I Have a New Favorite Coffee Shop: The Local

My son's friend works at The Local (8530 W Gage Blvd) and is always talking about it. It's been open about a year and a half but I'd never had a reason to go before. What makes it standout? It's like a wine bar for coffee!

This morning I interviewed the owner, Michael Tormanen. What makes this place different (and has got my son's friend off the hook for this place) is they're one of the only places in Washington to serve Victrola-roasted coffee. Victrola purchases and roasts only the highest-scoring coffee in the world.

And because coffee is technically a fruit, that means they have different stuff every month as beans from different parts of the world go in and out of season.

Like wine, the soil in a particular place infuses flavors into a coffee bean. To preserve this flavor, Victrola's roasts in small batches. With only small quantities to sell, the roasters have to be highly exclusive about what coffee shops they sell to. Those coffee shops, The Local being one, have to be particular in how they serve it.

"We weigh out every dose. We don't have a coffee tower... no large batches," Tormanen said. "We make one cup at a time by hand."

The means some are prepared with pour overs, some with steam presses. The brewing method depends on the bean. If all you want is an espresso, they have a blend for everyone, but also expect 3-4 different "single origin" coffee blends each month. Right now they have one from Burundi and another from Kenya.

All of this information must be communicated by each staff member, so there is an extensive training for new employees that can go as long as four months before they serve a single espresso.

Besides what I learned from Tormanen and my son's friend, I've also heard a lot of people talk about how "Seattle" the interior feels -- in a good way. That makes sense since Tormanen was trained in coffee in Seattle and Victrola is there. Expect to see wine and beer served in the future, along with more live music performed, Tormanen said.

This is a pic of cold-brewed coffee in a growler. I like how it showcases their dark-wood bar.