Coffee on the Ave – (3) Trabant Coffee and Chai

I’m touring and reviewing the coffeeshops on “the Ave.” Read earlier reviews here.

Trabant Coffee and Chai

www.trabantcoffee.com | Map and info

Coffee

A friend who worked at for the UW right at 45th and the Ave. used to tell me all the time about how great the coffee at Trabant was. He is a serious coffee connoisseur and is typically a very difficult judge so I figured it must be good stuff. Oh boy, was he right! Trabant is the best coffee on the Ave. And I’m not the only one who thinks so; Trabant won CitySearch’s “Best Seattle Coffee” award in 2008.

• Beans – Trabant is a coffee-lover’s coffeehose, and as such they have exceptionally fancy beans. I don’t know what kind of beans they use in their regular drinks, but I suspect it’s their own roast rather than another roaster’s bean. I’d expect nothing less from a coffeehouse that offers seasonal coffees like “Organic Ethiopia Yergacheffe Beloya Micro-lot #3″ and a $15, 8 oz., Clover-brewed “Panama Esmeralda Especial.”
• Milk – Smith Brothers Milk. In their chai, Trabant uses non-fat milk, but you wouldn’t know it by taste because they add calcium carbonate (I think that’s what the barista said) to make it creamy.
• Mocha – Yes! Amazing mochas at Trabant. As I do at all coffeeshops the first time I visit, I asked what kind of chocolate they use. Instead of the expected one-word answer (“Ghiradelli,” or the dreaded “Hersheys”), the knowledgeable barista gave me a 30-second answer! In short, Trabant makes their own chocolate sauce from a single-source, alkali-processed cocoa powder they import. Wow. I was impressed with the answer and more impressed with the result: a dark but not bitter chocolate taste, not much sweeter than a latte. Perfect.
• Container – I’ve never taken a drink to go from Trabant. The coffee just seems too good to take in one of the white paper cups they have on the counter. It’d be like ordering take-out from a French restaurant.
• Chai – As the name indicates, Trabant isn’t a one-trick pony; they also serve chai. I don’t mind chai but I’m definitely a coffee person. But I thought I’d give it a shot so I could include mention in this review. I went with the “traditional” variant; it was excellent (not overly sweet), but I don’t drink enough of it to know how to compare it to others. Simultaneously smooth and spicy, it had a creamy mouth feel that surprised me because it was made with non-fat milk.

Prices

Quality comes at a price, as any Macintosh or BMW loyalist will tell you. I expected to pay more for drinks of this quality. But really, the prices are about the same as other coffeeshops. The standard tall latté: $3.28 and with tax (same as Solstice). Short and tall drinks come with two shots, and amazingly, grande drinks have four. Four! It makes for a very strong drink

If you’re looking to spend more, though, you certainly can. Trabant boasts one of the expensive Clover brewing machines, which seem only to work with rare (read: expensive) seasonal coffees. I treated a friend once who ordered a tall coffee from the device (an Ethiopian coffee, I think) that cost about $5. Well worth it if you know your coffee and want a treat, but it wouldn’t be the place to get a cup of brew to wash down an Egg McMuffin.

And like most other shops, orders under $5 are assessed a 25-cent surcharge if paid by credit card. (It’s easy to avoid that charge at Trabant when ordering a cup of that Clover-brewed coffee, though ;-)

Service

Baristas at Trabant are equal parts coffee knowldge and friendly. Every question I’ve asked of the three or four I’ve seen is answered well and with enthusiasm. It’s fair to say that the baristas aren’t there becuase they needed a job; they’re there because they love coffee. The seem to enjoy being asked about the coffees and usually greet you with a smile when you walk in.

One tricky thing: there’s no bus station, so you have to put your cup right back on the counter where you picked it up, which can be weird if others are waiting for their drinks.

Oh, and their free wireless network has always worked for me without trouble.

Location

Getting to Trabant takes a bit from my office, which is the only reason I don’t go there as often. However, it is centrally located, right at the intersection of 45th and the Ave. It’s all indoor seating, but there are many windows facing 45th and… well some dirty alleyway. Oh well.