Caffe Mela

Mela has been roasting in Wenatchee since 2007, when Darren Reynolds opened it, and it has belonged to Kyle and Ann Hendrickson since early 2014. The cafe at 17 North Wenatchee Avenue is the public face. The roasting happens a few blocks away in a 4,000 square foot facility at Columbia Street and Orondo Avenue, where a cupping room sits behind a picture window and the company will run a lab tour or a cupping session for anyone who emails to ask. The stated rule for what gets roasted is simple: only coffees that score 80 or better on the Specialty Coffee Association scale, in small batches.

The two coffees to know by name are Espresso Emilia, the espresso blend, and Saddleback, the drip blend. Breakfast and lunch come out of the cafe kitchen alongside house made pastries, so it works as a full morning stop rather than a grab and go.

The room is brick walls, dark leather, an open floor plan and shaded front windows, and it doubles as one of downtown's long running art venues. The walls turn over monthly for the First Fridays art walk, and a 2024 Wenatchee World column credited the cafe with a decade or more of giving emerging local artists their first show, with lighting upgraded that year to suit the work. The Yakima Herald put it on its 2025 list of coffee shops worth finding east of the Cascades.

Hours run Monday through Friday 6 to 5, Saturday 7 to 5 and Sunday 8 to 4. One naming note: the company now brands itself Mela Coffee Roasting Co., and Caffe Mela is the older name most locals still use.