All posts in: Stumptown

21 Feb 2017

Stumptown’s Sparkling Cold Brew

Could Stumptown win the race in who has the better packaging over Blue Bottle? Which do you prefer – cans or cartons? Now, I’ve been loyal to Stumptown since my days in college, but I haven’t had a sparkling cold brew before and naturally we’re a little bit hesitant about trying new things. One of my favorite bloggers, Oh Joy!, has this important lesson/trick that she does with her kids though which is that she doesn’t allow them to say they don’t like something if they haven’t tried it before. So we’ll just reserve our opinions until we’ve had a taste! I am still a huge fan of these old school looking cans though. The three flavors available are Honey Lemon, Original and Ginger Citrus. Another thing to note about this beverage is that each can contains half as much caffeine as you would find in any normal cold brew so don’t expect that quick jolt that you would normally be having.

09 Oct 2015

Peet’s Coffee & Tea Buys Stumptown

Anytime there’s ever news about an acquisition, there’s always some sort of negative connotation, right? I’ve never actually had Peet’s, but I have heard that what they serve is pretty strong. And Stumptown? Well, that was just a block down from me when I lived in Capitol Hill and went to school. Fun fact: it also played the role of being the setting of my first coffee date! So naturally, it holds a special place in my heart. Stumptown was special to a lot of people though. It was independent, charming, and belonged to the Northwest… and well New York I guess, but still. Since I’ve been in California, I’m obviously not drinking it as much so the change doesn’t have a huge impact, but I’m curious as to how other regulars feel about the acquisition.

Apparently, the change will be kind of subtle. Stumptown won’t be carrying Peet’s products and vice versa, but Peet’s will help give Stumptown more exposure, which I assume will be introducing more Stumptown locations across the country and beyond. That can’t be a terrible thing, right?

28 Jan 2015

Yow Yow! Does Portland!

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First vacation of the year – check! I’m finally now at an age where it has become maybe not a little bit easier, but more convenient for my cousins and I to get together. When we were younger, we were on family trips and there were a lot more people around, but now that we’re adults, we get to plan the trip and we get to do all the things we like doing. There’s a sort of an independence that comes with it and I think that’s why I enjoyed my weekend in Portland so much. A handful of my cousins are still in school ie) Grad school, dental school, etc. They’re all smarty pants! Kristie and I have never actually been to Portland before and since one of our cousins is currently living there and in school, we knew it would be the perfect place to visit first.

I had been itching to experience Portland for myself because for years all I’ve heard was that it was better than Seattle, worse than Seattle, more hipster than Seattle, etc. And now that I’ve finally seen it, I have my own opinions to make. First off, Portland is gorgeous. The trees, the bridges, the water – all things that reminded me of home without actually being at home. I love the little neighborhoods – Alberta, Alphabet District, Pearl, NW 23rd – it’s like any other major city that has their own area. I did, however, find the pace of Portland to be much slower, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, just something I’m not used to. Our cousin also let us borrow his car the first day we were there and I found it to be fairly straightforward to get around. Let’s talk about the things we ate though since that’s usually the only reason why we write these posts.

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29 Oct 2013

Kuma Coffee


For years now I’ve worked hard on getting to know Seattle via its coffee. From Stumptown to Caffe Vita to Herkimer, Seattle’s coffee choices do not disappoint. I’m happy to say I’ve recently discovered another local coffee roaster!

Kuma Coffee can be found in Ballard with owner Mark Barany. Inspired by African coffee after living in Kenya for several years, the blends are direct and fair trade. Mark makes it a point to be present with his clients and I absolutely recommend checking Kuma Coffee out based on their attention to relationships alone, and of course, the quality coffee.

After having an Americano with their beans, it’s safe to say, I’m a major fan already.

To find out more information about Kuma, check out their site here.

06 Feb 2013

Some Men Like Valentine’s Day

Like many little girls growing up, I always believed that Valentine’s Day was for the ladies! It was the one day that girls would acquire something sparkly, nibble into some chocolates, or even receive a bouquet of flowers. (This doesn’t happen in real life) For some reason, no one ever told me that guys  were getting something out of it too. Of course, as I grew up I knew better. I knew that if I were to ever celebrate Valentine’s Day that it wouldn’t be all about me and that I would treat the relationship as being mutual. It still bothers me to this day to watch reality television shows in which girls expect to be treated like princesses at all times. I’m looking at you Heidi Montag.

I’m pretty proud of myself that I can still believe that chivalry isn’t dead, but also that girls can split meals, ask a guy out on a date first, or even WHOA treat their guys out to a date sometimes. It’s what keeps things exciting, right?

The point of this is that Valentine’s Day is a celebration for both you AND your significant other so enjoy it and girls – allow yourself to do something nice for your guy (not just on V-day) but other days too.

Kings County Distillery Chocolate Flavored Whiskey – $20

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10 Feb 2012

It’s A Valentine’s Day Post!

If you haven’t gotten on top of your gifts for Valentine’s Day this year yet, then you better get moving. Me, being the V-day rookie that I am, completely dropped the ball this week with my midterms and didn’t even realize that ordering Shari’s Berries later would result in a higher shipping cost. No strawberries for Katie this year unfortunately. Of course, I think my friend Alyssa promptly put me in my place when she asked me, “Can’t you just make those yourself?” Touche, Alyssa. Touche.

