Elevate your Being at Rey's Roast Coffee

DAYTON-The next time you are in the mood to elevate your being, visit Rey's Roast Coffee on Main Street in Dayton for conversation, and for coffee.

On Friday, Regina Weldert, the proprieter of Rey's Roast Coffee, sat down with me for a little tutorial about the growing requirements for coffee beans, and to talk about her career path, from performing fieldwork in fish biology, to offering grateful customers the very best cup of coffee.

Weldert said her interest in the science and chemistry of roasting coffee beans, and the need for a career with fewer physical demands were the deciding factors for the career switch from fish biology to coffee bean roaster.

Weldert has had a long career in fish management in the Walla Walla river basin, both for the Washington State Fish and Wildlife Department in Walla Walla, and in Dayton, and also for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla, working in the Rainwater basin, on the South Fork of the Touchet River, she said.

In 2010 Weldert said she suffered a work induced torn rotator cuff, and after taking several spills in the river due to balance issues, she began to think about taking a different career path.

"The science and chemistry of roasting coffee tweaked my interest," Weldert said.

Weldert said her first attempts to roast coffee beans in a popcorn popper at the home she shared with Rebecca Morris were a complete disaster, because they burned.

"Next thing, I bought a $500 home roasting machine. Then I wanted to move to Belize to start up a business there, but thought I should know what I'm doing before I move there," Weldert said.

Trial and error is the method Weldert said she used to perfect such blends as Nicaragua Santa Lucila, Kenya GiaKanyja, and El Bambu Honey.

It finally paid off and the home roasting business morphed into a full scale operation, she said.

"We moved to the Blue Mountain Station the second weekend it was open, and then into our own suite, in April, 2013," Weldert said.

Weldert became aware of a vacant shop on Main Street while promoting her coffee at a "Meet the Roaster" Sunday breakfast, hosted by the Weinhard Cafe, in February. She said she was able to move the coffee shop into that space in June, while retaining the commercial operation at the Blue Mountain Station.

Weldert said that coffee needs a microclimate with an elevation that is over 1200 meters, or roughly three-quarters of a mile, with cool nights. Soil is also important. For instance Central American and Sumatran coffee are grown in volcanic soil, she said.

"Every nuance of the microclimate imparts a different flavor," she said. "Every coffee is different, and can be traced back to the farm where it is grown."

In September Weldert said she will have been roasting coffee beans in Dayton for three years. "I have people from Seattle asking for my coffee," She said proudly.

"I love Dayton," Weldert added, complementing its diversity. "What a great place! You can't find better."

Rey's Roast Coffee is located at 242 Main Street. Its hours are: 7 a.m. – noon, Tuesday through Friday, and on Saturday, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. Weldert can be reached at: (509) 540-5498, or online at http://www.reysroast.com, facebook.com/reysroast, and by email at reysroast@live.com.