Stoke Roasted Coffee celebrates 15 years

Stoke Roasted Coffee Company has been providing locally roasted coffee to Revelstoke and the surrounding areas for fifteen years now. During that time, the roaster has adapted to Revelstoke’s changing coffee scene, survived the Covid-19 pandemic, navigated relocation and generally weathered the storms of varying economic climates. 

The desire to stick around Revelstoke and find stability in a town governed heavily by the seasons was a key point in co-founder and owner Mark Hartley’s decision to open the roastery.

“I was a ski bum, I wanted a job that was going to keep me here full time, give some more stability,” he told Revelstoke Mountaineer.

That need to establish deeper roots in the community combined with the popularity of a cup of coffee after a day on the slopes led to the opening of Stoke Roasted. Even from the beginning, Hartley and his former partner were aware of who their long-term clients would be.

“When we started, we were pretty determined not to be part of the gentrification of town,” Hartley said at the Local Food Initiative Farmers Market Oct. 14. “Our goal always was to have a diverse array of coffee, something for everyone. And to keep it affordable for the people who have been here working blue collar jobs for forever.”

It’s a business move Hartley notes led to tighter profit margins and more financial anxiety, but one that seems to have endeared Stoke Roasted to the community at large.

Stoke Roasted held a party held to celebrate fifteen years working in Revelstoke Oct. 5, inviting partygoers to join them at their roasting location near Revelstoke airport. The event was designed to accommodate the wide range of clientele they serve, with family-friendly fun at the beginning of the event then slowly morphing to more of a mature party vibe. Still, Hartley noted that the whole gang stayed around to celebrate and enjoy local music, food truck treats and a bouncy castle.

“We thought it would transition from family-friendly fun to a bunch of dirtbags and riff raff,” he said.” But they all showed up at the same time, and then they all left at 8:30 p.m. too.”

The clientele that visit the farmers’ market booth are a fraction of those who choose Stoke Roasted as their main source of coffee, whether from their website, the market or the various grocery stores around town selling the beans. While Hartley notes the approaching end of outdoor market season has seen a drop in customers, more than a dozen stopped by the booth during our interview, seeking to refill their cup or grab a bag of their Stoke Roasted Prescription subscription, the cheekily named loyalty program.

Between breaking down what different roasting techniques will do to a bean’s flavor and how keeping the fruit on the bean will change the profile, Hartley flips through a stack of cue cards – the loyalty card system tied to Stoke Roasted Prescription subscription – only occasionally needing a reminder of what name he’s looking for. While some customers focused on what they know and love, other regulars asked for more notes about the current offerings, chatting with Hartley about what they liked from their last purchase and what else they might be looking for.

“Y’know, roasting coffee isn’t rocket science,” Hartley told one customer, but he seems an encyclopedia on all things coffee, breaking down what techniques were used to harvest the beans roasted in town, noting what flavors will be highlighted with what brew. For a self-described ski bum looking for a way to enjoy more coffee in town, Hartley has created a roast house priding itself on providing coffee lovers with a prime cup.