fiftycoffeeshops: #49: Uptown Espresso

Let me begin with a disclaimer: I am not a coffee expert. I have never been a barista. I haven't taken a trip to Guatemala to visit an organic, sustainable coffee bean farm. I don't know how to properly use the word "mouthfeel" (although, I am of the opinion that no one should use the word mouthfeel, like, ever). I am just someone who enjoys drinking coffee on a pretty regular basis. That's the extent of my credentials.

So, Uptown Espresso.

Come to find out, there are several locations throughout the city. Kristy and I opted to go to the Wallingford location, because it is the closest to our house, and because, well, Wallingford is super duper cute.

Some important background information: I am a terrible parallel-parker. Like, world-class terrible. If there were an Olympic gold medal awarded for "You Absolutely Suck at Parallel Parking, and The Whole World Needs to Know In Order To Ensure The Safety of the Driving Public," I would receive that medal, every four years, no contest. Given this information, Kristy drove us to Wallingford, assuming that we would run into some parallel parking situation that would be far too stressful for me to handle.

However, when we got to Uptown, I saw the most glorious thing I have EVER seen: a parking lot. Guys, a parking lot. In Seattle. For free. Right in front of the coffeehouse. I'm not sure that I can fully express how happy this made me. Remember in Cast Away, when Tom Hanks lost Wilson for the first time, but then he found Wilson and started laughing and apologizing and crying because he had his best friend back? Yeah. That's how happy I was.

Me, upon seeing this glorious parking lot.

After I got over the initial shock of the parking lot, we went inside. The inside is very cute and has a lot of large, wooden tables that would be perfect for studying. The barista was very nice, and Kristy noticed that she was wearing a Noah Gundersen tour t-shirt. We had just been to his show at the Neptune, and so I asked her if she went as well. It turned out that she was also at the show, which began a discussion of how great the show was and how Abby Gundersen is pretty much a beautiful, flawless angel. (If you aren't familiar with the Gundersens and would like to be, start here).

I ordered a nonfat latte and Kristy ordered a caramel americano. The prices were a bit higher than average (the latte was $4.05 for 16 ounces), but, let me tell you, it was so worth it. The foam was so, so, so, so, so good (which makes sense, seeing as Uptown's tagline is "Home of the Velvet Foam"). The taste of the shots was also delicious. I would most definitely feel comfortable saying that this cup of coffee was easily one of the Top 10 cups of coffee I have ever had. I would highly recommend it, and I will be back there very soon, I'm sure.