Cafe Bostwick

Bostwick is a curated counter rather than a roastery, and that is the useful thing to know about it. Almost everything on offer traces back to a named producer, which is a different proposition from a shop that roasts its own, and on Broadway it is arguably the more interesting one.

Espresso and drip are both Caffe d'Arte. Tea is exclusively Mad Hat Tea, a Tacoma company that recently moved back downtown to 924 Broadway after a stretch in the Dome District, so the tea is local in a way the coffee is not. Exclusivity on a tea list is rare enough to be worth a mention: most cafes carry a house brand and a few strays.

Pastries come largely from Macrina Bakery. Breakfast and lunch sandwiches come from Memoranda Kitchen, and the owner builds some on site as well, with a curry chicken salad croissant in development. For a shop this size that is an unusually deliberate food program, and it means the case changes depending on what arrived that morning.

Bostwick sits at 764 Broadway in downtown Tacoma, walkable from most of the core. It keeps no website, so the day's case and the sandwich list are things you find out by turning up rather than by checking first. The review count is small, which reflects how long it has been open rather than what is in the cup.