BeanCity Coffee

We were surprised to find this is no longer Bean City but a coffee shop called the Crows nest. Very strong cigarette smell upon entering, messy and pretty scary looking inside. The owners exact words «this place is a dump but I’m trying to fix it up» I didn’t order anything, too sketchy and the smell was over powering.

New coffee place in Lake City! Check it out! Great coffee and a small and cozy environment to hang out at.

Good regular coffee! It is made as pour-​over as drip is not a big seller for them. Anyway, it has a nice bold flavor without the Starbucks ‘burnt’ taste. They were out of half and half but they were closing soon anyway so I’m OK with that. Will be back!

So I ventured out to this little ‘hole in the wall’ coffee house based on other Unilocal reviews and I was not disappointed! Tim (the owner) is genuinely delightful and cares about every customer! We became friends almost immediately… he has a wonderful demeanor. One important thing to note: make sure you bring cash… he doesn’t have a credit card machine, which I found out on my first trip. I ordered a large mocha and 2 slices of banana bread (1 for me and 1 for my husband). Tim made my mocha and while our bread was being heated (old-​school in a real oven), I tried to pay by credit card. Tim smiled and said he doesn’t take cards, but it was no problem… I could ‘catch him next time’. I couldn’t believe it! I tried to write him a check, but he said it was really ok… AND HE MEANT IT! It’s refreshing to find places like this that are actually there for the greater good of their customers, not just to make a buck. I will continue to frequent this establishment, even though it’s out of the way for me, and I hope everyone else does too.
By the way, as others have said, this is not your typical super-​speedy place to visit, but quality takes time, and trust me, it’s definitely worth the wait. The mocha was awesome and the homemade banana bread is the bomb!

This place is AMAZING!!! But before I go on lets set some expectations. This is not the place to go to sit and work on your laptop (no free wi-​fi). You might get lucky, and sometimes there is self serve drip coffee with a jar for your payment, but in general this isn’t the place for in and out espresso where you can be in and out in under 2 minutes (the owner roasts his beans himself in small batches and there is often a line), this isn’t the place to have a staff meeting etc. Now you might be asking… How did Bean City earn 5 stars?
1. FRESHNESS — The owner roasts his own beans himself in small batches, and sells baked products from local bakers. (Tim may now be baking his own baked goods)
2. INNOVATION — The beans are roasted in a contraption designed by the owner that is pieced together from parts of a toaster oven, an electric pasta maker, and other scraps of machinery. If you are lucky enough to be here while Tim is roasting, the whole place will be filled with smoke and the windows will be open.
3. AMBIANCE — With constant improvements Tim is always making his shop more inviting. Great place to do the crossword puzzle, read a newspaper or just hang out, as long as you are willing to socialize and make some new friends which brings me to number 4
4. COMMUNITY HUB — This shop has become a place for people to come and get to know the other people in Lake City. You won’t see people keeping to themselves here. Everytime you come here you will make a new friend, until you know all the regulars, and then… You’ll have a place to go to see your friends! Tim makes his shop available for community events, like stitch and bitch, and others. He even offered to let me use the space for my own events after business hours after having known me for a short time.
5. FLEXIBILITY — If the shop experience is too much for you. text or email Tim, he will have your drink delivered! You won’t see a menu here with lots of fancy drinks, but Tim will make you any drink you ask for. He is pretty creative, sometimes it is best to just tell him what kind of thing you are craving and let him surprise you. He doesn’t accept cards, but if you don’t have cash he may just give you your first drink free to get you hooked, or he will set up a Tab for you to pay for your drink your next time through. If he is out of any ingredients, he may send you or another customer to pick something up at QFC in exchange for a free drink.
6. PRICE — Tim’s prices are very fair. Cheaper than any other place I’ve been without compromising quality. Small shop, running it himself, and roasting his own beans all allow Tim to keep his overhead down, and as a highly principled owner, he passes the savings to his customers… Be sure to tip… If Tim lets you tip. You may have to find creative ways to do this.
Thankyou Bean City for all the good times!!! I’ll be back everytime I visit Seattle!

IF I believed in cloning — — which I don’t — -
I’d love to see a few more folks like Tim around! And I’d love it if they all stayed in Seattle and Portland, where they’d be as appreciated as they should be! Er, and I’d get to see them all again, too. Yeah, keep them in the NW!
Went back again about a week ago, and had another amazing and equally unique experience. Tim is a real lover of humanity, and it shows. At one point, some guy came in and asked Tim to watch his stuff (outside the window), including a lot of colorful (and slightly odd-​sounding) details. Tim said «Sure!» and the guy left. When I asked Tim who the guy was, Tim said that he had no idea. That’s just the kind of guy he is. And he DID watch the guy’s stuff, too.
If you’re ever feeling like you could use a lift, BeanCity is the place, from the lift of the caffeine to the lift of the loving and accepting vibe Tim exudes.

