15th Ave Coffee & Tea

We’re blessed at 15th Avenue Coffee & Tea to have the ability to select our coffee line-up from the freshest of Starbucks’ coffees. Of the many great coffees that have seen the insides of our bean bins, two of our present favorites come to us from the Tarrazu region of Costa Rica.

The municipality of Tarrazu is a large valley high in the Talamanca mountains located in southwestern Costa Rica. Known for their cleansing acidity and well-balanced neutrality, Costa Rican coffees exhibit a range of exciting flavors. Our two featured Costa Ricans showcase two of many dynamic flavor profiles. Visit us on 15th Avenue and experience the bright, crisp, citrusy flavors of the Costa Rica San Diego or the juicy, berry undertones in the Costa Rica La Candelilla Estate poured through one of our Hario V60’s or in one of our daily coffee cuppings!

-Amanda

Costa Rica San Diego Tarrazu

Description: Crisp acidity, medium body, subtle flavors of
sweet citrus with notes of brown spice and maple syrup.
Processing Method: Washed
Elevation: 3,937-5,249 feet (1,200-1,600 meters)

Costa Rica La Candelilla Estate

Description: Juicy acidity, round body with complex,
sweet, tropical fruit and berry flavors.
Processing Method: Washed
Elevation: 4,921-5,249 feet (1,500-1,600 meters)
Coffee Variety: Caturra, Catuai

Owned by the Sanchez family, the Candelilla estate spans 90 acres and lies between the raging Pirris river and a small stream. The name “La Candelilla” is Spanish for “little candle and was named for the fireflies that light up the nearby stream at night.

Of the 90 acre estate, 70 acres (28 hectares) are devoted to coffee production and includes two main houses, a warehouse, a coffee mill and drying patios. All members of the Sanchez family participate in production operations. After the ripe fruit is picked it is transported via narrow internal roads to the mill where it is moved through the depulper and sorted into the fermentation tanks. After the soaking process the green coffee is transported to drying patios where it is to be 100% sun-dried (without the use of mechanical dryers). Throughout the drying process, members of the Sanchez family constantly turn over the drying coffee beans with wooden paddles or their bare hands. After drying, the coffee is carefully sorted to remove defects. Only the highest quality coffee produced is labeled “La Candelilla Tarrazu”.

Hey All,

Can you believe that in just over a week our cafe will be celebrating its first birthday? Not only is it true, but we aren’t going to let it go by without everybody knowing.

On behalf of everybody at 15th Avenue Coffee & Tea, I’d like to give a big thanks to everyone who’s been a loyal customer and supporter of our store for the past year. Whether a pour-over patron by morning, or a macchiato imbiber by night; we’ve enjoyed seeing you every day for the past, give or take, three hundred and sixty five. In order to show our gratitude, not only are we having a special event on the big day, but we’re throwing some discounts your way as well – Don’t miss out!

Join us on Saturday July 24th for special performances by some of our favorite local artists; Harold Belskus with his latin guitar rhythms at 2pm and Ed Zincavage, at 5pm for a set of blues & folk. Furthermore, all day we’ll be running a special on two of our most popular items. With the purchase of a 12 or 16oz iced Clover brewed coffee, we’ll throw in a Mighty-O donut for free. So stop in, enjoy the festivities and specials and help us celebrate the birthday of 15th Avenue Coffee & Tea.

See you there,
Amanda

Hey Everybody,

I hope the beginnings of your summers haven’t been without their fair share of fun, memories and cold brewed coffee. There will be a few changes happening to our menu over the course of the next week and one that I’m particularly excited to share with you is the introduction of several new ice cream offerings to our menu! In addition to the Starbucks ice cream flavors we’ve featured to date, we will be starting a partnership with another local favorite, Bluebird Homemade Ice Cream!

Our ice cream, like our beverages, provide for the opportunity to customize according to personal tastes and preferences. We invite you to add, to your ice cream, some of our locally sourced chocolate baking ganache, caramel sauce or a shot of our Henry’s or Single Origin espresso for an affogato.

So when the sun finally decides to grace the Pacific Northwest, be sure to stop in and try out some of these new and exciting menu items for yourself!

