Palouse Coffee Club
At a glance
- Roasts inAuburn, WA
- Founded1997
- Founded byDan Olmstead
Poverty Bay Coffee Company is one of the beloved local roasters we follow in Washington: an independent roaster based in Auburn, founded in 1997. Here is what their own pages and public sources say about them, in our words.
Their story
Dan Olmstead founded the company in 1997, setting out to run it ethically, treat employees well and watch its effect on the environment. Grounds from its cold brew and the chaff from roasting go to Cedar Grove composting, which the company puts at over 35,000 pounds a year. Green coffee comes through independent importers such as San Cristobal and Jungle Tech, with a focus on shade grown and direct trade lots.
Its wholesale arm ships 100% Arabica, shade grown, direct trade beans across the country to cafes, restaurants, offices and hotels, drawing on more than 30 years of roasting. The company recycles the paper, plastic, metal and foam that come into its building, prints marketing pieces on recycled paper and has moved to energy efficient lighting.
What they roast
Roast levels run Light, Medium and Dark. Decaf beans are sold as their own category. Offerings change with the seasons, so this is what their own pages listed on 2026-09-28.
Where to drink it
Bags of its coffee are sold at the Poverty Bay Cafe in Federal Way, a breakfast and lunch spot now owned and run by the nonprofit FUSION.
Address
3702 West Valley Hwy N. #400, Auburn, WA 98001
Office address.
Why buying from Poverty Bay Coffee Company matters here
The Olmsteads, Dan and Alice, along with the rest of the first Poverty Bay family, gave the cafe business, open since 1989, to FUSION, a Federal Way nonprofit that houses families experiencing homelessness. Most of its roasts carry the names of Washington places such as Skookumchuck, Hylebos and Point Defiance, and a blog post explains how each name was chosen.
Every bag bought from a Auburn 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 Poverty Bay Coffee Company is part of the club.
Are you Poverty Bay Coffee Company? Email coffee@palousecoffeeclub.com to correct or remove this page.
More Washington roasters
- Black Arrows Coffee, Auburn
- Pegasus Coffee, Bainbridge Island
- Bellingham Coffee Roasters, Bellingham
By Joe McRose, Palouse Coffee Club. Updated . Facts from Poverty Bay Coffee Company's own pages and public sources, read 2026-09-28.