 | |
 Interior of the coffee shop on Capitol Hill, 2014 | |
| Founded | Seattle, Washington, United States (1988) |
|---|---|
| Founders | David C. Schomer and Geneva Sullivan |
| Headquarters | |
Number of locations | 3 [1] |
Number of employees | ~30 (2016) |
| Website | espressovivace |
Espresso Vivace is a Seattle area coffee shop and roaster known for its coffee and roasting practices. Vivace's owner, David Schomer, [2] [3] is credited with developing and popularizing latte art in the United States. [4]
Espresso Vivace was founded in 1988 by former Boeing engineer David C. Schomer and Digital Equipment Corporation mainframe technician Geneva Sullivan, who were married at that time. [4] [5] Espresso Vivaces's first incarnation was a coffee cart at 5th and Union, serving mainly financial industry workers, whom Schomer says did not consistently frequent the same cafes or pay close attention to quality. [6]
Schomer and Sullivan opened a second street-facing, covered stand near the Broadway Market QFC grocery, and later a larger roastery cafe on South Broadway. Both were in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, where customers took greater notice, though the Seattle Central Community College customers "didn't know any better" without other nearby coffee shops operating on the same gourmet level. [6] To make way for the Capitol Hill light rail station they were forced to move, choosing a new location five blocks north, near "high-end housing." Here Espresso Vivace found customers who Schomer said were more able to appreciate gourmet coffee as an art form, and who generally became "rabidly loyal" to their favorite haunts. [7] Sullivan and Schomer's business partnership continued after their divorce in 2008. [4] [8]
Espresso is a concentrated form of coffee produced by forcing hot water under high pressure through finely-ground coffee beans. Originating in Italy, espresso has become one of the most popular coffee-brewing methods worldwide. It is characterized by its small serving size, typically 25–30 ml, and its distinctive layers: a dark body topped with a lighter-colored foam called crema.
Capitol Hill is a densely populated residential district in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is immediately east of Downtown Seattle and north of First Hill. The neighborhood is one of the city's most popular nightlife and entertainment districts and is home to a historic gay village and vibrant counterculture community.
The Drinkmore Cafe was a coffee shop on Capitol Hill in Seattle, Washington.
Latte art is a method of preparing coffee created by pouring microfoam into a shot of espresso and resulting in a pattern or design on the surface of the latte. It can also be created or embellished by simply "drawing" in the top layer of foam. Latte art is particularly difficult to create consistently, due to the demanding conditions required of both the espresso shot and milk. This, in turn, is limited by the experience of the barista and quality of the espresso machine. The term also applies to other beverages containing milk foam, such as cappuccino and hot chocolate.
Capitol Hill station is a light rail station in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. The station is served by Sound Transit's Link light rail system and is located near the intersection of Broadway and East John Street. It is situated between the Westlake and University of Washington stations on the 1 Line. The station consists of an island platform approximately 65 feet (20 m) under street level, connected to three surface entrances via two mezzanines. It contains pieces of public art, including Mike Ross's sculpture Jet Kiss and two murals by cartoonist Ellen Forney.
David Schomer is a co-founder of Espresso Vivace. The Seattle Times said "Schomer is as influential in the gourmet coffee world as Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is in the mainstream coffee industry."
A bikini barista is a woman who works as a barista, preparing and serving coffee beverages, while dressed in scanty attire such as a bikini, lingerie or a crop top combined with bikini bottoms or hotpants. In the United States, this marketing technique originated in the Seattle, Washington area in the early 2000s. Similar phenomena have appeared in countries such as Chile and Japan since at least the 1980s.
Mighty-O Donuts is a chain of donut cafe restaurants and a donut wholesaler in Seattle, Washington, founded in 2000. Their donuts and toppings are made in Seattle from scratch using organic, NON-GMP ingredients. The product contains no artificial colors, no dyes, no additives, and no preservatives. The chain bakes and sells donuts at five locations in the area. Mighty-O sells various to-go coffee items, coffee bean blends, and merchandise.
Café Allegro is a coffeeshop in the University District of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is notable for being one of the city's first espresso shops and for its role in the history of Starbucks, as the place where founding proprietor Dave Olsen designed the Starbucks coffee product line. Situated in an alleyway, the cafe features multiple entrances and rooms.
Seattle is regarded as a world center for coffee roasting and coffee supply chain management. Related to this, many of the city's inhabitants are coffee enthusiasts; the city is known for its prominent coffee culture and numerous coffeehouses.
Pike Street is an east-west street in Seattle. It extends from Pike Place above Seattle's saltwater waterfront at Elliott Bay through Downtown Seattle, across Capitol Hill to the freshwater shore of Lake Washington at Lake Washington Boulevard. A segment less than a block long exists at Alaskan Way on Elliott Bay, connected to the rest of the street only by the pedestrian Pike Street Hill Climb; the bottom of the hillclimb under the Alaskan Way Viaduct was the original shoreline of the city before major modification and construction of the Seattle Seawall. It is included in the south-to-north mnemonic "Jesus Christ Made Seattle Under Protest" for the street layout of Seattle.
Victrola Coffee Roasters is a coffee roasting company with multiple locations in Seattle, Washington.
Boon Boona Coffee is a Black-owned coffee roaster and coffeehouse with two locations in the U.S. state of Washington.
Anchorhead Coffee is coffee company founded and based in Seattle, in the U.S. state of Washington.
Seattle Coffee Works (SCW) is a third-wave coffee company based in Seattle, in the U.S. state of Washington. The business was established in 2006 and operates three coffee shops. In addition to the flagship in downtown Seattle, SCW has outposts in Ballard and South Lake Union, called Ballard Coffee Works and Cascade Coffee Works, respectively. A location on Capitol Hill called Capitol Coffee Works opened in 2017 and closed c. 2022. Previously independently owned and operated by Pipo Bui, Oscar García, and roast master Sebastian Simsch, SCW was acquired by Vibe Coffee Group in 2022.
Fuel Coffee & Books is a small chain of coffee shops and bookstores in Seattle, in the U.S. state of Washington. Dani Cone opened the original shop on Capitol Hill in 2005. Montlake and Wallingford locations followed in 2006 and 2007, respectively. In 2020, all three locations were acquired by Danielle and David Hulton of Ada's Technical Books, and the businesses were merged and rebranded. Fuel has used coffee by Caffé Vita, and the food menu has included pastries and pies. The business has garnered a generally positive reception.
Kitanda Espresso and Açaí, or simply Kitanda, is a chain of Brazilian coffee shops in the Seattle metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of Washington. João Boff opened the original shop in Seattle's University District in 1998; since then, the business has evolved and expanded to ten locations, operating in Washington and Oregon.
Westman's Bagel & Coffee is a small chain of bagel and coffee shops in Seattle, in the U.S. state of Washington. Monica Dimas and Molly Westman opened a location on Capitol Hill in January 2018 and another in the University District in 2022. Westman's serves New York–style bagels as well as bialy, pastries, and sandwiches. The business has garnered a positive reception, specifically for its bagels and bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich.
Analog Coffee is a coffee shop on Seattle's Capitol Hill, in the U.S. state of Washington. The business is co-owned by Danny Hanlon and Tim Hayden.
