The Bloom — ideas we love

When we count all the many ways that coffee and the people who provide it make our world a happier place, we usually get a human score. A roaster paying more to impoverished growers. A café employing ex-cons. A coffee maker making good on its promise to help kids with disabilities. But the good that pours from our collective cup doesn’t always end up percolating down to people. Lately, our canine friends have been getting a boost from the coffee community, and that’s a great thing, too. As Albert Schweitzer said, “Until we extend our circle of compassion to all...

A good cup of coffee performs many essentials services for humanity. It’s a perfect wake-up call and an ideal pick-me-up, a great excuse for a get-together, and the preferred way to kill time between appointments. But if you get yours at the right place in Seattle, it’s doing a whole lot more. Welcome to Street Bean, a coffee shop that not only serves a supremely satisfying latte but does it while helping homeless young people learn valuable job skills and make the money they need to finance a more promising future. Opened in 2009, Street Bean is the brainchild of...