Seattle · United States

Slate Coffee Roasters

Slate Coffee Roasters is one of 5 Seattle roasters tracked on day9, in Washington.

Since 2013 · Chelsey Walker-Watson, Keenan Walker, Lisanne Walker

Overview

Slate is a Seattle family business launched in 2013 by sister-and-brother Chelsey Walker-Watson and Keenan Walker with their mother Lisanne Walker, after operating earlier from a 1967 Airstream Safari trailer parked outside a Capitol Hill pizza joint. Chelsey came from nine years at Peet's Coffee & Tea as store and training manager; Keenan went to the Bay Area to learn roasting before returning to start the company.

Known for

Lightest-roasting roaster in Seattle when it opened, in a city defined by dark espresso
Signature Deconstructed Espresso + Milk service — three glasses (espresso, steamed milk, and the combination)
Espresso served in wine stemware to concentrate aroma and visibility
Chelsey Walker-Watson — 2nd place finish at the U.S. Brewers Cup
"Exposure roasting" methodology aimed at surfacing fruit-like acidity

Why it matters

Slate is widely credited as the cafe that opened the door for light-roast specialty in Seattle. When the Walker family opened in 2013, the city's coffee identity was defined almost entirely by the dark-roast Italian-style espresso lineage of Starbucks and Vivace; Slate's Deconstructed Espresso + Milk service and stemware became one of the most-copied service ideas in third-wave coffee.

Production

head roaster: Keenan Walker (Director of Roasting and Coffee Operations)
roaster machine: 15-kilo Giesen (original); roasting in SoDo
roastery location: SoDo, Seattle
espresso equipment: La Marzocco GB-5 MP; Compak E10 espresso grinder; EK43 batch grinder for single-shot dial-ins

Café

5413 6th Ave NW, Seattle (East Ballard, original 2013); Pioneer Square; University District; Chrome Industries Hub (downtown Seattle)

Recognitions

U.S. Brewers Cup — 2nd place (Chelsey Walker-Watson)

Sources

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