Finding what calls us in the “City of Destiny”

This column seeks to provide key spots on the map for those with adventurous spirits to get out of the school bubble and explore this amazing town we call home. Please direct all comments, complaints, and suggestions/requests to trailfeatures@pugetsound.edu.

Coffee Culture Highlights

To escape the grind, check out these grinds!

Best Roast: Valhalla Coffee Co.
Location: 3918 6th Ave.
Hours: Every day 7am – 7 pm
Drink Variety: Basic
Food: None
Live Music: None
Price: $ (2-4)

Every barista in Tacoma will give you their rant against Starbucks, but the one who started the local tradition of roasting his own coffee is AJ Anderson of Valhalla Coffee Co. He started the company in 2004 with a passion for the human element and personal touch essential to a quality cup of coffee. The difference is clear on everyone’s face when they take that first sip, all the way down to the last. The difference lies within the lack of bitterness; the brew is almost sweet in comparison to Starbucks! The space itself is a bit small and dark for studying, but if you’re looking for a quality roast, this is one of the best places to go.

Close Second: Bluebeard Coffee Roasters
Location: 2201 6th Ave.
Hours: M-F 6 am – 7 pm, Sa-Su 7 am – 7 pm
Drink Variety: Basic
Food: Basic pastries
Live Music: None
Price: $ (2-4)

Ask any Bluebeard barista what makes the company special, and they will all respond, “We roast our own coffee!” and point to the huge machine in the back. Owner Kevin McGlocklin started Bluebeard with focus on the bean and the human, believing that quality to each is key to the best coffee experience, a policy that helped earn them Best Roaster two years in a row. Bluebeard is a popular spot for the locals, and the many windows and tables make it a great place to study too.

Northwest Costume on 6th Ave hosted the world famous detective Sherlock Holmes and his assistant Dr. Watson in their attempts to recover a precious gem. It was found Friday, March 27 inside the jewelry case of the costume shop. Holmes will return the jewel when he returns to London.


Holmes and Watson offered to relate the story of how they found themselves in Tacoma.

W "We came home one day to see a Miss Irene Adler sitting at Holmes's desk. Gave poor Mrs. Hudson, our landlady, a heart attack, didn't know someone had slipped in while she was cleaning.”

S "Anything will slip past that woman while she is cleaning. Especially dust. But not my investigation notes apparently. She still hasn't found them."

W "Miss Adler said she had a challenge for Sherlock, a race of sorts. Someone had stolen a jewel and hidden it for her to find, and she wanted to give Sherlock a chance to find it too. See who could get to it first."

S "She likes games. She could have just gone straight for the jewel but that would have been too easy. The only clue she gave us was 'Seek your destiny with a master of disguises.' This one took me some time, actually; it was so vague. 'Master of disguises' could mean anything from a bank robber to a politician. I had some friends - "

W "As in me."

S "- look into people of that description around London. We weren't getting anywhere - "

W "Because you gave me a list of 100 people! Even the Queen!"

S - "Well it was your fault you didn't ask for help."

W - "You said I couldn't! Anyone I asked would probably be found by Miss Adler so I had to do it myself."

S "I soon realized the key was 'destiny.' I filtered through different references – games, books, songs - till I came across the 'City of Destiny,' a nickname for the town of Tacoma in the state of Washington in America. I immediately booked a flight - "

W "You mean had me book a flight."

S "Do you want to tell this then? Since you appear to have done all the hard work?"

W "No, no continue. You'll interrupt me on the technicalities of things."

S "Then be quiet please unless you have something useful to add. So we flew here last night. I was able to get in contact with the original owner of the jewel, who told me its history. Apparently it was none other than the famous blue carbunkle that has quite the remarkable background. There have been two murders, a vitriol-throwing, a suicide, and several robberies brought about for the sake of this forty-grain weight of crystallised charcoal.*"

W "But it was very dear to the lady from whom it had been stolen. Belonged to her grandmother or something?"

S "Yes, yes, her dear grandmother who had baked her sweets every Sunday - You know Watson I don't think I've ever met someone with a larger lung capacity. She rambled on for an hour about her grandmother and what the death meant to the family and the jewel meant to her and what it -

W "Sherlock."

S "Well, we arrived here, Northwest Costume, only to find my dear friend Inspector Lestrade had managed to follow us.