Olympia Coffee Roasting Company

OCR is about as good as it gets. It’s certainly the best I’ve tasted in all of western Washington. It’s the best I’ve tasted on the entire east coast. I’d say it’s cheaper and better sourced than it’s west coast competitors.
Baristas are always friendly and knowledgeable.
Biggest complaint I hear from locals is that it is «too snobby» or «too clean» or «too uptight». It’ could be considered snobby if you let your preconceived notions get in the way; like I said, all of the baristas are friendly and knowledgeable. If you’re there frequently, you’d notice that sure, definitely serves to a different crowd, but you’d also notice that people dressed in bargain goodies also love it there. Too clean? …Maybe if you have a secret obsession with dirty, poorly lit, coffee shops. Too uptight? All the people who have complained about this to me could use a little lightening up.
Don’t be afraid to ask any of the waitstaff any questions, even if you think they sound really obvious! I assure you, if you’re just getting into coffee, they aren’t.

I’ve wanted to stop in here for ages and I’m so glad I finally did. It’s a beautiful space, and you can tell the baristas really care to make your drink perfectly. That of course ties into the downside, which is that service is quite slow. I think we were about fifth or sixth in line and we waited 10 – 15 minutes or so to order. Seating is relatively limited and I wouldn’t really call it «comfy» but I just went to meet up with a friend and catch up over a cup, and it was great for that.

Good coffee, smells funny inside and there’s cobwebs on the ceiling. iPad for easy cashing out. Trendy coffee place!

You haven’t had good coffee until you’ve had Olympia Coffee Roasting Company’s! Smooth, roasted precisely right. No fuss, and none needed! The staff is simple, somewhat robotic, intendedly so I think, yet they are happy to answer questions and very polite! My mouth is watering just thinking of this coffee, to bad its an hour away from my home!

The vibe here is totally hipster. Coffee is good quality and the pastries are as well. In general gives you a calm and cool atmosphere with light colored decorations and modern décor. The kitchen/​where they do their magic is plopped in the middle with their fancy coffee machine and pouring techniques.
Definitely a recommend for a classy getaway to study, to read, or to have a nice with a smaller group of friends!

Great coffee, I loved the ambiance. The room was very open with high ceilings. I loved the clean look of the place. The drip coffee I got was fantastic. I love everything about this place. I also appreciate how they give you your extra coffee in a little glass vase. It’s nice to have a little refill cup!

One of the few coffee places that doesn’t use syrup for their vanilla. Good start. Coffee beans are hand picked from around the world and these baristas are legit. Me and my gf come here all the time and we enjoy all the drinks. Cappuccino is amazing and they serve with sparkling water, again not many places do this. The espresso is smooth and not acidic like your commercial Starbucks and can taste the quality of the coffee essence. Always consistent and the baristas are really knowledgeable.

I love the space and I love the coffee. The service is the most disappointing aspect of this gem. I work in the service industry and I know can be easy to scowl at clientele on a rough day, though (to be blunt) it isn’t professional or considerate behavior.
As someone who has worked in and frequented boutique coffee roasters (in Seattle, where you can find the surliest of coffee bar servers; and in Los Angeles, where there is also a sense of prestige and pretentiousness) this service is incredibly disappointing and worse than other roasters. I’ve visited this location three times. I feel like the negativity brings down the entire tone of the coffee bar– even after served, I’ve witness customers being treated with the same indifference. To belittle someone for their lack of coffee knowledge is silly. The disingenuous interactions emit a sort of toxicity.
I am moving to Olympia and was excited to frequent this shop, though now I don’t look forward to a lack of smiles and the consistent begrudging interactions. I feel like Olympia Coffee Roasting Company has the opportunity to enlighten their guests about coffee and create a wonderful community space. I’m disappointed that one, important aspect of their business is dampening their potential to shine.
This is my first negative and hyper-​critical Unilocal review– but I am so disappointed. I hope this review is helpful for management and the servers.

