Coffee roasting and tasting at Caffe Appassionato - coffeehouse in Seattle, Washington

Sunset, Feb, 1996 by Colleen Foye Bollen

Just when you think Seattle is filled to the brim with coffee (there are 230-plus Espresso listings in the yellow pages), another shop opens up. One of the newest, Caffe Appassionato in the Magnolia district, gives customers a close-up look at coffee roasting as well as a chance to sample various brews.

The show opens as 125 pounds of unroasted coffee beans cascade down a clear tube into a funnel or "hopper" at the top of the roaster. Then, with the flip of a lever, master roaster Dan Donahue drops the beans from the hopper into the drum of an antique roaster. The beans are slow-roasted over indirect gas-fired heat; then, at the exact moment of doneness, they are released into the cooling tray. Moments later they are blown up a tube and conveyed to the production room in back.

You can sample the results at the complimentary tasting bar, which serves six different coffees a day.

Named after Beethoven's Piano Sonata op. 57 ("Appassionata"), the cafe has a theme centered around the arts, especially the art of coffee roasting. Three kiosks use photos and text to trace coffee's history - from its legendary cultivation and use in Ethiopia around A.D. 800 to the bean's journey to North America in 1668. Music stands hold scrapbooks of old photographs and interesting coffee trivia.

In addition to coffee drinks, the cafe serves hot and cold sandwiches, salads, homemade soup, and desserts, including the Florentine cookie (with almonds, currants, and chocolate) and often the traditional Italian semifreddo, an espresso-soaked cake. Of course, the cafe also sells bulk and packaged coffee.

Caffe Appassionato is at 4001 21st Avenue W., across from Fisherman's Terminal. The cafe is open from 6 to 6 daily. The roaster Operates from 7:30 to 5:30 daily. Hours and roasting times may change; to check, call (206) 281-8040.