive international expansion of the company. In 2003, Starbucks acquired pioneering Seattle roaster Seattle's Best Coffee (SBC, originally Stewart Brothers' Coffee).

Tully's Coffee is Seattle's second-largest coffee retailer. Tom Tully O'Keefe founded the chain in Kent, Washington in 1992 to rival the expansion of Starbucks with an alternative business model. A distinguishing feature between Tully's and Starbucks is that Tully's uses a milder roast and keeps overstuffed chairs and fireplaces in its stores to set a mood.

Caffé Vita Coffee Roasting Company was founded in 1995 to produce excellent artisan coffee and to implement an ethical model for coffee production which bypassed the fair trade business model and sourced coffee beans directly from the farmers producing it.

Espresso Vivace is a set of coffeehouses and a roaster. Founded in 1988 by a Boeing engineer, the coffee is produced to exacting specifications to match the owner's taste and the taste of patrons who prefer this different blend.

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