The Bellevue Collection recently announced the opening of Dote Coffee Bar in Lincoln Square South.
Dote’s Master Roaster, Redmond-based Philip Meech, has been quietly pioneering direct trade coffee since long before anyone had heard the term.
“Philip personally knows the farmers, growers and conditions that make up the flavors in your cup,” Sarah Doud, the founder and co-owner of Dote Coffee, said. “When we partnered with him more than a year ago, Dote demonstrated our commitment to always tasting, cupping and discovering new coffees and bringing unparalleled taste to our customers.”
Starting with the finest grade, green coffee, Dote roasts locally in small batches to bring out the balanced nuance and unique ‘taste of place’ in each origin and blend.
“We hope for customers ‘to stop drinking coffee and start really tasting it’,” Meech said.
Dote features a range of traditional coffee and espresso drinks alongside house made signatures by Master Chocolatier Chef Ewald Notter.
Lauded as a master of modern day confectionery arts, Chef Ewald Notter is popularly known as a celebrated competitor, teacher and author. He has an eye for color, an appreciation for textures and a keen sense for details, according to Doud.
“Chef Notter is respected internationally as an innovator and is now bringing his talents to pairing chocolate, ice cream and booze with the coffee at Dote,” she said. “Ewald hand crafts all of our chocolate in store and is excited to host tasting and pairing events in the Market at Lincoln Square.”
The name Dote comes from the company’s commitment to always put people first. According to Doud, “Starting with quality ingredients is essential, but we believe the true difference comes in always remembering we are in the people business, serving coffee and not the other way around. Your daily ritual should be anything but routine. We love hand crafting that small part of your day and making it truly special every time.”
Connecting with customers in a unique way, the space is designed as an ‘open kitchen’, inviting customers into the experience of crafting their drinks. It’s “Modbar” espresso taps put all of the major hardware of brewing espresso coffee under-counter and eliminate the barrier between baristas and customers. According to Doud, “In a true expression of modern technology meets timeless tradition, our Modbar is programmed to mimic a piston lever espresso machine to ‘pull’ shots of our Hayden Espresso Blend.”
Not new to the world of coffee, Doud has been involved in the coffee business in one way or another since the beginning of her career. Her love of coffee began as part of the founding team that brought specialty coffee to the streets of London, with the launch of Seattle Coffee Company, UK. Almost 50 stores and four years later, the business was sold to Starbucks as their entrance into the European market.
“Launching Dote Coffee has been a dream of mine ever since cutting my teeth with Seattle Coffee Company,” she said. “I knew that we could bring a better coffee experience to the Pacific Northwest and with Dote Coffee Bar, we have a chance to prove that to the customers in our first store in The Bellevue Collection.”
Dote Coffee Bar is located on the second level of Lincoln Square South near the elevator banks in the office tower 400 Lincoln Square.
