Blue Star Coffee Roasters

Blue Star Coffee Roasters built a new building outside Twisp with large windows looking onto rolling hills, and the room is spacious, modern, and beautifully designed. The in-house roaster is visible from the cafe. There's a dog-friendly patio. Local bakeries supply the pastry. And there's no public WiFi or 4G inside, intentionally. Blue Star calls itself an internet blackhole, and that's the point.

Which means: this is a cafe for being where you are. Order the black and white cold brew and sit by a window. The Americano is reliable. The mocha goes sweet. A drink called honey bear pulls regulars back. A dark sky featured drink rotates through. The iced white mocha is the move for warmer days. Pastry is danishes from local partners, and the rolling-hills view from the window does the rest of the work. Methow Valley locals treat it like the living room. Seattle folks passing through stop on the drive. Hikers come in post-trail with dirt still on their boots.

The team won a best-coffee contest, and the bean program backs that up. The roaster running behind the cafe is the same one filling the bags for retail and the patio crowd. The local bakery partnerships keep the pastry case interesting. The space is designed for staying a while, except for one persistent complaint about the bar-height chairs, which are unfriendly to disabled customers, kids, and elderly customers. If that describes you or someone you're with, plan to sit outside or scout a regular-height table first.

One other honest note: a 12-ounce drink has been called too small for the price by more than a few customers. Order accordingly. The lack of WiFi and cell service means you have to put the phone down, which sounds gimmicky and ends up being the best feature. The view, the roaster, the danishes, the dog on the patio. That's the deal, and on a clear morning in the Methow Valley it's hard to beat.