Where to get the best coffee in Snohomish County

Every year The Daily Herald takes nominations and lets readers vote for the Best of Snohomish County Awards. This year, 80,000 votes were cast. There are dozens of categories, but here are the 2023 top choices for best coffee:

First Place: Narrative Coffee in Everett

Established in 2017, this multi-roaster specialty coffee shop is a quick walk from the Snohomish County Courthouse.

Narrative Coffee’s storefront was built over 100 years ago, but their coffee is far from old-fashioned.

Within the building’s original brick walls, Everett’s Maxwell Mooney created a coffee mecca.

“His philosophy is to have a cup of coffee reflect the bean’s true nature as a seed of a tropical fruit,” Herald restaurant reviewer Aaron Swaney said.

Last year Mooney sold Narrative to long-standing employee Alex Sciarotta, who continues Narrative’s quest for high-quality roasters. Every two months, Narrative hosts vigorous cupping events where employees and industry professionals sample dozens of coffees and help choose which roasters will be featured on the menu.

Second Place: Cup & Crêpe in Everett

Third Place: Diedrich Espresso in Everett, Monroe, Snohomish, Marysville, Mukilteo, Mill Creek

Additional Nomination: Moe’s Espresso in Arlington, Darrington

Discover who won Best Coffee in 2022 and 2021. All of The Herald’s Best Of Snohomish County category winners can be found here.

Want more local dining recommendations? Visit SnohomDish on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for all things food and drink in Snohomish County.

A correction was made on March 1, 2024: An earlier version of this article misstated the owner of Narrative Coffee. Maxwell Mooney sold the business to Alex Sciarrotta last year. It also misstated that cupping events are open to the public. Cupping is an internal process open to Narrative staff and industry professionals.