Curator's Notes
Vashon Island Coffee Roasterie is a living piece of Pacific Northwest coffee history. The roasterie occupies the same building where Jim Stewart, founder of Seattle's Best Coffee, originally roasted in the 1960s, blazing the trail of specialty coffee in the region. Jim mentored Eva, a native Seattleite who learned coffee from the grounds up, and for over 20 years she has dedicated herself to preserving his roasting style, traditions, and the history of this legendary roasterie. Roasting on vintage equipment in a time-honored rustic style, sourcing from older coffee varietals growing nearly wild at high mountain altitudes, and contributing to indigenous communities through her foundation, Traditions. This is specialty coffee with roots, memory, and soul.
In the cup, expect deeply complex, richly flavored coffees that taste like the Pacific Northwest's coffee heritage in every sip.
Start Here: Costa Rica Reserve, sourced from Luz Marina Trujillo's high-altitude Tarrazú farm, the same farm Jim Stewart discovered while traveling Latin America in the 1970s and buying direct before direct trade was even a concept. He bought her beans, built his empire, and they got married. Melted chocolate, hazelnut, and caramel smoothness. A coffee romance that stands the test of time.
From the Roaster
Using a time-honored rustic roasting style on vintage roasters - with roots stretching back to the origins of specialty coffee in the Pacific Northwest over 50 years ago. Eva, a native Seattleite learned coffee from the “grounds up” and brings her knowledge and love of organic food, spices, and herbs, both medicinal and culinary, to her coffee company as a part of a new generation of specialty coffee roasting entrepreneurs.
Jim Stewart (retired SBC founder) shared with Eva some of the rarest and most flavor-filled coffees in the world and encouraged her to try her hand at coffee roasting. For over 20 years now, she is dedicated to ensuring that this regional treasure and Jim’s coffee roasting style and traditions are maintained and that the history of this famous Roasterie and museum are viable.
The beans we love the most come from the older coffee varietals growing nearly wild at high mountain altitudes and without the use of pesticides. The plants are allowed to naturally adapt to the climate, environment, and pests while the mineral-rich volcanic soil infuses them with vibrantly deep and complex flavor.
Coffee prepared using traditional growing and preparation practices are handpicked and only when ripe, then properly aged, fermented, washed, and dried on patios in the equatorial sun. When fully dry, they are then separated from their parchment, sorted, and graded for quality and size and then sent along to us.
While these methods take longer and are becoming more mechanized and increasingly rare these days to meet demand you will certainly notice a difference in these special beans.
Eva's foundation, Traditions, contributes to indigenous communities and individuals at the vanguard of the natural environment. Eva and her husband Ken live on Vashon on their organic farm, Breathing Meadows, where they grow heirloom organic vegetables, medicinal and culinary herbs, and berries.
Coffees from Vashon Island Coffee Roasterie have been reviewed 242 times,
with an average rating of 4.5 out of 5.
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