Swell Coffee Spokane | Don't Blink

When we moved to Spokane in 2020, there was one aspect of the city’s culture that Sidney loved. No, I am not talking about marijuana smoking or pickleball. Rather, I am alluding to the incredible coffee presence that lines pretty much every square foot of this town. Drive down any street and you are guaranteed to pass multiple espresso stands.

So while this was great for Sidney (and not so good for our bank account), it didn’t do too much for me. Why? I don’t drink coffee.

Although I don’t drink coffee even though I am in a coffee-obsessed state, the espresso stands do serve an alternative caffeinated beverage for people like me. This photo is of me with a lotus from The Jar in Cheney.

However, at about the time we arrived in Washington, a certain non-coffee drink started to gain prominence in Spokane’s java huts. Called Lotus, the base of the drink is Lotus Energy (a plant-based caffeinated drink) combined with club soda and flavored syrup. Suddenly, someone like me who wanted a coffee “buzz” without the coffee taste could order something at the espresso stand.

And order I have! Over the past five years I have sipped countless Lotus drinks while experimenting with the diverse and wacky flavors available. Using the same flavored syrups found in Italian sodas, the combinations are pretty much endless.

Me with a Lotus I enjoyed earlier this month before we hit the road to Seattle (from Higher Ground espresso in Spokane Valley).

I have personal favorites like blue raspberry and coconut or watermelon and strawberry but usually I just tell the barista to make me a “surprise.” That is “espresso code” for make me something that tastes really, really good. Most stands will have themed-Lotus options based off pop culture that combine a lot of fun flavors.

But beyond the refreshing taste and flavor wonderland of Lotus is something I appreciate even more: the kick.

Because of the plant-based nature of Lotus, the caffeine effect isn’t the same as what I get when I drink a Rockstar. A 20 oz. Lotus from the coffee stand doesn’t pack the jitters and shakes that a traditional energy drink usually imparts on me. Although a Lotus does deliver the alertness and productivity that other caffeinated drinks offer, the “buzz” is much smoother and pleasant.

Of course, you will pay more for it. Whereas I can buy a Rockstar for 99 cents at WinCo, a 20 oz. Lotus will usually cost around $5. Because of that, I do try to limit my Lotus consumption. When I worked mostly at home, my wife and I celebrated “Lotus Thursday.” After I dropped the kids off at school, I would drop by our neighborhood coffee stand and pick up Lotuses for the two of us. I would then try each one and keep the drink I thought tasted best and hand deliver the other one to Sid 😉.

Lotus drinks from a past “Lotus Thursday” (from Swell Coffee in Spokane Valley).

If you do live out west and have access to an abundance of espresso stands, I recommend that you try a Lotus—whether you like coffee or not. If you are already a Lotus drinker, I would appreciate your favorite place to order one and/or your favorite flavor combinations. Drink up! Don’t Blink.

Summer is here! With the official first day of the season this past Tuesday, the weather has definitely reflected it. We have avoided the brutal heat wave that has hit a large portion of the country and enjoyed extremely pleasant temperatures. Let’s get started with the Thursday Rundown…

Throwback to 2007 – I decided to squeeze in a #TBT for this blog post for a particular reason. This photo is of me playing in Hoopfest the last time I competed as a player. Although I volunteered for Hoopfest for several years after the 2007 event, I have not hooped it up myself for 15 years. That streak will end on Saturday but more on that tomorrow.

This was me playing in my last Hoopfest in 2007.

Funny Answers – If you have a child, most likely they have filled out a form about you like the one below. It is almost a rite of passage for parenthood and sometimes the answers can get pretty wild. I would say Sloan was rather tame with what “she” (her teacher) wrote below. I will give her a special dessert or something for saying that I am 16 years old.

Sloan filled out this form for me. It was good for a Father’s Day laugh.

It’s Summer – Last night I took the kids to Discovery Park in Spokane Valley. They immediately gravitated toward the splash pad. The parks in both Spokane and Spokane Valley boast these impressive water attractions. Last summer I wrote about the mystique of splash pads and included photos of some of the best ones we have visited in the area. If you live in Spokane and have kids who would like a fun option to cool off during the summer, this blog post is a must-read.

This was Beau last night at the Discovery Park splash pad.

Coffee Shops Unite – The espresso stand that is just a couple minutes from our house suffered a traumatic experience yesterday. Its truck was stolen! Th owners of Swell Coffee woke up on Wednesday morning to find out that their branded truck had vanished. It was about 10 hours of anguish before law enforcement tracked down the vehicle 49 miles away in Smelterville, Idaho. The carjacker fled the truck when pulled over. What I thought was really cool about the whole thing was that the million other coffee shops in the Spokane area expressed their relief on Instagram that their competitor’s vehicle was found…pretty classy!

A photo of the Swell Coffee owner with his truck after it was located in Idaho on Wednesday evening.

The Proposal – It was seven years ago on this date that I proposed to Sid (she said “yes”). I popped the question on the Murrells Inlet MarshWalk, the location of our first date. My wife always tells the story about how I inhaled my dinner at the restaurant we ate at prior to the big moment. She just could not figure out why I was in such a hurry. The truth was that we were losing daylight after our food took way longer to arrive than expected. The photographer taking photos of the event needed me to get Sidney to the proposal location before it got too dark. If you want the long story, tap here.