-Amanda

Featured Bluebird Homemade Ice Creams:

Theo Chocolate Chunk
Made with chunks of Seattle-based Theo Chocolate,
the worlds only certified organic and fair trade
chocolate maker.

Snickerdoodle
A best-seller combining
cinnamon and brown sugar

Featured Starbucks Ice Creams:

Coffee
A balanced swirl of coffee
and espresso flavored ice cream.

Java Chip
Coffee flavored ice cream
with chunks of rich, dark chocolate.

Vanilla Bean
Vanilla ice cream with real
madagascar vanilla beans.

Strawberries & Cream
A swirl of strawberry and vanilla
ice creams blended with real strawberries

As we celebrate the first day of summer, we at 15th Ave. Coffee & Tea are excited to introduce a brand-new and exotic coffee that will brighten even the gloomiest of Seattle mornings; Jamaica Blue Mountain®. Prepare yourself for this beautiful coffee upon its arrival on June 29th.

• Description: Smooth, Citrus, Cocoa
• Processing Method: Washed
• Elevation: approx. 2,000-5,000ft (914-1,524m)
• Coffee Variety: Blue Mountain

Ahoy citizens! As the officially appointed house coffee evangelist,  I would love to formally introduce a phenomenon has been rapidly spreading and taking 15^th Ave  (and all of Capitol Hill, actually) by storm.  Women have swooned, men have competed in feats of strength, and children have swung from tree limbs in excitement, all for one thing.

Cold brew.

“What is this cold brew you speak of?” you may ask.  I am your barista, Alex, here to tell you. Be warned that by the end of my humble blog, you will probably be in a state of shock, a mere feeble specter of that which you once were.  Ready?  Inhale!  Ok, here we go.

Cold brew is a very simple, yet ridiculously delicious brewing method.  Traditional, mundane iced coffee usually consists of regular, hot drip coffee from an automatic brewer, brewed double-strength and then carelessly poured over lots of ice.  This is also known officially as your grandma’s iced coffee (nothing against your grandma…),  or to be more specific, Great Depression iced coffee.  Even worse, some people who will remain unnamed (you know who you are…) will take a cup of coffee, or perhaps a latte that has cooled down and pour ice over it.  And then call it iced coffee.

Here at 15^th, we take our coffee very seriously, and you can rest assured that none of the above abominations to humankind occur within the walls of our coffee sanctuary.   Our iced coffee starts with pristine African coffee beans,  roasted to deliciousness.  They are coarsely ground, slightly finer than for a coffee press.  Next, the grounds are immersed in cold water, left overnight to steep, and voila!  In the morning, remove the cottony filter containing the grounds  and you have coffee so tasty it’s practically supernatural.  Since the coffee never comes into contact with heat, it is refused the chance to develop acidity, a characteristic described frequently as “bitter”.  This lack of  acidity means that the coffee is in turn sweet and nuanced.  The coffee drinker that adds sugar will be pleasantly surprised to find that this toddy-style coffee is so naturally sweet, that sugar is not needed at all.  The coffee-with-cream drinker will notice that the cold brew marries gracefully with milk; the coffee’s flavors do not disperse with its addition.

So, how badly is your mouth salivating?  Don’t fear.  We will be serving cold brew all through the summer, day in and day out.

Cheers!

Alex

Hey there,

As you may know, at 15th Avenue Coffee & Tea we are dedicated to playing a role in our local community and one means of doing so is to make a positive contribution to our environment. A series of several recent events has allowed us to better manage waste in our coffee house and, with your help, we soon hope to improve our attitudes with respect to recycling, composting and sustainable waste management. Ergo, this week’s blog post is dedicated to informing you, our customers, of our new waste management program and how we can work together to most effectively leave a smaller footprint in our local environment.

Composting

Though it’s something we’ve been doing since day one, we’ve recently introduced a composting bin to our cafe so you too can help us in our composting efforts. Coffee grounds, coffee filters, tea leaves, wooden stir-sticks, food products, sugar packets, pastry bags and our Homegrown sandwich containers are examples of some of the waste items produced in the cafe that can now be disposed of in our compost bin.

Also, for every coffee beverage we make, we dispose of our grounds exclusively in a bin below our espresso machine. Though this bin is emptied into our compost, we’d be happy to scoop the coffee grounds for you, upon request, for your gardening endeavors!

