2) The next morning, July 4, we had breakfast at Essential Baking Company. Another latte, also good, accompanied by a fresh-out-of-the-oven currant scone with orange glaze that was everything a scone should be (including reasonably sized and not overly sweet). I was initially disappointed that EBC had run out of croissants by the time we arrived, but this scone was a great replacement, to the point that I forgot to take a photo while it was still intact.
3) Thursday morning's coffee came in a French press at Toulouse Petit, providing the dose of caffeine that Andrew so desperately needed after his early morning flight. In the afternoon we wandered through Pike Place Market and braved the touristy hordes at the original Starbucks, which is an anticlimactically small shop with the exact same coffee drinks as every other Starbucks. It was fun for the historical value, though, and we bought some original-Starbucks-exclusive beans as a gift.
4) Friday morning found us at Milstead & Co., where we had breakfast before meeting up with E, M, and P for the Theo Chocolate Factory tour. Milstead turned out to be my favorite coffee place of the trip. I wish I had taken a picture of the interior design, a blend of austerity and charm which perfectly emphasized the coffee. Both the cappuccino and latte were top-notch, and I was delighted that the pastries were just as good. At bottom left is the "blackberry veneziane," which was one of the best pastries I've ever had: puff pastry and vanilla custard with a generous heap of fresh berries, in a very shareable flower shape. We also tried the blueberry cornmeal muffin, which had plenty of berries and was nicely crumbly, but got overshadowed by the blackberry pastry.
