Is This Just Espresso Love?

It's Free Espresso Week in Seattle or something. On 15th Ave East, you've got nightspot Liberty trying to lure daysippers with an offer of free espresso drinks all week long (ends Sunday). We refer you to the Slog for all the details, the one per day per customer, the Stumptown beans (Portland rabble!). Liberty has tried to open its daytime cafe doors before, but to our eye business was just dribbling in. Maybe the free caffeine will be a shot in the arm.

This Thursday, the P-I reports, Starbucks is giving away free cups of coffee from 10am to noon. It's a coffee break-timed kinda thing, see what they're doing there? You just march in and get a 12 oz. cup of Starbucks-flava go-juice -- only 9,000 stores to choose from. We suspect the same one-per-customer rule applies.

To close out Free Espresso Week, Friday Victrola is having a Grand Opening Party at V2, their new Pike & Terry roastery location:

We will be celebrating all day long with free straight shots of espresso, tours of the roastery, spontaneous cuppings and live music. Our good friends Hot Club Sandwich will be playing a set from 8-10pm and we may have some other guest musicians drop in earlier in the day.

Spontaneous cuppings! The other news regarding V2 is its beer and wine selection, which is new for Victrola. They're crowing about their Russian Imperial Stout and Duvel: "kind of like champagne but it's beer!" We'll just see about that.