Recycling

As of recently, our hot to-go cups and lids are considered by the city of Seattle as recyclable materials. We can cut-down our waste immensely by remembering to put these items in our cafe recycle bins rather than the garbage bin. As always, additional recyclable materials include newspapers, miscellaneous paper products, cardboard and glass and plastic bottles.

We’re dedicated to running an environmentally sustainable coffee shop  so please direct any questions you may have in regards to our in-store waste management to one of our baristas or, as always, the comment box below. We appreciate your help and support of our locally relevant cafe and hope that, by working together, we can more positively impact our community and our environment.

Thanks and enjoy your holiday weekend,
Amanda

As we wish farewell to our 15th Ave. Coffee & Tea supervisor, Matty, upon his return to his home in Boston, I thought I’d post on another one of our wonderful teas and a favorite of Matty’s, Yunnan Pu-Erh. Whether it be on one of those evenings spent beside the fire, filled with the sound of Seattle’s infamous rain pounding on the roof, or on a morning characterized by the particular need for a caffeine fix, Yunnan Pu-Erh is the full-bodied, no-nonsense tea you’re looking for. Rich in an earthy, woody aroma and a dark-brown color, Pu-Erh is a black tea that holds its own next to many coffees.

Yunnan, the tea’s namesake, is the region in China responsible for the majority of Pu-Erh tea production. While the cultivation of tea is common across the entire Yunnan region, the mountains known as the “Six Famous Tea Mountains” provide the most optimal conditions for the harvesting of Pu-Erh tea.

Several hundred years ago, during the Qing dynasty, Yunnan Pu-Erh tea was being cultivated and sent  long distances to Tibet and Northern China. On a trail known as the “Old Tea and Horse Way”, the journey would last through spring, summer and autumn, during which the atmospheric conditions would range from warm to cold and dry to humid. Upon the tea’s arrival in Northern China and Tibet, the merchants would taste the tea and observe that the flavor was notably superior to that which had been tasted before this long journey. Tea merchants then began experimenting to find a way in which the unique flavor of this tea could be achieved without having to spend a year or two strapped to the back of a horse and, eventually, a special method was created for processing Yunnan Pu-Erh tea.

The tea was subjected to dry air followed by wet air and it was soon apparent that the effects were the same as those that had so favorably affected the flavor after over a year on horse-back. Furthermore, it was also discovered that the longer the Tea had been aged, the better its flavor. Like vintage wines, Yunnan Pu-Erh can be consumed, not only immediately after harvesting, but after having been aged for years. As a result, many Pu-Erh teas are classified by both their year and region of production.

Ranging from orchid and lily to camphor wood and palm, of the flavor characteristics that can classify a quality Pu-Erh, the variety that you’ll find in 15th Avenue Coffee & Tea (from an April 2008 harvest) embodies a deep woody flavor with a natural sweetness and a full, syrupy body. If you’re one to enjoy your tea with cream and sugar, you’ll find Yunnan Pu-Erh to pair with these additions just like your favorite English Breakfast Tea. Though, unlike many black teas, Yunnan Pu-Erh lacks the high astringency that begs additional condiments.

So on the next occasion you find yourself curled up on the couch with a new book or perhaps joining our Tuesday night French Conversation group, be sure to try a pot of our Yunnan Pu-Erh and notice the distinct subtleties that result from the unique and careful process conducted to produce this fine tea. Additionally, whatever the occasion may be, remember to think of Matty and wish him the best on his life in Boston!

For another tea recommendation, check out my blog post below on our Bai Hao (Oriental Beauty) Oolong. As always, I’d love to hear from you in a comment if you’ve any questions about our coffees and teas!

-Amanda

Espresso… How do I love thee?  I drink you in many different forms, yet you are always beautiful. Civilizations have flourished, culinary masterpieces created because of your splendor.

So maybe I’m slightly obsessed,  but let it be excused… coffee is my job, after all.  And as a coffee evangelist, I feel it is my duty (bestowed by the coffee gods, of course) to educate as many minds and palates as are humanly possible. I am your barista Alex and today I am inspired to simply break down the staple espresso-based beverages so as to make them more accessible to the coffee novice.

