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Domreis' roaster
Rose City roaster
story Amy Purcell | photo Ashley Baer
Who he is
Daft Punk electronica beats bump in the converted yellow garage of twenty-seven-year-old Joel Domreis while he decides what beans to roast for the day. The owner of Courier Coffee Roasters, Domreis applied his longtime passion for java and regard for the environment (he earned an environmental studies degree from the University of Oregon in 2003) as guiding principles for his southeast Portland startup.
What he does
After college, Domreis began roasting in his backyard with a pie iron and a side burner on his gas grill. Today, he runs his business with professional equipment. Domreis roasts for ten homes and sixteen businesses and delivers to all of them on his bike. He admits hauling 75 pounds of coffee on the front of a cargo bike can be awkward, but it forces his business to stay small, local, and sustainable. “Cars make things easy — a little too easy,” says Domreis. “Biking limits me in that I can only go so far.” He wakes up at four o’clock each morning to begin roasting and he’ll make up to three trips daily across downtown Portland to deliver his products: coffee in glass mason jars and brown paper bags stamped with the company logo.