Green Bean Coffeehouse

Squeeee! I don’t even care that it gets noisy in here anymore. I love this place so much. They are a nonprofit and help support the community in countless ways. The staff is amazing and friendly and always willing to help a neighbor out. They bake scones and cookies in house and it always smells fantastic. If you work in the neighborhood, they give you a neighborhood discount. They just got a COLDBREW COFFEE NITRO TAP. Yes, that’s right and it’s awesome. They highlight and rotate an (monthly?) area nonprofit and a local artist. They have a program where if a person doesn’t have enough money for a cup of coffee, they pay what they can and contribute when they can. This fund also provides free cups of coffee to our neighbors who are between homes or who just need a nice warm pick-​me-​up and a smile. Anyone can donate to this fund. I think it’s great. Helping out the community, one cup at a time. :)

Love their treats and tea but I especially love coming here for the atmosphere. Open, airy, and a lot of natural light. The train table, books, coloring, etc in the back are great for kids! Staff is super helpful as well.

Was in the area, and this was the closest café nearby. Loved the atmosphere, their prices are really good, and they have a piano :)

Good food but they should really get their measurements right if they’re charging $ 6 for a 20oz smoothie that is only 16 oz at best.

Great coffee shop. Bright and light! Tons of seating. Has a piano inside that guests can play if they want. Excellent neighborhood spot!

Not bad. A pretty solid alternative in Greenlake to Neptune coffee

This place has all of the makings of a solid coffeehouse (good coffee, variety of food choices, great pastries, and nice atmosphere). However, the thing about this place that blows me away is their sincere dedication to building community.
All of their workers are so excellent at what they do, and display kindness and compassion to everyone that comes in. They have created an atmosphere that is comfortable for everyone– from families with children to those just looking for a respite from the cold. Due to their inclusive atmosphere they do have a varied (and sometimes challenging) clientele, but they handle it SO well.

I really like coming here. Staff are always super nice, baked goods are divine, coffee is good (good enough for ME, at least!), and prices aren’t through the roof. Lots of cozy seating and located centrally in case you just want to pop in between errands (or after yoga, like I always do).

Love this sweet Down home neighborhood café. Where there are different cool mugs & games to play. I’m not even a BOARD PLAYER but it was fun just to hang & play Scrabble. Nice comfy sofas. And did I mention all the light & Sun! 2 sides are glass!
And great savory scone he toasted m.mmm. I had to pry it out of my friend’s hands! Come on down to the CHEERS of Cafes!

Love their décor, ambiance and pastries! Always really warm and welcoming, and it makes for a great study spot in the Greenwood area. I’ll definitely be back.

Cool little place in a great spot! Ambiance was a little more sparse than I like, but they did have great coffee. The night I was there, they even had some musicians playing. This stretch of Greenwood is very cool, lots of little shops, ton of character and lots of newer stuff, too, like this place. Coffee is worth it, but would be nice to see it not be quite so minimalist. Despite that, they still get 5 stars.

Great little place to get work done. There’s a lot of room in this coffee shop and I really like their Café Americanos here. On a sunny day, there is a lot of natural light the comes into the building because of the surrounding windows.
I would say this is probably one of they are on of the most thoughtful business I’ve been too. Supposedly, the tips that this shop receives goes to benefit a different charity/​cause. Very cool!

We finally found the coffeehouse that I’ve been looking for here in Seattle that is the perfect spot with children but do wish that it wasn’t so far from home!
It was fortunately not too busy for a Saturday afternoon but loved the golden glow flooding through the windows. Our autistic three year old instantly was happy playing with the Thomas the train table and bead rollercoaster/​maze (he was happy to discover this in a coffeehouse outside of the normal doctor’s office location). Also no loud sounds today made it a friendly environment for him.
The coffee was good (I liked that my vanilla latte wasn’t overly sweet or strong) and the baked pastries (we tried the pumpkin roulade) was very good. Will definitely be back!

I have enjoyed the Green Bean not-​for-​profit café since Summer and Lisa first opened at it at their original location next to Taproot Theater. I have visited the Bean at each of its intermediate locations since the arson fire and am delighted that the Green Bean has a found such a BRIGHT permanent home. The natural light pours in from giant glass windows on all sides. This is a big, big plus here in Seattle. You have excellent lighting while you study, work on laptop, have a meeting, listen to open-​mic, lunch with a pal, or join the many other fun community-​enhancing events which happen at Green Bean.
Personally, I don’t like the modern plastic furniture as well as the old mis-​matched old wooden chairs. But there are still some cozy overstuffed chairs in the near the children’s play area. Put and take books are there.
There is an old upright piano there which is well used on weekly open mic night. See their website and notices in the café about other community events in the café.
The cashier system is ultra modern and efficient now with all the accounting done by touch on a swiveling iPad instead of old-​fashioned system.
Hot beverages are made to order. Fresh bakery items, such a quiche, are warmed up when you order them. It’s a friendly spot for a light breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snack.
Bakery items go on «happy hour» towards the end of the day to use them up so people enjoy fresh new items the next day. No more half-​price day old bakery items.
A well-​used community bulletin board is in the back of the café. Some art hangs on the wall, but happily most of the «wall» is window. Windows look out onto attractive walkways in the rapidly gentrifying Greenwood neighborhood. If you are not studying, you can feel very comfortable by yourself people-​watching or even striking up a conversation with someone at the next table which is not far from yours.
Probably in the good weather there could be room for a couple chairs on the sidewalk in front of or beside the café.
I see the café still promotes and raises money for a different non-​profit each month. (I loved all the info posted on this month’s nonprofit — Greenwood Senior Center, an AMAZING asset to the neighborhood for people of all ages. Check out Phinney Neighborhood Association and GSC on their own entries of cool places in Greenwood neighborhood.) The mission of this month’s nonprofit is explained over the table where you recycle, compost, and bus your dishes. I just love to be served with a real fork and real dishes. This is a community place that trusts me to return my real fork to the bus tub so I don’t have to taste plastic ware or toxic styrofoam with my meal. Lots of commercial chains do not ALLOW you to drink from a REAL coffeecup. Too trustying or too eco for some chains I guess.
The Green Bean is on metro bus lines 5 and 48. Parking for bus and bike are free within a block or so.
Despite the modern-​style interior, the Green Bean still has a very relaxed community vibe Along with Cooth Buzzard Books/​Community Connection Center, Mr. Gyro’s, Greenwood Senior Center, and ReCreative Art, This is the heart of Greenwood — part of what makes Greenwood special.
Green Bean’s motto is «Sit long; talk much.»