I’ve been to a lot of artisanal coffee shops and this place is my all time favorite. Growing up in Olympia I can’t help but feel a sense of pride knowing that this establishment is in my backyard with delicious seasonal and ethically sourced coffee.
Every detail from the baristas to the coffee replay to the inviting space was carefully thought through to evoke a coffee experience that cannot be matched.
I come here almost 3 – 4 times a week for a drip. Today I happened to try the nitro ice coffee and it was nothing like I’ve ever tried before. Really experimental coffee that is an espresso, poured over ice and infused with beer gas, producing a frothy, refreshingly carbonated cold coffee. Must try!
I’ve been stopping by almost 4 months now and this places continues to surprise me. Two thumbs up and high five for Olympia kick-​ass coffee.

I don’t drink coffee. In general, it smells good but tastes bad. My cousin is a coffee junkie. She quickly determined this was the best place in town. I’ve accompanied her here many times and would order hot chocolate or tea. The tea selection does not vary, and it is small, but the flavor of the teas are perfect. The jasmine is very floral and not bitter at all. The blueberry rooibos tastes like blueberry. And the ginger tea is what I need when I’m feeling under the weather.
The hot chocolate is very unique. It isn’t super sweet like the crap in a packet. It is true chocolate, with an intense flavor that is almost floral rather than sugary.
My biggest compliment, however, is for their coffee. Over the course of my three decades, many people have offered me sips of coffee, incredulous that I don’t care for it. Every time I try someone’s coffee, I inform them that no, I still don’t like it. Except here. My cousin’s vanilla latte (with house made vanilla syrup) is the only coffee I have ever voluntarily taken a second sip of. It was delicious.

Ugh, Olympia Coffee Roasting Company. Let me just say that I want to like this place. I typically dislike Starbucks but not because it’s «corporate» or a chain or anything like that. I dislike the frequently over roasted burnt flavor of their coffee. This place is trying to be everything that Starbucks is not; small, intimate, and personal. They used to operate in a tiny out of the way store front that was easy to miss if you didn’t know what you were looking for. They still own that front but have now expanded to the the rest of the block facing the main street now. They had a small town vibe before but now after the expansion it feels slightly confused. Everything is brushed steel, exposed wood, wall-​to-​wall-​to-​wall glass with a glass showroom of their equipment, awkward chairs and not enough area to just sit and relax as the coffee station sits like an island in the middle of the large new space. Their coffee is good but I admittedly don’t get anything very fancy and as such their homemade dark chocolate mocha is about as fancy a drink I’ve had from them. The drink was good and I appreciate the homemade dark chocolate, but wasn’t really blown away. It had a slightly chalky mouth feel to it and the bottom of the cup had too many tiny fine coffee grinds which made it slightly bitter.
My biggest complaint is slightly unfair as it isn’t specific to the shop, but at the same time is fair. It’s that this place has that quintessential Olympia vibe. You know, out of place college hippies plucked out of time from the 60’s. Too much body hair on all the women to fight, I’m sure, patriarchal oppression. Dreadlocks, facial hair, and not enough showering and grooming in general. Throw in a massive condescending attitude and the feeling that everyone that is working is begrudgingly offering a service in exchange for over priced goods bought straight from some multiracial transgendering orphan living in the rain forest that collects coffee beans from monkey poop and sells these beans in a fair trade market that emits zero pollution as it is run on sunlight and bicycle power. Cover the whole place in Bernie Sanders stickers and you have a perfect place to get coffee right?
I’m sure this review will be flagged for removal but I am not being mean nor offensive. My sarcasm also carries my opinion. This place has okay coffee at a high price and almost always comes with attitude. I stop here for coffee if I’m in dire need of coffee and right next door. Otherwise, I’ll wait for the nearest Starbucks. Way to go Olympia, you made me like Starbucks…

One of my favorite third-​wave roasters in the Pacific Northwest! A little heavy on African coffees, but a minor quibble. I’ve always encountered friendly and knowledgeable baristas here. Cool space, and I like the little parklet-​type seating out front. I only wish they’d open a location in Seattle.

Love this place.
Great coffee and atmosphere. Lots of different coffee roasts to choose from. Friendly people.
Pastries are crazy good.

