Browne's addiction

“Hello. My name is M.C., and I am addicted to caffeine.”

That’s the first step, I hear. But my addiction hasn’t been a problem — although now that TULLY’S newest location is walking distance from my apartment, it might be. They’ve got bags of whole beans for my grinder and pods for my Keurig, including one of my fair trade favorites: the nicely balanced Evergreen Blend ($14 for 24 pods).

Dave Tawney owned Cabin Coffee, across Cannon Street, but he jumped at the opportunity to open a Tully’s franchise in the space adjacent to Pacific Avenue Pizza, which he also owns. “It’s just better coffee,” he says.

And Tully’s is not your classic franchise, he says. It’s not publicly traded, it’s a regional company rather than an international corporation, and the beans are still hand-roasted in small batches in Seattle. Comparing Tully’s to a certain ubiquitous Seattle-based coffee company, he says, is “like comparing Two Wheel Transit to General Motors.”

Ginny Tawney, Dave’s mother, manages this location, though the family owns and operates two other Tully’s locations as well. She appreciates the atmosphere of the new location, including a gas fireplace: “It’s warm and cozy,” she says. “Cabin was cozy, but you could hear everyone’s conversation.” In the new location, a larger room accommodates more intimate conversation along with the smooth jazz.

Her favorite? “That would have to be the vanilla mocha breve. Iced,” she says. (That’s an iced mocha made with half-and-half instead of milk.) “I’ve been drinking it for years — I can’t get away from it.”

She also got me hooked on my new favorite drink: an iced mocha, made with regular milk then topped with a touch of half-and-half rather than whipped cream. Both drinks are rich, sweet and addicting.

In addition to the coffee drinks, you can get a healthy-sounding fruit smoothie like “The Antioxidant” ($4.25, venti), made with yerba mate, acai, blueberry and pomegranate. It’s low in caffeine and loaded with vitamins, minerals and — yes — antioxidants.

If Pacific Avenue Pizza isn’t open yet, there’s the Breakfast Sandwich ($3) — a sausage patty with egg and cheese on a croissant — and other sandwich options, plus a selection of pastries from Sweetwater ($2-$3), such as the pumpkin bar and cinnamon-swirl loaf.

Writing this has been great fun, but I’ve got to go to Tully’s. I need my coffee. Now.

— M.C. PAUL

Tully’s Coffee House, 2001 W. Pacific Ave., is open Mon-Fri 6 am-9 pm, Sat 7 am-9 pm, Sun 7:30 am-7 pm. Visit www.tullys.com or call 747-3088.