#1: The Latte
The latte.  Approachable; familiar; a milk lover’s paradise.  The standard latte contains two shots (or roughly 2 ounces) of espresso and anywhere from 6 to 18 ounces of delicious, frothy milk.  Technically, a latte should have around ¼ of an inch of dense foam on top, but never scooped, always free poured.  Lattes are great for slowly sipping as you sift through a newspaper or nose through a novel.  They are also perfect if you are looking for a sweet pick-me-up, as adding vanilla or almond flavoring is best done with a latte.

#2: The Macchiato
One the other side of the drink spectrum is the macchiato.  Where the latte is milk based, the macchiato is espresso based.  Served in a 4-ounce demitasse, the macchiato consists of 2 espresso shots pulled “ristretto” topped off with rich, velvet-frothed milk. The makeup and temperature of this handsome beverage allows the drinker to best experience the flavors of the espresso and interplay of texture with the milk.  As an espresso-forward beverage, you are able to taste all the flavor nuances of the shots, which can range from lemon zest to pink peppercorn to buttered toast.  The temperature the milk is steamed to lends itself to quick consumption and optimum flavor.  As with food, the flavors in coffee become more pronounced the closer it comes to room temperature.  A macchiato is served around 140 degrees, just warm enough to still be considered a “hot drink” and cool enough to extract the maximum flavor.

#3: The Cappuccino
In between the latte and the macchiato can be found a beautiful harmony of deliciousness that is, ahem, the cappuccino.  Many people are unaware, but a true cappuccino is served in a 6-ounce ceramic demitasse.  Two ounces of espresso, two ounces of steamed milk, and two ounces of foam: the holy trinity.  This drink is perfect for those coffee drinkers wanting to expand their palate or try a different type of drink.  Cappuccinos are also a wonderful for a caffeinated pick-me-up with fewer calories, so as not to fill you up before dinner.

As always, never forget that the best way to drink coffee is to drink it how you like it.  With that in mind, however, don’t be afraid to try a new beverage; your next “new drink” may turn into your new favorite!

-Alex

As spring is finally beginning to make itself apparent in Seattle, a new coffee has shown up in the bins at 15^thAvenue Coffee & Tea. Papua New Guinea Peaberry, our latest small batch offering, is a lively coffee with a lot to offer to a variety of palates.

• Description: Lively acidity, herbal, bell pepper, tomato plant
• Processing Method: Washed
• Elevation: 5,200 feet (1,585 meters)
• Coffee Variety: Mondo Novo, Blue Mountain, Typica, Arusha, Caturra, Catimor

Cultivated at an elevation of 1,585 meters, our Papua New Guinea Peaberry offering is produced by the Kimel Estate in the Wahgi Valley near Banz, Papua New Guinea. Previous offerings we have featured from the Asia/Pacific growing region such as those from Sumatra and Sulawesi can be characterized by their heavy body, minimal acidity and an earthy, herbal flavor, which can be attributed to their semi-washed processing method, typical of Indonesian coffees. Unlike the nearby-cultivated Indonesian coffees, the majority of coffee from Papua New Guinea is processed using the wet-processing method (check out Luke’s post below for a more detailed description of this method) to which it can accredit its bright, acidic profile not unlike a Central or Southern American coffee. Coffees from the Kimel Estate are unique among other coffees originating in Papua New Guinea. While many of the plantations in Papua New Guinea control every variable of the production due to their large-scale wet-processing facilities, the Kimel Estate, owned by the Opais Tribe, encompasses a group of individual farms scattered about the 600 hectare estate. Coffee throughout the Kimel estate is made up of a wide variety of cultivars including Mondo Novo, Blue Mountain, Typica, Arusha, Caturra and Catimor. Like a private cooperative, the Kimel Estate processes and enforces quality control at a central wet-mill.

Also unique about this small-batch offering is its classification as a peaberry coffee (click on to enlarge the photo above to compare Papua New Guinea Peaberry, on the right, with 100% Kona, on the left). While typically the fruit of the coffee plant develops as two halves of a bean within a single cherry, peaberries form as one single round bean. A common botanical occurrence in coffee, Peaberries form in 5-10% of Arabica coffee but often go unsorted from the remainder of the crop. While many batches of coffee contain peaberries within them, coffee offerings are only classified as peaberry coffees when they are majorly comprised of peaberry beans.

