How we review

Seattle Coffee exists to answer one question quickly: where should I get coffee right now? We are a one-person project, and we would rather be right about fewer shops than wrong about many.

How a shop gets listed

Local reviewers study what people actually say about a shop — community posts, reviews, and public business information — and judge it independently. A shop only appears here when reviewers reach consensus that it is a real coffee shop worth your time. When in doubt, they vote no.

What the badges mean

★ Reviewer recommended means reviewers scored the shop highly for coffee quality — not just popularity. Every shop page shows when it was last checked, so you know how fresh the information is.

What we do not do

No paid placements. No sponsored rankings. Star ratings come from public review platforms and are labeled as such; reviewer scores are ours. Listings can still be wrong — hours change, shops close — so call ahead before you make a special trip.