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Coffee roasters in Seattle

The roasteries behind Seattle's cafes, and the firsts that gave the city its name for coffee.

Coffee in Seattle

Seattle coffee roasters work all over the city: the Roast Local directory lists 48 of them under Seattle alone. The city also holds some of American coffee's firsts, from the first Starbucks to the first espresso cart, each told below with its source. This page names the Seattle roasters we list as local favorites, what each one is known for, and how Palouse Coffee Club sends a bag from a different Washington State roaster every 2 or 4 weeks.

Roasters in and near Seattle

Each of these roasters has a profile on this site with its story, coffees and address. We list them as local favorites. A listing does not mean the roaster is part of the club.

  • Victrola Coffee Roasters, Capitol Hill: opened its first cafe on 15th Avenue in 2000 and started roasting in a small back room there in 2003.
  • Caffe Vita, Capitol Hill: founded in Queen Anne in 1995 by Mike McConnell, and its very first wholesale customer was Easy Street Records.
  • Herkimer Coffee, Phinney Ridge: has roasted since 2003 in the same building as its first cafe, which also holds its wholesale office.
  • Lighthouse Roasters, Fremont: roasts every coffee on a 1952 Gothot cast iron drum roaster at the corner of 43rd and Phinney.
  • Broadcast Coffee, Central District: opened at Yesler Way and 20th Avenue in 2008 and takes its name from the founder's father, a radio DJ.
  • Espresso Vivace, Capitol Hill: has roasted since 1992 in a Northern Italian style the company calls the caramel roast.
  • Fulcrum Coffee Roasters, SODO: formed in 2012 when two Seattle roasters, Silver Cup and Urban City Coffee, merged.
  • Elm Coffee Roasters, Pioneer Square: roasts until the coffee tastes good and then stops, which puts its coffees on the light side.
  • Seven Coffee Roasters, Ravenna: started roasting in Greenwood in 2006 and in 2012 opened a market and cafe in a century old Ravenna landmark.
  • Kuma Coffee, Thorndyke Avenue West: began in 2008 with one person roasting in a Seattle garage and is still a four person team.
  • Zoka Coffee, Green Lake: opened its Tangletown coffeehouse on January 7, 1997, and now roasts in Bellingham.
  • Boon Boona Coffee, Renton: roasts only African coffees and runs Seattle cafes on Capitol Hill and inside the University Book Store.

Two more names from the research: Cafe Allegro has roasted on its own second floor since 2014, and Top Pot Doughnuts roasts its own coffee. Neither has a profile on this site.

Seattle's coffee story

The first Starbucks opened on March 30, 1971 at Pike Place Market, at 2000 Western Avenue. In 1977 it moved to 1912 Pike Place, where it still operates. Starbucks is not independent, so it is not on our list.

Four years later, in 1975, Cafe Allegro opened in the University District as Seattle's first espresso bar. Its founder, Dave Olsen, went on to design the Starbucks coffee line.

Coffee moved onto the sidewalk on December 1, 1980. Chuck Beek set up Monorail Espresso at Westlake Mall, under the Seattle Center Monorail, and it is recorded as the world's first espresso cart.

The poured heart on a latte has a Seattle author too. David Schomer, a former Boeing engineer, founded Espresso Vivace in 1988 and is credited with developing and popularizing latte art in the United States.

Those are the famous names. The roasters on this page are the working ones, and a bag bought from a Seattle roaster pays for roasting jobs in Fremont, SODO and Phinney Ridge and keeps money moving through the neighborhoods their cafes serve. That is the case for buying from local roasters.

Getting Washington coffee delivered in Seattle

Palouse Coffee Club mails a 12 oz bag from a different independent Washington roaster every 2 or 4 weeks, to your Seattle door or anywhere else in the country. The roaster roasts it to order and ships it in its own bag, with our packing slip naming the roaster and what to taste for. $16.99 a bag, any roast. First bag free, you pay shipping. Skip, pause or cancel online. Seattle drinkers get the rest of the state this way, one roaster at a time.

  • Roasted and shipped within 3 days.
  • Free replacement if a bag disappoints.
  • A reminder email 3 days before each box.
  • Your ratings steer the next bag.

Build your box.

Nearby

Seattle coffee questions

Which Seattle roasters roast light?

Elm Coffee Roasters in Pioneer Square roasts on the light side, and Kuma Coffee sells light and medium roasts. Broadcast roasts a few light coffees among mostly medium ones, and Fulcrum sells light, medium and dark roasts, as their shops showed when we checked on 2026-09-27.

Where was Seattle's first espresso bar?

Cafe Allegro in the University District, which opened in 1975. It has also roasted its own coffee on its second floor since 2014.

Which Seattle roaster still uses a vintage roaster?

Lighthouse Roasters in Fremont roasts everything on a 1952 Gothot cast iron drum roaster. Caffe Vita also roasts in small batches on vintage German roasters.

Can I pick up beans at a Seattle roastery?

Yes. Kuma Coffee lets customers skip shipping and collect orders at the roll up door of its roastery on Thorndyke Avenue West, with a free drink from the warehouse cafe.

Where did the first Starbucks open?

At 2000 Western Avenue at Pike Place Market, on March 30, 1971. The shop moved to 1912 Pike Place in 1977 and still operates there.

Sources

Updated September 2026.

By Joe McRose, Palouse Coffee Club. Updated September 2026.