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A plastic cup of iced coffee on a table.
The cherry cola coffee concoction at Fulcrum
Harry Cheadle

Where to Get Eye-Opening Cold Brew and Seasonal Coffee Drinks in Seattle

What to drink when the heat wave hits

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The cherry cola coffee concoction at Fulcrum
| Harry Cheadle

Pulitzer Prize-winning New York art critic Jerry Saltz reportedly does this when he wants coffee: He goes to a deli or gas station, gets large to-go cups, comes home and puts them in the fridge, and the next morning pours this day-old coffee into a 7-Eleven Big Gulp cup with ice. He drinks this.

You probably don’t have a Pulitzer for criticism, and you likely have a better palate for coffee than Saltz — you want something that’s not just cold and caffeinated, but also genuinely refreshing. Fortunately, the art and science of cold coffee has advanced by leaps and bounds in recent years. Espresso tonic is de rigueur at most third-wave cafes, baristas are experimenting with flavor combinations just like bartenders, and cold brew is literally rocket fuel.

Here are some of our favorite places in Seattle to get drinks that cool you off at the same time they wake you up. (If you want general coffee shops, head over here.) As usual, this list is not ranked but organized geographically.

Did we miss a place you love? Send us a tip at seattle@eater.com.

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Sip House

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This Vietnamese coffeehouse in the U District serves an array of iced coffees, but the cold brew is a true standout. Lighter in body than most others in town, Sip House’s version comes lightly sweetened with cane sugar. First-timers should also check out the shop’s popular Cold Brew Crema (with a frothy cheese cap).

Fuel Coffee

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Fuel is a coffee shop and bookstore with locations in Capitol Hill, Montlake, and Wallingford. It uses the sci fi-sounding Kyotobot (a robotic glass dripper) to make its cold brew (though it’s called “iced coffee” on the menu). You can also give their flash brewing system a try — that’s when a cafe makes a coffee concentrate through normal pour-over methods, then adds ice to dilute and chill it.

Fulcrum Café

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This esteemed roaster based out of SoDo (with a Belltown cafe) does it all: nitro cold brew, canned cold brew when you’re on the go, and a whole array of seasonal drinks. Our favorite at the moment is the Espresso Cherry Cola, which tastes like a Cherry Coke that has gone through puberty.

A plastic cup of iced coffee on a table. Harry Cheadle

Ghost Note Coffee

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Ghost Note’s espresso tonics, lattes, and other offerings are an elevated experience. The Lush Life, with its hint of grapefruit, is the heavy hitter here but this is a cafe that benefits from repeat visits to sample the menu. Try Soundscape — shaken with vegan cream, non-alcoholic rum, and root beer bitters. Or ask for a suggestion, because the menu is always evolving.

Anchorhead Coffee

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Anchorhead Coffee’s three locations in Seattle — and one in Bellevue — offer an array of flavors with their seasonal drinks, but the real winner, in our humble opinion, is the prepackaged Honey Bunches of Cold Brew, which combines coffee with burnt honey, cinnamon, maple, and oat milk. It’s a way to cool off, caffeinate, and remind yourself that fall is just around the corner, all in one bottle.

URL Coffee

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This slick-looking cafe on Broadway serves up a smoky, earthy cold brew made with a glass dripper. If you’re walking to work be sure to order the, uh, Walk to Work, an iced latte with cinnamon-dusted whipped cream that will make you want to skip work. If you’re hanging out, yo get to admire the bright shop from wife and husband duo Zoey Jung and Ethan Choi — the latter used to be a furniture collector, which comes through in the attention to design detail and meticulously crafted beverages.

Hood Famous Cafe and Bar

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While this Filipino shop in the Chinatown-International District is famous for its ube cheesecake and cookies, the drink menu is also spot-on. This summer it’s been featuring calamansi iced tea — calamansi, for the unaware, is a Filipino citrus. They serve it topped with cold brew or, if you’re feeling fruity, hibiscus and elderberry iced tea.

Sip House

This Vietnamese coffeehouse in the U District serves an array of iced coffees, but the cold brew is a true standout. Lighter in body than most others in town, Sip House’s version comes lightly sweetened with cane sugar. First-timers should also check out the shop’s popular Cold Brew Crema (with a frothy cheese cap).

Fuel Coffee

Fuel is a coffee shop and bookstore with locations in Capitol Hill, Montlake, and Wallingford. It uses the sci fi-sounding Kyotobot (a robotic glass dripper) to make its cold brew (though it’s called “iced coffee” on the menu). You can also give their flash brewing system a try — that’s when a cafe makes a coffee concentrate through normal pour-over methods, then adds ice to dilute and chill it.

Fulcrum Café

This esteemed roaster based out of SoDo (with a Belltown cafe) does it all: nitro cold brew, canned cold brew when you’re on the go, and a whole array of seasonal drinks. Our favorite at the moment is the Espresso Cherry Cola, which tastes like a Cherry Coke that has gone through puberty.

A plastic cup of iced coffee on a table. Harry Cheadle

Ghost Note Coffee

Ghost Note’s espresso tonics, lattes, and other offerings are an elevated experience. The Lush Life, with its hint of grapefruit, is the heavy hitter here but this is a cafe that benefits from repeat visits to sample the menu. Try Soundscape — shaken with vegan cream, non-alcoholic rum, and root beer bitters. Or ask for a suggestion, because the menu is always evolving.

Anchorhead Coffee

Anchorhead Coffee’s three locations in Seattle — and one in Bellevue — offer an array of flavors with their seasonal drinks, but the real winner, in our humble opinion, is the prepackaged Honey Bunches of Cold Brew, which combines coffee with burnt honey, cinnamon, maple, and oat milk. It’s a way to cool off, caffeinate, and remind yourself that fall is just around the corner, all in one bottle.

URL Coffee

This slick-looking cafe on Broadway serves up a smoky, earthy cold brew made with a glass dripper. If you’re walking to work be sure to order the, uh, Walk to Work, an iced latte with cinnamon-dusted whipped cream that will make you want to skip work. If you’re hanging out, yo get to admire the bright shop from wife and husband duo Zoey Jung and Ethan Choi — the latter used to be a furniture collector, which comes through in the attention to design detail and meticulously crafted beverages.

Hood Famous Cafe and Bar

While this Filipino shop in the Chinatown-International District is famous for its ube cheesecake and cookies, the drink menu is also spot-on. This summer it’s been featuring calamansi iced tea — calamansi, for the unaware, is a Filipino citrus. They serve it topped with cold brew or, if you’re feeling fruity, hibiscus and elderberry iced tea.

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