at a little place in the Haymarket called The Mill. Dale, the owner, started roasting coffee in the front of the cafe and it always sparked her curiosity in roasting.

Coffee has been a theme in Terri’s life; working as a barista at the Mill from 1989-95, and then after moving to Seattle worked as a barista with Cafe Ladro from 1998-2003.

Terri then moved to Lopez Island in 2008 and frequented Isabel’s Espresso from day one. Julia Rogers, owner of Isabels Espresso hired Terri as a barista in 2016. In 2020, Julia asked her if she was interested in roasting her coffee and she immediately said yes!

She started out on a 2lb Sonofresco for about a year and a half and then found out through a coworker that a 5KG roaster ON ISLAND was for sale. And that my friends is the beginning of Dirt Drive.