First Cup of "Real" Coffee at Espresso Vivace

After my lackluster loss-of-virginity to a few sips of Chameleon Cold-Brew this morning, I decided my next experience needed to be top notch.  After all my hours reading Yelp reviews, the consensus seemed to be that Espresso Vivace represents the best espresso Seattle has to offer.  Particularly the drink that everyone seems to rave about there is the Cafe Nico, a 4 oz drink made from a shot of espresso with some foamed half-and-half and a touch of some orange and vanilla syrup.

Of course, that sounded a little too frou-frou for my purist sensibilities, and I was all set to go straight for a macchiato.  That's why I told myself anyway, and what I spent most of the ~2-mile walk to the café rehearsing in my head: "I'd like a macchiato for here, please."

I had to walk around the block once to steel myself before walking through the door.  In fact I was just about trembling with trepidation; the last time I remember being so terrified was when I went rappelling at Moaning Caverns (particularly when I emerged from the innocent-looking entry tunnel and realized precisely how precipitous a height I would have to descend—did I mention I'm scared of heights?)

Descending an abyss that dwarfs the Statue of Liberty
has NOTHING on ordering my first cup of coffee!

Reminding myself of how unremarkable those sips of Chameleon were, and that if shitty coffee didn't freak me out, then surely good coffee would be an improvement, I opened the doors and walked up to the counter.  At the last second I noticed that the smallest macchiato was listed as 8 oz, and that the Nico was only 4 (the smallest size on the menu), and I chimped out and went for the Nico.  I most emphatically did NOT tell the barista it was my first time, as she seemed a bit surly and I didn't want to get laughed at.

Surprisingly, the ordering was the hardest part.  Once I had ordered my drink, I pretty much felt like my fate was sealed, and began to relax.  A few minutes later, I was served a cute-looking tiny cup full of appealing foam, dusted with cinnamon and garnished with a slice of orange zest.

It's smaller than it looks!
That spoon is the size of my ring finger.

Well, would you believe I enjoyed it?  Creamy, smooth, and most strongly reminiscent of one of those chocolate oranges they sell at Cost Plus.  The only thing that differentiated it from chocolate was a faint oaky-smokiness and the barest trace of what I'd best describe as a skunky-herbal flavor not unlike hops or ganja.  The bitterness was restrained, but it was definitely not a sweet drink.  It was complex, smooth, and it reminded me of my mother, oddly.  I was surprised at how enjoyable it was.  Definitely SEVERAL steps up from my previous experience, and something I would probably want to repeat.

I was a little surprised at how unstimulated I felt, though; somewhere around what I'd expect from an 8 oz cup of strong black (but not puerh) tea, though without the sense of euphoria or well-being I associate with tea.

In any case, I did feel more relaxed to have finally gotten it over with.  And also somewhat emboldened to try a more "serious" espresso drink, which I shall do tomorrow!