I meant to make this post a lot earlier for all of you, but life gets in the way sometimes. If you were relying on me to help you out with what to get for Valentine’s Day this year, then I apologize.

Here’s what you can do though if you’re sluffing:

The Stranger via Cupcake Royale

1. Desserts are  great. Shari’s Berries is still awesome and if I could suck up my stubborness, I would dish out that shipping fee, but I can’t. Another alternative is Cupcake Royale’s Deathcake. The deathcake is injected with chocolaty goodness and Stumptown’s espresso ganache.  YUM.

2. Another alternative that I wanted to take advantage of this year was making Valentine’s Day cards. This used to be my favorite thing as a child, buying the cutest Valentine’s Day cards to give to all of my classmates and making sure that the best messages went to my best friends while the generic, “You are sweet!” ones went to everyone else. The makers wouldn’t have made more of the  generic ones and less of the better ones if that wasn’t their point. As young children, they taught us how to play favorites…Anyways! I wanted to make cards for all of my co-workers this year and since all of us are a pretty silly bunch, I knew they would appreciate it. The valentine above was made by a lovely lady named Beth who has constructed a number of cards for the holiday this year revolving around pop culture subjects.

via Refinery 29

3. This little item is called the “Smitten Snuggle” and it is designed for the couple that still wants to hold hands with each other while braving the winter weather. It’s pretty much the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.

 

25 Jan 2012

Out on the Town: 1/26

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, Cupcake Royale has already started to roll out the infamous Deathcake. Tomorrow, at every location, they will be holding a tasting party from 5-7PM . At each shop, the Deathcake will include local libations and Capitol Hill’s very own Stumptown Coffee. The entire event is free!

For more details, click here.

02 Feb 2011

Out on the Town: 2/3

Tomorrow from 4-6 PM, Cupcake Royale will be having a free Deathcake tasting at their Capitol Hill location. The Deathcake is the shops “Cupcake of the Month” and it is supposedly the best chocolate cake in town right now. The savory dessert is made of Theo Chocolate and Stumptown espresso ganache.

 

14 Jun 2010

First Date…Check Mate?

Growing up, I watched enough episodes of Step-By-Step, Full House, and Boy Meets World to learn that a dinner and a movie equaled a date. Then again, that was over a dozen years ago. So what is a date now? I’ve read enough blogs to learn that a date today is something completely spontaneous and adventurous something not in the books. In fact, The Frisky has advised me to stray away from both a dinner and a movie. Don’t do dinners because you might get yourself into a situation that is unbearable and you can’t run out on a meal. Alternative? Do drinks or dessert instead. Don’t do a movie because there’s no talking involved. Duh!

Then time came for me to go on my very first date. We had coffee tea and hot chocolate at Stumptown. It lasted about an hour – a perfect duration of time  for me – he paid [aww that’s nice!] We had conversations about school, our hobbies, why we chose to go to Seattle U, the usual. He was a gentleman and super sweet.

After the date ended, I came back to report to my friends.

“How was your date?!”

“We went out to coffee at Stumptown, it was fun.”

“K – A coffee date isn’t a real date!”

“But… but … he paid! Why isn’t it considered a date?”

I decided to pose this question to my friends.

Is a coffee date considered a real date?

Yes, you can grab coffee with your friends and family, but what are the actual traits of a date and who makes them up?

“Hmmm I wanna say no. I feel like you would go on that to get to know each other better, but I wouldn’t say that is a date…more to find out if you actually like the person.”

“Yes! but its an intro date, not completely serious.

What do you think the traits of a date are?

…Interest as more than just friends one-on-one”

“I would say yes and no. It’s a casual place to get to know someone rather than going straight to the fancy restaurants etc.”

“Coffee is not a date. Coffee is like buddy buddy. Lunch is friendship, but dinner is a date date.” – wise words from my mother.

“If it’s just you and a guy then it’s more like a date I think, but not as serious.”

“I feel like it depends on the relationship that you have with the person. If it is someone you have known for a long time, I think its more of a way to catch up. I think that coffee with someone you are just getting to know is a date date cause its much shorter than dinner and you can make up something easier if you don’t want to stay with them after coffee.”

“I think it could be considered a date – if the man pays and you’re chilling at the coffee shop for a long while, chatting it up”

“Ummmm no, but it can because to guys coffee is a neutral thing to test the waters [and for girls] it is a nice way of guys playing with ones heart.”

Conclusion: Coffee dates are pre-dates. Most of my friends started off their responses with an “umm,” “well…” or “I think…” which means we’re all in the same boat here! There’s not really a definitive answer, and there’s nothing wrong with that. There’s also a lot of “It depends on the person/relationship” meaning it’s different for everyone. I’m not exactly right in my thinking, but I’m not wrong either.

28 Jan 2010

Cupcake Royale’s Deathcake

The thought of being consumed by this much chocolate is terrifying. I dare someone to eat the full slice in one sitting. In fact, I would probably like to witness this. How to make the deathcake: 1 part chocolate cake from Cupcake Royale and 1 part Stumptown Espresso Ganache.

You won’t be getting a food coma, you’ll be in a cake coma!

Tonight from 6-8 PM in all Cupcake Royale locations, you will be able to sample this cake for free! So go go go! The cake is only available for a limited time from January 29th-February 14th for $6.65