Top Pot

[dubkat]

I’m at Top Pot on 5th right now (using their fab wy-fy and loving it, by the way.) It's my first visit and I really like the atmosphere, music, people who work here and I LOVE the location. It couldn’t be much more inconvenient for me unless it was in West Seattle but I used to walk by here every day on my way to work and I would dream about all the businesses I would open up in this space. I'm so happy that what I predicted didn't happen, which was that some nifty design firm would take it over and no one else would get to appreciate it. (I guess I wouldn't have minded if I was the one who opened the nifty design firm.) But now it's the perfect hangout spot.

Of course most of this has been said before...but hey, I didn't get to say it!

p.s. had the ham and Swiss and loved the bread. now I'm eating a glazed ring. anyone know if the beans for the coffee are fairtrade/organic?

[girl chow]

I’m at Top Pot on 5th right now (using their fab wy-fy and loving it, by the way.)

Welcome dubkat, and kudos for making one of your first posts *from* the place you were posting about. Extra points.

[dubkat]

Thanks! I have been reading threads over the last two days. I just discovered EG and now I am not sure how I could live without it.

On the topic, I almost went back by TP on my way home tonight to get one more donut. Damn those evil things.

[Feaster]

I am sorry I have nothing to report on the location of the next Top Pot cuz the property owner hasen't sent the lease back yet Almost every day Top Pot gets phone calls from property owners wanting us to rent their space.

If I won the lottery I would finance the building of a Top Pot at each and every place you guys suggested. It takes a lot of doughnuts to pay for a store.

Stay tuned

Silent partner

[dubkat]

Feaster - Do you know if the beans used for Zeitgeist coffee are Fair Trade/organic? It will help me decide if I am getting donuts or coffee and donuts next time?

-thanks

[Feaster]

I know that the percentage of certified coffee is high enough that Top Pot can say “Made with organic coffee.” Each month Top Pot uses more than a ton of Malinal coffee. The growers are paid more than they would get if they were fair trade. The story behind that is at http://teaandcoffee.net/0803/coffee.htm and http://www.malinal.com/background.htm

Top Pot also sends a monthly check to Bob Howell and Vicky Flores to support their charitable efforts in Nayarit Mexico. Some of their story can be found at http://community.webshots.com/user/robertohowell Don’t look too hard or you’ll see a picture of me.

It is interesting that with all the media hype about fair trade and organic, very few people ask if our coffee is certified. But then again, with all the media hype about eating healthy, people are still eating doughnuts.

[dubkat]

I know that the percentage of certified coffee is high enough that Top Pot can say “Made with organic coffee.” Each month Top Pot uses more than a ton of Malinal coffee. The growers are paid more than they would get if they were fair trade.

Thanks I am glad to hear this news. I really appreciate businesses that pay attention to how their actions affect the world.

I am on an almost all fairtrade/organic coffee diet now. The problem is that I don't have easy access to it where I live/work. So I am always on the lookout for new places so that no matter where I am in town I will be able to find a fair cup of joe.

It is interesting that with all the media hype about fair trade and organic, very few people ask if our coffee is certified. But then again, with all the media hype about eating healthy, people are still eating doughnuts.

Excellent observation. :-) I was actually boycotting Top Pot for personal reasons until recently. I don't have a sweet tooth but I have always had this weekness for donuts. I did NOT want to get started. Now we'll see if I can manage my addiction.

I agree that despite the hype not enough people are worried about this issue. Coffee is the third largest polluter in the world due to pesticides and herbicides (behind Cotton #1 and Tobacco #2). Growers are grossly underpaid. And many species in South America are being wiped out due to non-organic farming techniques used by growers trying to grow enough beans to survive. Three great reasons to ask for fairtrade/organic coffee.

I suggest Café Ladro (excellent coffee) and now TopPot and Zeitgeist.

[Schielke]

Vivace's stand on the coffee they use.

[Schielke]

Zoka also looks like it does shade grown for sure, but I would imagine they practice fair trade as well. It would be worth a call if you are interested.

[Schielke]

Same with Hines Public Market.

[bbqer]

Vivace's stand on the coffee they use.

Now *that's* strong coffee!

[MGLloyd]

Although somewhat off topic, in recent weeks I have had occasion to talk with several coffee brokers and importers for a homeroaster coffee-buying co-op that I am a member of.

They all had an interesting take on fair-trade, organic or bird-friendly coffee: it primarily sold to the university\college market or businesses that cater to the university student or yuppie demographic.

They also thought that with the current glut of coffee and depressed prices on the world market, the people who actually grow these coffees were not able to as readily sell them for premium prices and were thus doing relatively poorly from the economic side of things.

