Zoka is a Seattle-based coffee company with cafes in Washington and Japan, and is a nominee for a Readers' Choice Award for Best Coffee House.

At Zoka, you'll find coffees and teas from Africa, Central and South America, Asia and the Pacific Islands, as well as tasty homemade baked goods, some vegan, for soaking up all that caffeine (the chocolate truffle cookies are especially recommended). They pride themselves on their Cup of Excellence winning coffees, artisan-roasted beans and many single-origin coffees which they roast in small batches to preserve the uniqueness and pungence of the flavors.


For coffee house frequenters, Zoka provides a comfortable home. Rather than rushing you out the door, they lure you in with complimentary wifi and hope you'll stay all afternoon. And for the busier coffee geeks out there, you can join one of their three Coffee Clubs to have fresh, artisan-roasted coffee delivered to you monthly. Many of their coffees and teas are also available for purchase online.
Do yourself a favor and visit their website in advance of visiting a shop -- there are so many options and you don't want to miss your ideal cup of coffee or tea. You can browse by region or varietal for coffee, and by usual leaf category (green, black, oolong) for tea. We think the Organic Sumatra Permata Gayo Coffee sounds especially enticing: "Floral notes of orange peel up front, mellowing into blackberry jam and finishes with sassafras and sweet malt."

Yum.

Vote for the coffee house that you believe is the best of breed. The voting period runs through April 30 and winners will be announced on May 1.