There are more coffee shops in Seattle that I could possibly ever try. Nor would I ever want to try them all. Some will be great and some will be lousy. When I first encounter a new coffee shop I will look for evidence that the cafe will excel at making espresso. The first thing I do is look for the Roaster Sticker.
A great coffee shop will use a great coffee roaster. Typically they won’t hide the name of their roaster. They will often place a sticker of their coffee roaster near the front door. Coffee shops that hide the name of their roaster do not inspire trust and I tend to avoid them.
As the organizer of the Coffee Club of Seattle, I am always on the hunt for new coffee shops for our members. Later this week we are visiting the Coffee Drop Cafe. When I walked past the place, I saw the Caffe Vita sticker on the door. Sold. No further validation is needed. When I don’t see any roaster information on the front door or menu, I will go to their website and look for that information. If it isn’t there, then I assume they suck and give my business to those that take pride in their roaster.
Voxx Coffee in South Lake Union shows from their sidewalk sign that they serve Stumptown Coffee.
The Roaster Sticker can also serve as a warning if I know I don’t care for the roaster. Whenever I see the Caffe Appassionato, Umbria or Lighthouse sticker, I keep on walking.
Coffee houses can show their support for their roaster by sharing their roaster name with customers. How can roasters help support their wholesale customers? Devote a page on your website listing those places. Unfortunately, most roasters do not publish this information on their website.
Christian
Jul 8, 2010 — 7:43 pm
Agreed! Easily visible roaster info remains the single best way to get a quick take on coffee quality. It’s far from the end of the story, but oh so important to see – assuming they are using a reputable roaster.