Sirisup
Capitol Hill’s next generation of coffee houses with international flavors has a new centerpiece. Nudibranch Coffee is now open at 12th and Madison, credited as the first Thai coffee shop in Seattle.
Nudibranch is Thai through and through with bright colors, naturals and plants, and espresso beans from the Chiang Mai region of Thailand roasted locally by Kuma Coffee and “prepared in-house using techniques rarely seen in the Americas.”
Specialities include the Tangerine Americano, Jasmine Latte, and Coconut Cloud with cold foam. Maddy’s Bakeshop is stocking the Thai-flavored pastry case.
The young team behind the project told CHS the resulting flavors represent “almost an entirely different universe of coffee” when we talked with them in January about the planned opening in the former Mighty-O spot at the busy intersection across from Seattle Academy and the neighborhood Ferrari dealership at 12th and Madison.
Founder Emily Sirisup is a veteran barista who honed her skills at the Capitol Hill Starbucks Roastery before setting off to start Nudibranch, named for Sirisup’s love for beachcombing.
Nudibranch has also created space in its new cafe for what it hopes will be a busy schedule of community events, pop-ups, and performance.
Nudibranch is part of the neighborhood’s mix of coffee and cafe culture finally recovering from the pandemic, changing behaviors, and challenging business environments. Global flavors are part of the recovery. CHS reported earlier on another new 2026 addition to the area’s cafe scene with the plans for a location of Haraz Coffee House, a national Yemeni coffee chain, on E Pike. 2025 brought Phê and its Vietnamese coffee ambitions in a new auto row-inspired cafe on E Pine. Other 2025 openings included the Palestinian heritage and community of Mintish Coffee House on Harvard Ave and “Persian daytime cafe” Open Form also on E Pike.
Nudibranch Coffee is now open at 1400 12th Ave. Learn more at nudibranchcoffee.com.
Subscribe to CHS to help us hire writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. To stay that way, we need you. Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for $5 a month — or choose your level of support 
