Palouse Coffee Club
At a glance
- Roasts inTacoma, WA
- Founded byBenita Ki
- VisitorsOpen to the public
Civic Roasters is one of the beloved local roasters we follow in Washington: an independent roaster based in Tacoma. Here is what their own pages and public sources say about them, in our words.
Their story
After years without a storefront, the company opened a brick and mortar roastery and cafe on S 11th St, built with help from hundreds of donors and volunteers. Its stated mission includes training and employing formerly incarcerated women, and it says part of its proceeds support groups serving marginalized people in the city. Civic went through the 2021 winter cohort of Spaceworks, a small business incubator set up jointly by the city's arts commission and the regional chamber of commerce.
University of Puget Sound graduate Benita Ki started Civic with two business partners, according to a 2023 profile in the school's Arches magazine, which said the partners then kept other jobs and drew no salary. That profile noted a 2022 crowdfunding drive that brought in about $100,000, and listed Mexico, Colombia, Ethiopia and Vietnam among the origins it roasts. Every coffee is a single origin roasted by hand in small batches, sourced where possible with fair trade or organic certification and from co-ops that run social programs for farmers.
Bags are made from renewable plant-based material, and the company says it is working toward fully compostable packaging. It also says it completed the Pierce County Business Accelerator program in 2021.
Where to drink it
The downtown Tacoma roastery and cafe is open to walk-in customers.
Address
508B S 11th St, Tacoma, WA
Flagship roastery and cafe in downtown Tacoma.
Why buying from Civic Roasters matters here
A running blog series profiles Tacoma residents, from Hilltop families to longtime education advocates. Around town its coffee turns up at Homies Coffee House, Grit City Books, the University of Puget Sound bookstore and both the Tacoma and Seattle Central Co-op stores.
Every bag bought from a Tacoma roaster pays roasting and cafe wages in Washington, and the coffee reaches you days after roasting instead of months. That is the reason the club exists. Why local roasters matter.
About this listing
Listed as a local favorite. A listing does not mean Civic Roasters is part of the club.
Are you Civic Roasters? Email coffee@palousecoffeeclub.com to correct or remove this page.
More Washington roasters
- Endicott Coffee Roasters, Tacoma
- Lander Coffee, Tacoma
- Manifesto Coffee, Tacoma
By Joe McRose, Palouse Coffee Club. Updated . Facts from Civic Roasters' own pages and public sources, read 2026-09-28.