Very interesting, I thought, but not as interesting as the price markups on coffee. Most green coffee vendors typically sell high quality green coffee beans at approximately $ 4-6 per pound. The same beans roasted typically go for $ 8-12 per pound. And when you buy that same green coffee from a broker by the 135 pound sack, it typically sells for about $ 0.85 to $ 1.75 per pound. Quite the markup.

[Feaster]

Coffee is the third largest polluter in the world due to pesticides and herbicides (behind Cotton #1 and Tobacco #2). Growers are grossly underpaid. And many species in South America are being wiped out due to non-organic farming techniques used by growers trying to grow enough beans to survive. Three great reasons to ask for fairtrade/organic coffee.

Coffee that is grown at lower elevations, where they slash, burn and fertilize is termed robusta coffee. That's the stuff that goes into Folger's Maxwell House. etc. Vietnam has flooded the coffee market with this junk and that is why the price is so low. Workers in Vietnam make about one dollar a day.

Coffee grown at higher elevationns, usually below the rain forest canopy is Arabica coffee. It is shade grown and bird friendly. The farms are smaller and the yield per hector is a lot less. The farmers cannot afford pesticides or fertilizers. It is organic by default. If the farmer can shell out a few thousand dollars they can get it certified as organic. If the farmer works his tail off and keeps his plants healthy he is rewarded with the best grade of coffee. #1 Arabica. These are the guys who supply the Malinal for Top Pot. They get the premium price for producing a premium product. The coffee is also termed substainale. If you reward the farmer by paying him well, he will be back next year and the year after that.

Moving into the political arena: When a group signs up with fairtrade, they get premium price no matter what the grade of coffee. They can do it because they have a guaranteed market. The last I heard, the FTO collected 20 cents a pound for buyers to put their sticker on their bags. That's 20 cents the farmer didn't get.

The most informative and easiest coffee site I've found is at

http://www.coffeeresearch.org/sitemap.htm

Cheers

Silent partner

[MGLloyd]

Feaster, if you are using Malinal, then I suspect you or whomever supplies your coffee is buying it from San Cristobal importers in Kirkland. I wonder if Jim Kosalos is still running it. If I recall correctly, they store their coffee at Pacific Distribution Services in Sumner. I saw some bags of it when I was down there once picking up some Ethiopian Yirgacheffe.

Edited March 24, 2004 by MGLloyd (log)

[Feaster]

San Cristobal is our supplier. There's a great article on the work Jim kosalos is doing with the Mexican coffee growers at

http://teaandcoffee.net/0803/coffee.htm

Edited March 24, 2004 by Feaster (log)

[Feaster]

The next Top Pot outlet will be located in the Wedgewood neighborhood.

Feaster

[dubkat]

YAY!

where? when?

[Feaster]

The new Top Pot will be located at the Southwest corner of 35th Ave NE and NE 70th St. I think it will add an interesting element to the neighborhood. I do not see Top Pot as a competitor to Grateful Bread or the furure Starbuck's. Different people like different places. Should I add the Safeway bakery to the list?

What type of clientellle should we target with advertising and decore when we build in these pocket neighborhoods? A place to buy a dozen doughnuts on the way to work? A couple three soccer moms getting together with their kids? Lonely singles looking for a place to hang out? You tell me.

[dubkat]

I’m so excited! We are looking forward to the long working lunches/coffee breaks and of course DONUTS in our future. You will still have wi-fi at this location right?

We were lamenting the loss of Rosanna’s since we would like to see more interesting businesses not less, but since she left I can’t think of a better replacement.

As far as the demographic in Wedgwood there are all sorts here. (I should inform you that it’s spelled Wedgwood with no E. Something I just figured out yesterday after living here for 3 years.) There are a lot of seniors but there are a lot of families and younger people too. I definitely think you would be getting a lot of mom’s with and without their kids, small business people who work in the area, and 25-30 something singles/couples. This is kind of the clientele of Nana’s Soup Kitchen, PCC and Grateful Bread. PCC and Grateful Bread are a bit more on the granola side of course. I do think you would be in competition with Grateful Bread but I think you are probably on the winning side of that one and it would even out after the initial hit they would take. In our area everyone is competition because there is not a whole lot of choice.

I have wanted to open a business on 35th and have pondered the demographic for the last few years. I eat out for lunch in this area almost daily (due to working out of our home while it is undergoing a remodel) but of course all of this is only my non-expert opinion. I would love to know what you (feaster) or other Wedgwoodites think.

[dubkat]

Oh, also, thanks for the coffee info and coffee spot recommendations from all. I am still reading the coffee sites and doing more research. It seems like you have to get a degree to care about something in this complex world of ours.

I did want to say one thing about Fair Trade or Organic certification. With all the confusion it’s a way that you can know for sure that you aren't supporting the wrong people with your purchase. The more I read about this the more I think getting certified simplifies things. It may not be perfect but some times a grey area is just too grey to have faith in.