Wunderground Coffee is no ordinary cafe.
Besides the fact that wunderground’s signature coffee drinks are infused with mushrooms like adaptogens Lion Mane and Chagas, the space itself – for lack of a better term – wonderful. Between the pastel-colored packaging and the whimsical wall sculpture made from knit flowers, paper and wood, Wunderground Café Capitol Hill is where wonder, creativity and connection collide.
While Wunderground Coffee may not have launched until June 2021, founder and owner Jody Hall, who also founded Cupcake Royale, is not new to Seattle’s iconic coffee scene. Prior to his Cupcake Royale venture, Hall spent 10 years working for Starbucks, long ago when the coffee giant had just 30 physical stores.
From work in the marketing department to national partnerships and promotion, Hall aimed to “create a coffee experience.”
Years later, Hall is still doing just that.
Hall first came up with the idea of infusing adaptogenic mushrooms in 2017 after mycologist Paul Stamets spoke at an event about how “mushrooms can save the world.”
Mushrooms, which have been used in Middle Eastern and Chinese medicine for thousands of years, are “fundamental to how plants survive and how we survive, and are very fundamental to life,” he said. Lobby. “So our goal with Wunderground was, we saw who was out there [making mushroom coffee]but you’re really sacrificing taste for [the health] benefit, and we’re like no – we want it to taste amazing.”
Hall and his dedicated team have spent years experimenting and testing blends of roasted beans from small farms and adaptogenic mushrooms. In addition to cold brew mushrooms and filtered coffee, Wunderground also offers three signature drinks – including a vanilla latte and a mocha – as well as two blends of roast and ground coffee and mushrooms; Brainchild with Lion’s Mane, Cordyceps for extra intelligence, and Hocus Pocus, which is made with Chaga and Reishi mushrooms to boost the immune system.
For tea lovers, Dream Supply is an instant tea infused with Lion’s Mane and Reishi mushrooms, as well as chamomile. Customers can also add Vanilla Mushroom Syrup, Mushroom Shot or Mocha Mushroom Syrup to beverages.
“Most supplements are tied to the substrate of rice, yeast or something in your capsule. We don’t touch it – we only use the fruit [of the mushroom] and you get much better polysaccharides and beta-glucans,” Hall said. “These are things that act like a thermostat in your body to fend off anxiety, cortisol, caffeine, and it keeps you going and obviously helps your brain function.”
Between selling coffee, pastries, broths, sandwiches, salads and more – with chef Alyssia Lisle at the helm – Wunderground Coffee is a one-stop-shop for stocking up on superfoods and connecting with old friends or new knowledge.
“Wonderment is that moment when we’re actually in the moment and we’re not distracted — we have a thought or an idea that we want to run with, get creative with, and get things done,” Hall said. “So the end state of consuming our mushrooms regularly is that we feel more grounded, we feel more present, and we feel more connected… My goal is that my common thread of everything I have fact, whether at Starbucks [or] Cupcake Royale, is the human connection… And I think a coffee house is something that brings us together. »
Learn more about Wunderground Cafe here.
Kelly Stroh is a freelance writer for Seattle Refined. Follow more of his work here.