Visible Coffee Roasters — Restaurant in Seattle

The people were very nice, and people who are in love with 5-year-old Instagram design trends in the industrial-chic category will like the interior.

But the coffee is absolutely abysmal. They should take the pour over fully off the menu if they're not going to train their baristas to have any idea of how to make it - it's actually a fairly difficult skill to learn to the point that longtime hobbyists can struggle to make a consistently good cup.

I honestly can't fathom why they would offer pour over here when they don't know how to brew a pour over. To trick people like me into thinking they're serious about coffee when they clearly aren't? Congratulations, you've made 5 bucks in revenue and earned a 1 star review.

This Google maps page is proof positive that Seattle's coffee drinking public has nearly zero interest in the actual taste of coffee and is almost exclusively interested with syrup-flavored milk beverages.

For a good cup in the neighborhood that's open late, try Yeeobo. They know how to pull a good shot of espresso and actually know how to make everything on their menu.

Edit: I should be more constructive. The brew was both thin and bitter, suggesting channeling in the coffee bed. The way you dial in the correct grind size for pour over coffee is to either start much coarser and drop your grind size until you get astringency, then go back up until it's gone. Alternatively you can start fine and coarsen until you start losing flavor or start getting sourness and go back down, but that's a much less consistent signal / observable breakpoint than the other direction. Ideal grind size varies by bean (including by roast on the same greens), water hardness, and brew temp: note that a full boil is sometimes the wrong move and 195-205f can be more forgiving and consistent, going even further down for darker roasts. Look into videos by James Hoffman, Tetsu Kasuya, and others on how it actually works. Alternatively, an immersive brew method like a French press, moka pot, or aeropress can accomplish comparable results with more consistency and less effort for physical chemistry reasons - the physics giving rise to channeling occur in percolative brew methods much more strongly than in immersive brew methods. s So you have to actively mess up a French press to get a cup as bad as what I was served, while you can get bad results in a pourover by a passive failure to do a right thing. If you work on the coffee, ping me here that you've fixed it (or that you've gotten rid of pourover but are confident you've properly dialed your espresso and trained your baristas to pull a good shot), and I'll change my review accordingly. Black arrows in Belltown had a rough start too (albeit less rough) but they took feedback seriously and now pull one of the better second wave style shots in that neighborhood.

I'd be really pleased and have a lot of respect for the work put in if y'all can show similar improvement. I'm not optimistic but would be happy to be...

I've been excited to have Visible open since I saw their sign. I go to the pottery studio in the early morning but there wasn't a coffee place open that early until now! I got an almond latte that was made well - not a cup half full of foam like some places - and the decaf espresso was nice and smooth. The baristas were super friendly and welcoming.

The inside has all kinds of different sitting spots, from comfy, squishy chairs to tables where multiple people can sit together. Lots of plugs for laptops. And the front windows will mean it will be cheery even in the deep, wet winter. I expect they'll be super popular since there hasn't really been a good place for that in this corner - even more once the apartments near Cafe Flora open.

My only wish is that there was bike parking on this corner, but that's not so much Visible's issue (I think?). I wouldn't be able to hang out very long without having to watch my bike like a hawk or park it across the street. This section of Madison doesn't have enough bike parking in general, so I'm hoping...

Visible Coffee Roasters recently opened in my neighborhood, and I couldn’t be happier about it. People who know me know I’m a bit particular about my coffee and the places I frequent, so it’s saying something that this has quickly become my new favorite spot.

The coffee is excellent, full stop. I usually go for an espresso and soda, but their brewed coffee is just as good. The space itself is bright and full of energy, with big windows, great light, and a design that feels both playful and intentional. It’s the kind of place that makes you want to stay for another cup.

Everyone here is friendly, easygoing, and genuinely glad to see you. It’s welcoming without trying too hard, which is a rare feat. As a real estate agent, I visit a lot of cafes around the city, and I can confidently say Visible holds its own with the best of them.

Seattle’s coffee scene has another winner, and lucky for me, it’s right around the corner. If I go missing, start...