Cracken: Best New Coffee in S. Everett
It came through on the ol' social media feed: hot new coffee joint in S. Everett. And they roast.
Intrigued, the Live in Everett crew zipped down there ASAP.
I was expecting a decent-to-solid cuppa. What I discovered was the best coffee in South Everett.
I said it.
Cubana with seltzer.
Cracken is bright and impeccably clean. Gleaming tile, pendant lights, an orchid, a small succulent on the table— the sort of place where they wipe down the digital tablet after you place an order.
I appreciate this.
The space also functions as a roastery. There's a pumpkin-orange Diedrich drum roaster in the corner next to a pallet of burlap coffee sacks. The coffee that customers order has been roasted in house. Pull up to the shop and you can often catch the smell of roasting beans wafting into the parking lot.
Cracken seems to already have loyal customers. There's a group of women sitting in the corner, comfortably chatting. People come in, place orders. An elderly lady in line lowers her voice and confides to me, "I love it here. This place is better than Starbucks." And grins.
This isn't a Red Bull Italian soda type of place. Cracken offers craft drinks like macchiatos and con pannas as well as their own single origin drip coffee. They serve their larger beverages in charming stoneware mugs and each drink is served up with a complimentary glass of fizzy seltzer.
I got a Cubana—espresso pulled with sugar in the shots. Sweet and rich, smooth. The carbonated water chaser was a classy touch.
Doug Lee, head roaster.
Cracken is a family business, the work of Doug Lee. His son Anthony is apprenticing at the shop.
Doug Lee knows coffee. He worked for 10 years as a roaster and he spent 8 years traveling Asia to source green coffee from origin countries. He visited Japan and Singapore, worked in South Korea when the specialty coffee scene there was "out of control."
Doug is always tinkering with the roasting process, trying to coax out the best possible flavors from his single origin beans. He talks at length about the difference five seconds can make; how a roast can go from a citrusy flavor profile to fig and nougat flavors in a jiffy.
Doug Lee's bringing his specialty knowledge to South Everett where he hopes to grow the wholesale part of his company. He'd like to expand his operation from his flagship store to 2-3 shops, open up Crackens in the Bothell/Redmond area.
WHEN YOU GO
The shop is inconspicuous from the outside. It's located in the Puget Park Shopping Center on the south side of 128th, next to T-Mobile and Albertsons. The retail spot that Cracken occupies used to be a Starbucks, so you may already associate the place with coffee.
Doug Lee currently recommends the Guatemalan single origin roast. It's chocolatey and nutty with a tangy flavor. He switches up his coffees on a regular basis. Columbia, Peru, and Indonesian coffees will be on tap in the next few weeks.
Go see for yourself.
520 128th St. SW. Ste# A3, Everett, WA 98204
Richard Porter is a musician and Live in Everett's content magician. He lives in North Everett and enjoys running, bicycling, and endless cups of coffee.
