Caffe Vita
Cafe · Capitol Hill ·
House-roasted coffee & espresso drinks in a relaxed setting
House-roasted coffee & espresso drinks in a relaxed setting
"I noticed the more recently opened Vita locations, such as the Capitol Hill flagship, tend to be sleeker and more spacious compared with the original Queen Anne outpost." - Harry Cheadle
"Founded in 1995, Vita is the oldest roaster on this list and unsurprisingly this cold brew is old-school, dark and smooth. If you put it on ice in a glass with some milk we certainly wouldn’t be mad. Or in a pinch, you could pour some half and half into the can at a highway rest stop. These cans are widely available in grocery stores and at Vita locations." - Harry Cheadle
"If you need a quick espresso to keep you on your feet, you won't do better than this pillar of Seattle’s coffee scene; the Capitol Hill Vita is right in the thick of the action and will be open all day during the festival." - Sophie Grossman
"Once again, Seattle craft coffee powerhouse Caffe Vita is sending not one but two baristas to compete in the U.S. Coffee Championships (USCC), an event that’s part of this weekend’s Specialty Coffee Expo at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland. Caffe Vita is sending returning contender Gray Kauffman, who tied for sixth in the U.S. Barista Championship competition at USCC 2022 in Boston, to perform in the same competition this year, while newcomer Natasha Solowoniuk will be performing in the Coffee in Good Spirits (a.k.a. coffee cocktails) competition. A third-generation Seattleite, Solowoniuk manages the Caffe Vita shop at Seattle Center, which adjoins indie radio station KEXP’s broadcasting studio. She’s been working in coffee for ten years and designing drinks for five, and she creates a lot of the components for her cocktails from scratch. Both of her signature drinks for USCC 2023 are based on tequila —one stars a homemade chicha morada concentrate made from Peruvian kʼculli (purple corn), while the other features a homemade buttered popcorn–infused simple syrup." - Meg van Huygen
"After a change in ownership on January 1, 2020, local restaurateur Deming Maclise took over this iconic independent Seattle coffee chain that has been at the forefront of the city’s coffee culture for more than 25 years. The handoff comes amid a controversy in which the company’s Capitol Hill location was accused of firing employees for serving leftover food to homeless people; an alleged staff email reportedly warned that “feeding homeless people without comprehensive services actually enables, increases and promotes homelessness” and that “giving away products is theft and the grounds for immediate employment termination,” prompting a public apology from then-owners Mike and Liz McConnell. Maclise, who previously held a minority stake, says he wants to start fresh by improving communication with staff, soliciting “everyone’s thoughts on how they feel about the future,” and reassuring the public that Vita will be welcoming to all — “I want to spread the widest net.” He plans some small cosmetic updates, to keep service “constantly improving,” to tweak food menus over time, and to pursue more local collaborations, while for now focusing on strengthening the company’s existing operation of more than 10 locations across four cities, three roasting facilities, and a robust retail arm rather than pursuing big expansion." - Gabe Guarente