Seattle is justifiably famous for its coffee, but that fame is bundled up with a specific era of coffee. When people think of Seattle coffee they think Starbucks and Espresso Vivace popularizing espresso, they think dark roasts, coffee shops with “java” in the name, Frasier Crane hanging out at the fictional Café Nervosa. In other words, they think of the past. 

The city is still home to more than its fair share of old-school roasteries and coffee shops, many of them still putting out dark-roasted beans and embracing grunge-era aesthetics. But while the past is fun to visit, don’t forget about the future—arguably the best coffee shops in Seattle are the most forward-looking. These cafes lean into light roasts, bring in global flavors that go way beyond the Italian influence of the ‘90s, and manage to surprise and delight with every visit. 

If you want to know where to get a coffee that tastes like pho, or a drink that fuses ube and horchata, check out these inventive Seattle cafes that have all opened in the last year or so:

Day Made

524 First Avenue South | Pioneer Square

This Pioneer Square “kaffe bar” takes its coffee seriously. The beans are sourced from Denmark’s Coffee Collective and owner Ash Day doesn’t have any syrups on the menu — when the coffee itself sparkles with floral and fruity notes, it doesn’t need them. But Day Made is too fun to succumb to dour coffee snobbery. The minimally decorated but stylish space invites hanging out, the affogato is justifiably famous, and the cafe just started serving beer and wine in the evenings. Oh, and the pastries are from Ben’s Bread. Literally what else do you want? 

Photo by Harry Cheadle

Phê

721 East Pine Street | Capitol Hill

Last summer, when this Vietnamese coffee shop opened, it got so mobbed by fans that it immediately ran out of matcha. These days, the line is manageable (at least on weekdays) and matcha is reliably in stock, which is a good thing, because I don’t think anywhere else is doing a banana pudding matcha latte. The coffee-based drinks are, if anything, even more creative. There are some that come topped with honeycomb cookies, even one that promises to taste like pho, and guess what? It does.

Gloom

240 Second Avenue | Pioneer Square

Coffee fans grieved when Elm Coffee Roasters closed, but they should rejoice—Gloom, a relatively new roaster, has taken over the space and is doing incredible stuff with coffee drinks. Many are riffs on cocktails (Gloom co-owner Brandon Paul Weaver is also a co-owner at the bar Liberty), but some are delightfully their own thing. The Side Quest, which has a base of coffee and blueberry rooibos tea, gets sweetened with clarified strawberries and citrus before being topped with cardamom/nutmeg coconut cold foam. It’s as sophisticated as any high-end alcoholic cocktail, and it’s garnished like one, with dehydrated citrus and sugar-dusted pineapple chips made in-house. 

Photo by Harry Cheadle

Nudibranch

1400 12th Avenue | Capitol Hill

Nudibranch is Seattle’s first (and so far only) Thai coffee shop, and it leans into the flavors of Southeast Asia. For instance, the summer menu features the Oliang Salt, a Thai-style sweetened coffee topped with a salty, coconutty foam that manages to avoid being too sugary while delivering a powerful kick. There’s stuff for non-coffee fans too, like the pandan lemonade and a matcha drink that features hard-to-find mangosteen juice. 

Orange Goose

2 West Roy Way Street | Queen Anne

Owner Polu Arsiga turned his pop-up into a brick-and-mortar Korean-Hawaiian coffee shop in the spring. It’s a bustling, light-filled space with one big communal table and tchotchkes from local artists on sale, but the biggest draw is probably the specialty drinks. The most popular, Da Ube, is a mellow, creamy concoction that includes caramelized bits of fresh ube—a rarity—for a bit of texture. 

Courtesy of Café Calaveras

Café Calaveras

860 Yesler Way | Yesler Terrace

Tucked away in Yesler Terrace is an oasis of color and brightness. This queer Latina-owned cafe is overflowing with Día de los Muertos–inspired design choices, plants, and comfortable seating. On a regular day it’s one of the most stylish remote-work spots in the city where you can sip a Bidi Bidi Brew Brew—that’s a horchata drink made bright purple with lavender syrup and ube foam. On special days it’s … hosting a reggaeton party?