Palouse Coffee Club
At a glance
- Roasts inVashon, WA
- Founded2003
- VisitorsOpen to the public
The Vashon Island Coffee Roasterie is one of the beloved local roasters we follow in Washington: an independent roaster based in Vashon, founded in 2003. Here is what their own pages and public sources say about them, in our words.
Their story
The roasterie calls itself the birthplace of Seattle's Best Coffee, which it dates to 1969. Beans are roasted on site in a rustic Northern European style using the shop's original vintage roasters and wooden Swedish grinders. Its timeline dates the current business to 2003, when it opened as an independent cafe and roaster with mentoring from Seattle's Best Coffee founder Jim Stewart.
Stewart began roasting in 1969 as The Wet Whisker in Coupeville, moved his roasting to this Vashon building in 1982 under the Stewart Brothers name, and renamed the company Seattle's Best Coffee after winning a chefs' tasting contest. Owner Eva, a Seattle native, runs the roasterie as a family business with her husband Ken and their children, and the couple also farm heirloom vegetables and herbs on Vashon. Beans come through the Vashon Island Coffee Foundation, a nonprofit Stewart formed in 1982 that grew out of work with coffee farmers in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala.
What they roast
Roast levels run Light, Medium and Dark rustic roasts. Offerings change with the seasons, so this is what their own pages listed on 2026-09-28.
Where to drink it
The island shop is open to visitors six days a week, with shorter Sunday hours.
Address
The roastery's street address is not published.
Why buying from The Vashon Island Coffee Roasterie matters here
Visitors can watch roasting on a 100-year-old barrel roaster and browse the Minglement herb shop, started in 1972, upstairs. The building is more than 110 years old and housed Rodda's Price-Rite grocery from 1912 to 1939. An old roaster from Stewart's Pier 70 days still works and is used when the power goes out.
Every bag bought from a Vashon 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 The Vashon Island Coffee Roasterie is part of the club.
Are you The Vashon Island Coffee Roasterie? Email coffee@palousecoffeeclub.com to correct or remove this page.
More Washington roasters
- Pollard Coffee, Vashon
- Blossom Coffee Roasters, Vashon
- Livit Coffee Co., Walla Walla
By Joe McRose, Palouse Coffee Club. Updated . Facts from The Vashon Island Coffee Roasterie's own pages and public sources, read 2026-09-28.