Free Wifi.
Coffee.
Muffins.
Piano.
Why not enjoy the time here? I always do.

Cute café, big, lots of seating, great service, great drinks = 5 stars!
I’m glad I randomly found this café on Unilocal.I wanted a place to chill before work because I had some extra time to spare. This was the perfect place. It’s located right in piper village which is a really cute spot with a lot of nice businesses such as this. :)
I love the paintings and artworks that they have on the wall!
I got a custom hazelnut white chocolate blended latte which was pretty good and different! They were super fast in making it too!

Super friendly and engaging staff. A great place to work remote for a few hours. Sometimes the daytime mom/​kid contingent makes concentration a little difficult, so bring headphones

One of the best atmosphere in greenwood! This coffee shop supports the community and other nonprofits. I do wish they had tea pots or free coffee refills and some special/​unique reason to come like a special snack or trendy coffee cups.
Overall a great place. Check it out!

I met a friend here at her suggestion. I’d never heard of it, let alone been, so I was glad to try something new. We met at 10:30 on a Saturday morning, and man oh man this place was packed! There were children EVERYWHERE; this place is clearly family friendly!
I ordered a grande latte, which cost just over $ 4. A lot of their pastries looked delicious, especially the pumpkin chocolate chip muffin, but I managed to abstain… this time.
My latte was good, although I probably could’ve used a bit more Splenda than the two packets I grabbed; it still needed a bit more sweetening. That said, it was tasty and this is a cute little place. Plus, we ended up being here for about two and a half hours and never felt rushed or like they wanted us to leave — definitely appreciated!

How I heard of this place: I first heard about the Green Bean from the Chinook book about two years ago. When I went to use it, however, the place was amidst those destroyed in the Greenwood fires. It was sad, but the Wayward Café is just up the road, so I went there instead. On this evening, however, it was the only one open on the block we parked and it was time to try the «non-​profit approach to coffee and community» that is Green Bean.
Type of cuisine: A coffee shop serving the usual café fare of espresso beverages, drip coffee and a selection of teas. Additionally, the place offers quiche, breakfast sandwiches, granola and toast for breakfast, pastries, brownies, cookies and bread pudding for dessert and soup, sandwiches and salads. They serve only organic, fair trade coffee and teas from Brown & Co.
Ambiance: A coffee shop boasting everything local, from open mic nights (Thursday’s) and live music shows, to community ESL classes, a kid’s corner with books and toys and even story time (Tuesday’s at 10:00 a.m.), from a youth happy hour and dollar drips for seniors (free drip coffee on Sunday’s from 10:00 — 12:30 p.m.) and a lending library. The customer computer terminal is also available for those without mobile devices and laptops, at a small desk towards the back of the establishment, dusted with a variety of business cards, postcard advertisements and a cork-​board of numerous goings-​on about town, including a Raging Grannies Bake Sale. The establishment is quite large, open, and with windows along the entire front side of the space. The work and paintings of local artists can be found around the entire café, and change by the month, giving other local artists an opportunity to shine by exhibiting their own work! Cozy couch seating as well as desk-​like seating at tables and chairs (including large, dining tables for larger group meetings or study sessions) is available throughout the space. Music plays softly in the background as you hear others speaking in low tones, walking their babies, or staring off into cyberspace. The venue also offers recycling and compost bins, which makes it thoroughly Seattle! «To be a bright spot in Seattle by doing the best possible job of loving anyone and everyone who walks through our doors… the practice of ‘radical hospitality’.
What I ordered: I selected a non-​fat peppermint hot chocolate ($ 2.10 for the hot chocolate, $.50 for the flavor add-​in) in their smallest size (but was offered a 12-​ounce cup). My dining companion ordered a large (20-​ounce) drip coffee ($ 1.95), served in a Nutcracker mug.
What I loved: The peppermint was light, the Ghirardelli chocolate dark and smooth and the entire concoction creamy and delightful on a cold, rainy, December evening. It truly hit the spot.
Why I loved it: I love the non-​profit aspect of this community café. The cozy feel of the space, which is also available for rent, promoting everything local and the opportunity to sit as long as you like to enjoy your beverages or snacks. «Whether you’re a business owner or someone off the street this place is for you. We hope you feel cared for, respected and valued every time you walk through our doors.»
Cost: Low to average ($ 1.50 — $ 4 per beverage)