Blaine coffee roasters are brewing up more than just a cup of Joe

Derek and Debbie Peris. Photos by Stefanie Donahue

By Stefanie Donahue

The owners of Barnyard Coffee say its best to start the day with a smooth sip of freshly-roasted coffee, brewed at home.

Transforming their Blaine home, husband-and-wife team Derek and Debbie Peris officially opened Barnyard Coffee, an artisan roastery and tasting room earlier this month. Joined by their four kids – Rebecca, 20, Lily, 14, Anna, 13, and David, 10 – the Peris family sells eight varieties of fresh-packed, hand-roasted coffee beans.

Married 25 years, Derek and Debbie met on Mare Island, near California’s Napa Valley, where Derek was stationed while serving in the US Marine Corps. Derek wrapped up six years of military service in North Carolina before pursuing a career in sales in the San Francisco Bay area and Seattle. To avoid the fast pace of the big city, Derek and Debbie moved the family to Birch Bay in 2003 and Blaine in 2016.

The couple’s fascination with coffee spurred from Derek’s career in sales, which connected him with all types of businesses along the West Coast. One day while on the job in San Francisco, he walked into a specialized coffee shop and took home a pound of fresh-roasted, hand-packed coffee. Derek said he was “totally infatuated” with the product and was inspired to open a shop of his own.

“We loved that fresh-roasted taste,” reads a post on the Barnyard Coffee website. “We were bit by the bug and from that point on, we always knew that one day we would roast coffee.”

Derek and Debbie’s coffee roaster.

Inspired to roast the perfect coffee bean, Derek and Debbie hit the books and purchased a high-end coffee roaster. In 2018, they turned their passion for coffee into their business. In addition to selling fresh-roasted coffee, the duo offers free tastings and a monthly open house at their home at 4434 Boblett Road to educate coffee drinkers.

“[At tastings], you’re looking for the nuances between different coffees,” Debbie said. “They’re taking small sips of it and it’s hitting their palette in different places.”

Each hour, guests are invited to try two types of coffee, each roasted at a different level with alternate colorations. Derek said it’s easy to realize how a mere 15 seconds can make all the difference in taste.

“They can really get the flavor differences,” he said. “[People are] totally shocked.”

Green coffee beans before roasting.

Derek and Debbie are sensory roasters, meaning they test each roast using sight, smell and sound. In contrast, mass-production roasters for large retailers use computers to control the roasting process.

The pair roasts single-origin, green coffee beans that are grown organically in Ethiopia, Uganda, Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, Indonesia and Sumatra. During the roasting, the green beans slowly lose moisture and begin to caramelize; after just a few minutes in the roaster, the beans take on a dark brown hue.

For now, Derek and Debbie are selling eight varieties of coffee, including decaf, available at their home or by mail. They also sell fresh eggs from the 30 chickens roosting in their backyard barnyard and granola, made by Debbie.

Throughout the year, Derek and Debbie manage Mount Baker Bibleway Camp, which hosts faith-based retreats. As such, they said they’d like Barnyard Coffee to remain small and to grow organically.

The public is invited to taste their coffee at an open house from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, February 3 at 4434 Boblett Road. To learn more, visit barnyardcoffee.com or call 360/393-0475.