Ending My Disloyalty Card Quest

I redeemed my 4th and last Seattle Disloyalty Card today. What is the Seattle Disloyalty Card? From my May 23, 2010 post:

Seattle now has something called a Disloyalty Card, which is idea to promote the independent coffee shop. The idea started in London and the way it works is you visit the ten coffee shops on the card. At each place, order and drink and receive a stamp. When the card is completed (10 stamps), you can redeem it for a free drink at the place you choose.

Why won’t I go for a 5th, 6th or 7th card? Let me count the reasons.

1. Fonte is terrible. Their cafe is beautiful and the baristas are talented, however their espresso roast is flat and tasteless. I’ve given them too many chances. They suck.
2. Equal Exchange is inconsistent. I’ve had good, bad and bland espressos from Equal Exchange. I shop at Ballard Market, so this coffee shop is very convenient for me. But the shots I get here are not better than the ones I make at home.
3. Urban Coffee Lounge is amazing, but I almost never get a chance to visit Juanita. Once the 520 toll arrives, I expect to visit the Eastside even less.
4. Porchlight is also tough for me to get to. I love Herkimer’s espresso blend. However, it is easier for me to head to Cugini Cafe, Muse Coffee or Herkimer itself. If I lived in Capitol Hill, I would visit Porchlight on a semi-regular basis.
5. I’d rather patronize top-tier coffee places that aren’t on the card.
6. And finally, in the spirit of the Disloyalty Card, I’d rather seek out new places. In December 2009, I started doing Coffee Explorer meetups with the Coffee Club of Seattle. Since then we have visited a new coffee place almost every week.

I still have a few partially completed cards in my pocket. I’ll be giving them away as “starters” to members of the Coffee Club of Seattle.