Study finds that Seattle is somehow not America’s best coffee city
Sep 29, 2018, 12:59 AM | Updated: 12:59 am
This Saturday is National Coffee Day, and while Seattleities may think they’re enjoying their morning brew in the best coffee city in the country, a new study doesn’t say so.
What mystical, clearly made-up town somehow beat Seattle? Well, it was New York.
That’s according to finance website WalletHub. You may know them from their previous studies “Best & Worst Cities for Staycations,” “Neediest Cities,” and the really long titled, “States With The Highest & Lowest Insurance Premium Penalties for High Risk Drivers.” Wallethub is primarily a credit score site, but their heart’s in random studies.
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The ranking came down to 14 key indicators of a strong coffee culture, including “Average Spending on Coffee per Household” and “Google Search Traffic for term coffee,” categories that we did beat New York in. Though some of the factors were downright strange and may have tipped the scales in New York’s favor.
For instance, Seattle placed 26th on “percentage of Adults Who Reported Drinking ‘Ready-to-Drink’ Coffee in the Past Six Months.” We also ranked 14th on “Presence of Coffee-centric Events” and 30th behind New York’s No. 1 ranking in “Donut Shops Per Capita,” a rather odd measuring tool.
That’s like using the number of bikini baristas and Jiffy Lube waiting rooms to measure a city’s coffee scene. We clearly need to hold a “coffee-centric event” to discuss our lack of donut shops so we can reclaim the throne.
Still, Seattle did beat out San Francisco at No. 3 and our neighbors in Portland at No. 4. Los Angeles comes in at No. 5. And really, there’s no shame in second, especially when it’s in a vaguely-scientific study created by website that wants people to use it to check their credit score. Don’t let that ruin your cup on National Coffee Day this Saturday.
