If you're the type of coffee nerd for whom "ideas in the upper tier of specialty coffee" sound appealing, consider visiting the Victrola Coffee blog. Even if your morning cuppa is just a passing fancy, the gang at Victrola provides unique and entertaining insights into coffee culture that are well worth a look. Complemented by fine photography, the somewhat infrequently updated blog provides an insider look at the quest for high quality coffee: searching out the finest beans, the finesse required to make a good roast, the limitations and advantages of various types of equipment. The blog is penned primarily by Tonx, whose personal blog won last year's People's Picks award for best local blog; he seems to have redirected his blogging energy to Victrola's blog, and along with other Victrola staffers, he's turned what could have been a bland corporate-ish site into a conversation with their community.

In the most recent posts, Tonx and co-worker Kyle have been dispatched to Greece, to help outfit a new establishment called The Evergreen. Tonx writes: "The Evergreen in Athens is quite a concept. A fanatical approach to a total cafe experience — optimized on-premises baking, coffee roasting, espresso bar, juice bar, sandwich bar, microbrew beers, and world class design. Such ambitions might invite skepticism until you learn they've been in the process of building out this space for 10 months, sweating for every quality-focused detail. Their passion, knowledge, and forward thinking dispel any doubts." Follow their adventures, and stick around to learn a bit more about the bean that drives Seattle.

Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company