Caffe Affogato celebrates third anniversary with free coffee on Wednesday

Caffe Affogato is celebrating its third anniversary with free drip coffee on Wednesday.

The coffee shop, owned by Shahrokh “Sharo” Nikfar and located in the Saranac Commons building in downtown Spokane, serves specialty coffee drinks from Italy, France, Austria as well as gourmet teas. It’s also “very well supported and loved by many patrons,” Nikfar said, noting he plans to add specialty Vietnamese and Turkish coffee drinks to the menu soon.

Meantime, the anniversary celebration includes prizes and falls on Nowruz, the Persian New Year or the Iranian New Year. Nikfar came to America in the late 1970s as revolution was brewing in his native Iran, where coffee and tea were a big part of his upbringing.

He opened Caffe Affogato at the end of February 2015 and features coffee from Seattle’s Caffe D’arte, which uses a 1949 Balestra alderwood-fired roaster to roast its beans. (These days, most are electric or gas-powered.)

Specialty coffee drinks include the Medici, a double espresso with chocolate syrup, orange peel and whipped cream. The Dolce Fine features a sugar-rimmed espresso shot features four layers (ice, vanilla, espresso, cream) and four temperatures (freezing, room, cool, hot) and is theoretically meant to be consumed in four seconds.

Of course, there’s also the coffee shop’s namesake, which features ice cream from Brain Freeze Creamery and two shots of espresso.

Caffe Affogato is at 19 W. Main Ave. Call (509) 868-0011.