Caffè Vita

Overview

Caffè Vita was founded on January 1, 1995 in Seattle's Lower Queen Anne neighbourhood by Mike McConnell and Michael Prins, then moved its flagship to 1005 East Pike Street on Capitol Hill in 1999, taking over the former Cafe Paradiso space from Anne Michelson. McConnell pioneered the company's Farm Direct programme — buying coffee directly from growers in roughly eleven countries before fair-trade certifications became the industry default — and on January 1, 2020 sold full ownership to Seattle restaurateur Deming Maclise, an early wholesale customer who once managed Uptown Espresso.

Known for

• Founded January 1, 1995 in Seattle's Lower Queen Anne by Mike McConnell and Michael Prins
• Capitol Hill flagship at 1005 E Pike St since 1999, in the building that formerly housed Cafe Paradiso
• Pioneer of the Farm Direct sourcing model — direct producer relationships across roughly eleven origin countries, predating Fair Trade's mainstream adoption
• Cafés in Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles and Brooklyn plus a second roastery in Phoenix, Arizona
• Official coffee of Washington State Ferries since 2017; barrel-aged coffee collaboration with Batch 206 Distillery

Why it matters

Caffè Vita is one of the load-bearing pieces of Capitol Hill identity — McConnell built the company alongside Via Tribunali pizza, the Crocodile, Neumos and a music-and-food network that defined the neighbourhood through the 2000s — and his Farm Direct programme was an early, articulate argument that bypassing fair trade in favour of direct grower relationships could pay producers more, not less. The Maclise ownership transition in 2020 is a rare specialty handoff that kept the business independent and Seattle-rooted rather than rolling it up.

Production

destoning

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head roaster

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color sorting

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roaster machine

Vintage Probat roasters (Capitol Hill flagship)

filter equipment

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cupping frequency

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roastery location

1005 E Pike Street, Capitol Hill, Seattle (flagship); Phoenix, Arizona (secondary roastery)

espresso equipment

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annual volume tonnes

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Café

1005 East Pike Street, Seattle, WA 98122

Recognitions

• Official coffee of Washington State Ferries (since 2017)
• Named one of '10 places offering the best coffee in America'

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caff%C3%A9_Vita_Coffee_Roasting_Company
• https://www.seattlemet.com/eat-and-drink/2016/08/mike-mcconnell-and-the-rise-of-caffe-vita
• https://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2014/04/out-of-paradiso-emerged-caffe-vita-and-decades-of-capitol-hill-coffee-culture/
• https://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2020/01/king-of-capitol-hills-coffee-culture-caffe-vita-is-in-new-hands/
• https://dailycoffeenews.com/2020/03/12/a-new-lease-on-life-for-iconic-seattle-coffee-brand-caffe-vita/
• https://seattledining.com/Archive/beverages/coffee_tea/caffe_vita_2014.aspx