Sweet Pastry Goodness

We spent a good deal of time trying to find the right bakery for our cafe. We ate a lot of mediocre pastry and I have the fat ass to prove it. When Jenny, Kale and I sat down to the basket of Boulangerie Nantaise bounty at our tasting, we knew we were in the presence of artisans. The pastry is as beautiful as it is delicious. The Boo (as we now fondly refer to it) uses only organic ingredients, fresh and local and it shows in the quality and taste of the food.

As the three of us left the bakery on that first visit, Kale and I shared an exuberent high five/chest bump only to be surprised by Mireille, the general manager, returning Kale's left behind notebook. Not our most elegant moment by far but one of the funniest.

Our Coffee

I'm going to tell you a story. But before I do, promise not to judge me by my past coffee choices, I get it now. And by "it", I mean the beauty of great coffee.

Picture it: The tail end of 2009, Jenny and I have decided to open a coffee shop. We start the search for the perfect coffee. Along the way, we meet Bob Prince from Caffe Vita, totally cool dude, very laid back except when it comes to his coffee. Bob asks me, "How do you like your coffee?" or something to that effect. I say, "Bob, when I do drink coffee, which is rarely, I like Nescafe instant coffee with Coffeemate." He didn't even bat an eye before replying, "That's cool." Really Bob? That's cool? No judgement? Huh, I wasn't expecting that.

Jenny and I have toured the roasterie on Capitol Hill and marvelled at the 1930's Probat cast metal roaster which Caffe Vita uses to hand roast their small batches of coffee. Nothing automatic here. We met the guy who roasts their espresso and drank some awesome coffee made for us by the head educator, Andy. We fell in love with Caffe Vita and the dedication every one we met feels about this coffee. Caffe Vita knows their coffee and the farmers that grow it, they travel to the farms to ensure they adhere to the social and environmental standards they believe in and to inspect the trees, cup coffee and verify employee and environmental management. In short, they are passionate about what they do. I think this is one of the strongest reasons we choose Caffe Vita to serve at The Coffee Drop Cafe, the passion. I may have not known much about coffee but I do know passion about doing something right and the joy that comes with it.

Jenny, Kale and I attended the PBS (Public Brewing School) at Caffe Vita and have been fortunate enough to have Andy Kent come to The Coffee Drop Cafe to educate "the Droplets". We will continue to take classes with Caffe Vita to keep us at the top of our game.

We are proud to serve Caffe Vita at The Coffee Drop Cafe. Our drip coffees (Theo Blend and Novacella Decaf) are organic and their flavors are complex and delicious. Our espresso is the Caffe del Sol blend described as rich and complex with hints of dark chocolate and praline with a caramel finish.

Needless to say, I was able to set aside my love of instant coffee and non-dairy coffee creamer and embrace the beauty that is superb coffee.

Hello Seattle!

The Coffee Drop Cafe officially opened it's doors on June 8, 2010. Jenny and I had been percoalating on this idea for a good year but when the actual work started, it went pretty quickly. Jenny and I are idea people and idea people never let silly things like "reality" stand in their way. We know how to run a successful spa business but we had never run a coffee shop. I was never a barista (which seems like a heresy in Seattle). We met Kale Kuhlman, who we originally thought we would hire to consult with us as he is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to opening and running a coffee business. Needless to say, it was love at first site (for me). He was extremely well spoken and passionate about coffee and I wanted him on our team. To run a truly great business, you hire people that are smarter than you. Kale, Jenny and I worked our tails off to gather the best of the best local purveyors of awesome foodstuffs and coffee into one cafe and I think we hit it out of the ball park. I look forward to sharing our story with you as proceed on this journey.