Olympia coffee roasting company has the best coffee in Olympia! Possibly the entire United States! They are heavy on African coffees however I would like to see more from central and south America. Oliver does a great job roasting and blending without burning the beans. There is no gross chalk-​like texture or campfire ask flavor in the coffee due to the care given by the roasters and staff.
The new location is fun. I don’t find myself here very often as the Wildwood location is closer to home. I buy my beans for home there — or at Spuds– which has a house blend made for them by Oly Roaster.
Can’t miss! (Even if you’re not a hipster).

I want to love you… But I don’t. Just like any other relationship there are things you love and things you’d rather forget.
Your spaces… From the little shack on Harrison to the beautiful and sleek spot on 4^th, you’ve got that figured out. The gadgetry on 4^th is mesmerizing. I couldn’t stop watching your drip process… So fancy and pretty. And yet, it’s coffee.
I really love the location on 4^th. There was an impressive group getting some sort of lesson on coffee in one of the closed off rooms. The staff is very sweet and friendly… The young man who took my order was very well versed in all things coffee and answered all questions.
The cold brew in the bottle was delicious. If it weren’t for the steep price I could probably drink this everyday.
I really had a hard time with the drip coffee I got. It was sour. It was bitter. It made me gag. I threw half of an 8 oz cup away… And that makes me sad. I’ve also had their cold brew on nitro and was not impressed… Sour and carbonated. Not good.
I was also a bit surprised by the gal sweeping in there… She was wearing a crocheted dress with nothing underneath. Nothing. Hello, would you like some boob with your coffee? And hair? And body odor?
How do you create such a beautiful, clean, modern space and then have that? Not appealing in a place that serves food and drinks.
I think I’d rather spend my money elsewhere… *sigh* Olympia.

How have I never reviewed the most amazing coffee experience in Olympia, if not the whole country?
Great service. Divine coffee. Fancy equipment to watch producing the roasted beans of the gods.

This coffee was recommended to me by 2 people in the area, so I was very excited to visit. When I arrived, I asked the woman working the counter if they had any dark roast available (a very common request in the Midwest). The woman responded with «we don’t have coffee that only tastes good if you add a lot of cream and sugar», then told me about your coffee selections that «taste like chocolate». I don’t add a lot of cream and sugar to coffee, nor do I like sweet coffees, so for her to presume this about me, especially in front of a line of other customers, was rude and offensive. I was the only one in line she treated this way, so I doubt she often assumes people are looking to pay $ 4.50 for coffee if they’re just going to add a lot of cream and sugar.
If my request for a dark roast was so ludicrous to her, I would have loved a lesson on the types of roasts they do offer, or for her to recommend something based on what I actually like.
I was really looking forward to visiting to have a few minutes away from my 1 year old son, and to get something special. Unfortunately the staff’s attitude made me feel ashamed and embarrassed, not what I’m looking for when I want to treat myself.
Other than her attitude, I loved the shop. The other staff member working was very friendly, the coffee was excellent, and the design was so cool.
In short, the almost $ 5 I paid for the coffee was worth it, but not if it comes with such pretentiousness.

5 stars for awesome airy bright décor and fantastic staff. Everyone was so nice and smiled! It really goes a long way. I enjoyed my nitro float very much. THe icecream was even coffee flavored. It was fantastic. The coffee seemed to be a little watered down though. The water to beans ratio may have been a little high for my taste but I enjoyed the coffee flavor very much.

Olympia Roasters is flat out the best coffee I have ever had. The amount of care and focus they put into the product (both beans and drinks) is rare.
Update! They have expanded, and the entrance is now on 4^th, right across from city hall. The new flagship location is bright and airy, with plenty of seating and a clean relaxed vibe. Now I’m going to be torn between the wildwood location and the downtown location.

What an amazing place! A barista from another coffee shop in town suggested we meet here after the one she works at is closed. So glad she did! I had the cold brew on nitro — a heavenly experience. Everything about this place was perfect.
Artistic and eclectic, but minus all the pretension that sometimes goes along with that.