Just a stone’s throw from Pike Place Market, Rachel’s Ginger Beer is where I go when I’m craving dessert-in a cup. For those who have never had ginger beer, there is no actual beer or alcohol in the drink. (Though it does go great in a cocktail.) Every day Rachel’s Ginger Beer has at least five different ginger beer flavors on tap, including the delicious original flavor which brought Rachel to local fame. Other flavors I’ve seen include blood orange and hibiscus. Rachel’s ginger beers are the real thing- she doesn’t use any preservatives or hard-to-pronounce ingredients, just fresh lemon, ginger, and organic cane sugar. You can taste the quality in the product, whether you decide on a plain ginger beer or something a bit more fun.

The floats are my guilty pleasure – I recommend the combo of white peach ginger beer mixed with vanilla ice cream. (You have to top it with whipped cream.) If you stop by in the evening, you might feel like something a bit more fancy. Not to worry -they also offer mixed drinks (such as Moscow mules) featuring the ginger beer.

The space is bright and welcoming and I love to look out the big windows on Pine St. and people-watch. And if you’re lucky, you might get Rachel’s friendly mother serving you from behind the counter, as I did on my last visit. After trying Rachel’s Ginger Beer, it’ll be hard to go back to ginger ale.