A Seattle Cup with a Little More

With a day as busy as today, I was able to have a cup of lavender green tea while at my desk but sadly, no reprieve from the day until long after I got home and had dinner. The reprieve is in the form of blogging tonight about a past cup of coffee.  While on our first visit to Seattle earlier this year, we did the obligatory tourist things.  Seattle is too large and has so much to offer that you can't see all the great stuff in just one visit. We did see the Space Needle and see the Snoqualmie Falls.  Of course we visited Pikes Place; Seattle hasn't become the rainy, coffee-loving city that everyone knows it as for no reason.  Right off the bat as you enter Pikes Place, you are surrounded by gorgeous fresh flowers, men throwing fish, and endless shops with everything from touristy postcards to incense to hand-made jewelry.  There is a terrific comic book shop and a tea shop with dozens of mixed loose leaf teas and tea making and serving supplies.  Such variety and seemingly infinite products, restaurants, and of course, coffee shops.
The very first Starbucks is located in Pikes Place.  With a constant long lines, people are not deterred to make the pilgrimage to this flagship location, because, well, you have to.  It is as must of a tourist stop as the Space Needle but you walk away with coffee from the place that started this franchise that is so large, it's got it's own shop at Disneyland.
However, I am not a fan.  I have some friends who would prefer it over oxygen, if give. the option but it's not for me.  The mates I was with when visiting Seattle, are on my wavelength, so we took a picture of it, like good tourists, and then proceeded to have coffee elsewhere.  We all feel that Starbucks has a burnt taste to their coffee that is distinct and unpleasant.
Down a block or so from the #1, we came across a cute coffee and sandwich shop (with beer and wine options).  Local Color is a nice little shop that doubles as an art gallery.  Local artists have their art hanging on the walls and just about everything you see, you can purchase.  They serve Caffe Vita coffee and the sandwiches vary from panini style to breakfast sandwiches served all day.
It was late afternoon when we decided on grabbing a cup of Joe so I got a small white chocolate mocha and the husband got a local beer.  I believe my mates ordered the same or a cappuccino but all I know was my drink had about a tablespoon of sugary syrup at the bottom of my cup.  Oops.  Well, it tasted good up until then.  We then walked the shop to look at the art. Definitely some cool stuff but way out of our price ranges.  I liked that we all chose to walk away from the Big Guy and support a local business and that they had much more then coffee to offer.  Seattle has so many coffee shops and I look forward to checking more out.