Definitely an experience. My drinks there have been good and strong, he usually asks first how strong you want it, so don’t be shy. (get extra sweetener if you get it strong). The owner Loves his job, which makes it all the better.
I will be back

We’ve ordered from them quite a few times for our office. The delivery takes waaaaaaay toooooo looooong. Be prepared to wait at least 45 minutes… and that’s for about 4 coffees and breakfast burritos. After the first couple orders, I thought we’d give them a chance to smooth out the kinks in their system, since they were new and we like to support local small businesses. The other day, it took 1 ½ hours. They said they forgot to check their email and didn’t get the order. Emailed us back and said there was a delay and it would be there in 20 minutes… an hour later they show up with cold, soggy burritos and coffee. They said no charge, but it would’ve been thrown away anyway. And don’t try calling the number listed on their website — it’s disconnected!

This place really is the best of the best. The people here so incredibly nice, and there is no beating their prices. Plus they brew their own coffee beans! Great coffee at a cheap price. Love it!

If I could rate Bean City Coffee 4.5 stars, I would. They’re working out a few kinks, and the menu is maybe a little limited IMO, but they’re still a great shop with yummy stuff. And customer service is fantastic.
I’ve ordered food and lattes from here twice. I live just outside the two mile delivery area, and they had no problem delivering to me. Thank you! My decaf latte (I know — hardly seems any point, right?) was great. The breakfast burritos are a little different from what I’m used to (not much bulk besides the egg, if that makes sense — could use more chunky salsa or potatoes or something) but they’re tasty nonetheless. The banana bread is very good. They offer onion bagels with plain cream cheese, which were alright but not something I’d order again.
Worth a try (or two) if you’re in the area!

I’ve never had a problem parking here. The staff are FANTASTIC! You can run a tab, they deliver — this is a great place to do the crossword puzzle, nosh on some cake and slurp on an eggnog latte – which is what I get.
The best part is the thick, heavy, clinging aroma of roasting coffee that really just has an intoxicating effect on me… I must say. It’s coffee aroma therapy. It’s a really small place, but I’ve always found a place to sit!

Wow, I’ve now been on the receiving end of getting spotted a cup of coffee because they didn’t have enough change «Just pay us back next time!» It’d be one thing if I were well known here, but I hadn’t bought coffee from this barista before. It’s just how they do business. And yes, on the next trip I did pay up so I guess the idea does work.

Great coffee roasted on site, friendly owner, and always spots me the cuppa if I forget cash. Love it!

If you have’nt been to this coffee shop, you should go more times than just once! You can buy fresh-​roasted beans by the pound, a far funner way than just star-​bucks!

I was trying to find a good place to get an espresso drink and i found it!!! I only had a card and they take cash only. But the dude was super cool and told me to pay him next time… next month or whenever. Then he even offered me the extra shot he had. Oh yeah, and my dirty chai (chai with a shot…2 shots) is great… just what I needed. Needless to say, a good start to my morning… not just for the coffee but for the service too.

I’ve now also enjoyed their Chai Latte, which has so far been delicious.
They are now accepting delivery orders via email and fax, with the added bonus of a free pastry when you order this way. They do need to work on being able to check their email inbox w/​o tying up their phone line (Dial up? OMG!) but other than that they are very quick bringing their order to me.
They are very open to suggestions and input from their customers, sweet as sugar and make it possible to order a drink when a regular customer has no cash by starting a tab and paying it off later. So accommodating and pleasant.

I love this place. It’s the only independent coffee shop walking distance to my apt (besides the one in Fred Meyer) and it’s awesome. The owner is really nice and friendly, and they always serve up delicious coffee. And, they have fresh baked pastries, and some food items as well! It’s absolutely worth supporting, good people serving up good food and good coffee. It’s totally adorable. They have some indoor seating and when it’s nice out you can sit outdoors too. Would love to see this place stick around, so go get a coffee and see for yourself!

Not being a coffee drinker, but needing a bit of a pick me up I decided to stroll down to bean city coffee. Mainly I did this because the owner (Tim I think) comes into my work and asks if we want anything delivered, very persistent and nice even though nobody orders – this I like. But instead of his delivery I decided to walk down there. It is a great and cute little place with a sitting area or the walk up window. I was greeted by a cute little girl with a lip piercing (he he) and she was very nice. Tim walked in and I decided to get some coffee and a breakfast burrito. The coffee was pretty good and the burrito was delicious — -very delicious.
They seemed pretty busy with no one in the store — because they are delivering. I recommend bean city over Starbucks by far. I like the smaller shops and this place is pretty good.
Plus Tim is pretty nice and it looks like he drinks a gallon of coffee a day and is about to have his head explode. Go get yourself a great breakfast burrito and a coffee to sit and relax and watch the entertainment of lake city’s local residence

It’s a great little hole in the wall with well made drinks, delicious food, and a delightfully cheerful staff. Needless to say, it is a much needed alternative to the only other game in the area: Starbucks. Everyone should give Bean City Coffee a try; it won’t disappoint!