All around, our Papua New Guinea Peaberry offering is a vibrant coffee teaming herbal flavors of bell pepper and tomato plant with a crisp acidity and a syrupy mouthfeel. Try this coffee Clover-brewed over ice or, for a cleaner cup highlighting the Papua New Guinea Peaberry’s herbal and bright flavors, as a pour-over through one of our Hario V60’s.

If you have any questions about our Papua New Guinea Peaberry offering, or any of the other coffees in our spring line-up, please comment below!

-Amanda

Mother’s Day is approaching this week and one gift idea for Mom is her very own coffee plant. Coffee plants are on sale year-round at 15th Avenue Coffee & Tea and one can be yours for $20. These small plants, perfect for desks and table decorations, will be expected to yield their own coffee beans in just one to two years.

Read on to learn more about the care and keeping of your own household coffee plant.

Coffea Arabica, the name of the species cultivated to produce all of the Starbucks coffees sold in our cafe (not to be confused with the lesser cultivated variety, Coffea Robusta, which only accounts for about 25% of coffee sold in the coffee industry) is a plant native to tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Cultivated at altitudes of 600 to 1,800 meters above sea level, Arabica coffee grows under somewhat particular growing conditions. I remember learning, at one of the coffee farms I visited on the Big Island of Hawaii, that in the 30-mile expanse of land at the base of the Mauna Loa volcano known as the “Kona Coffee Belt”, coffee plants lead a very regimented day-to-day life. “It’s sunny every day,” one coffee farmer said, “and every day at 4 o’clock, the clouds roll in, we cover our drying patios with roofs and it rains. Every day.” Though not every coffee growing region is characterized by such specific conditions, it’s important that the habitat in which coffee is cultivated is not too wet, nor too dry, that the coffee is subject to direct sunlight for a part of every day and that the weather never reaches extreme hot or cold temperatures.

While, typically, coffee thrives within 25 degrees north and south of the equator, given the right amount of care, you can raise a coffee plant right here in the Pacific Northwest (indoors, of course). Coffee plants are generally easy and low-maintenance to own but knowing a few things about the species can help assure a healthy plant that one day will blossom and produce coffee beans.

Water
For best results I recommend watering no more than twice a week. Aim to keep the soil barely moist in the fall and winter and thoroughly moist in the spring and summer. Be sure that the plant is kept in a pot with a hole on the bottom for drainage.

Humidity
One thing that has a large influence on the growth of a coffee plant is the atmospheric humidity present in growing regions. In regions where Arabica coffee flourishes, the humidity remains consistently around 60% (and never higher than 85%). Though coffee will grow just fine in a household environment, the presence of humidity is helpful to aid water retention. Additionally, if the humidity is consistently too low you may begin to notice browning at the tips of the leaves. I recommend misting your coffee plant, with a spray bottle, once or twice a day. Another option is to place your plant on a tray of pebbles that’s about an inch deep and twice the diameter of the pot in width. Fill the tray with water to no higher than the tops of the pebbles. The pebbles will absorb the water and release humidity into the air as the water evaporates out of the pebbles. Do be sure that the plant or its pot does not come into direct contact with the water causing it to absorb the water. This practice is only a way to generate humidity, not to water the plant.

Long-term
An indoor coffee plant will prosper in temperatures above 65 degrees. Give the plant a locale perhaps near a window with medium light and try to avoid exposing the plant to direct sunlight for more than one-hour per day. Artificial indoor plant lighting can provide a good environment for a coffee plant as well. Finally, the coffee plant will outgrow its pot once a year and failing to re-pot the plant may inhibit its growth. Aim to re-pot the plant in the next size larger pot (with a hole in the bottom) once yearly in the spring to provide for optimal growth.

A coffee plant is a rewarding and aesthetically attractive plant to own that, after a year or two of proper care and attention, will blossom with sweet, fragrant flowers followed by coffee cherries fit to be harvested, processed, roasted and consumed (though it may take awhile for your coffee plant’s yield to fill your favorite coffee mug). I’ve owned my own coffee plant for nearly nine-months and by following the proper care protocol, enjoy an attractive desk-top decoration that I can watch grow and develop. You can too!

Have a great Mother’s Day week,

-Amanda