There aren’t many people in the specialty coffee industry who have worn as many hats or who embody both competitive excellence and long-term industry influence quite like Heather Perry. As the CEO of Klatch Coffee, a family-founded, woman-owned coffee roastery based in Southern California, she has helped transform what began as a small “temporary” cafe in Rancho Cucamonga into an internationally recognized brand with nearly 200 team members, over 20 retail locations, a state-of-the-art roastery, and a growing footprint across wholesale, e-commerce, and coffee education. But, Heather’s impact goes much further than just business growth or accolades. Heather is a pioneer and innovator in everything she does.
It All Started at Home
Heather’s entry into coffee is less a story of choosing a career and more a story of growing up inside one. She was introduced to the industry at just eleven years old when her parents, Mike and Cindy Perry, found Klatch Coffee in 1993. Growing up around the cafe, she and her younger sister Holly were immersed in hospitality and customer service from a young age, developing a passion for coffee long before either ever even considered it a career path. While Holly oversees retail operations specifically now, Heather immediately gravitated towards the competitive stage.
Growing up within that specialty coffee space really shaped both her skills and her mindset. Working in her family’s retail stores gave her hands-on experience in espresso preparation and customer interaction, while also building up a love and appreciation for the art of coffee. It also revealed a naturally competitive drive that went on to define her early career.
The First Woman to Take the Gold
By her early twenties, Heather was already standing in the spotlight in the specialty coffee competition circuit. In 2003, at just twenty years old, she competed in the U.S. Barista Championship in Boston and took home first place. Not only was this her first national title, it was also the first time a woman ever won the championship in the competition’s history.
Winning didn’t stop her from wanting to progress or put her best foot forward. Heather continued to refine her craft and evolve her approach to coffee. In 2007, she returned to competition with her signature drink, the Naked Verbena, and again took first place. With this win, she became the first person to win the U.S. Barista Championship twice. The Naked Verbena—a cold espresso layered with lemon verbena syrup inspired by a farmers market discovery—became an early example of her creative approach to flavor. Though the drink itself may seem simple enough, it became a true testament to everything she created: unexpected combinations built on balance, clarity, and intention.
Following her victory, she competed at the World Barista Championship in Tokyo, Japan, representing the U.S. on the global stage. While she placed second overall, her espresso blend earned the first-ever “Best Espresso” award at the competition. That blend later became the foundation of Klatch Coffee’s iconic WBC World’s Best Espresso, a coffee that still represents the company’s identity nearly two decades later.
Former Competitor, Forever Leader
Heather’s influence does not stop at competition. After stepping away from the competition circuit, she transitioned into leadership roles within the specialty coffee industry, including serving as president of the Specialty Coffee Association, where she played a role in uniting the U.S. and European chapters to better serve the global coffee community. This experience expanded her perspective from craft execution to industry-wide systems, education, and collaboration.
This experience, alongside her academic background in international business and marketing from Cal Poly Pomona and her experience within the competition circuit, play big roles in how she approaches leadership, even today. Having worked in all facets of the industry, Heather is a rare blend of operational understanding and sensory expertise—one that has come along to shape Klatch Coffee’s evolution.
Today, Heather leads with a focus on precision, curiosity, and constant strives for improvement. One of her guiding principles is a rejection of mediocrity: “fine” is not acceptable. As she puts it, “We never settle for ‘fine.’ ‘I hate it’ is easy to fix because we know we need something completely different, and ‘I love it’ is great because we’ve gotten to the right place, but saying something is fine means it wasn’t good enough to love.” That mindset is deeply embedded in Klatch Coffee’s culture, driving ongoing improvement and innovation, from roasting, to recipe development, and even down to the creation of our training program for our cafes and wholesale partners alike.
From Neighborhood Cafe to Worldwide Coffee Brand
With Heather at the helm, Klatch Coffee has grown into a brand recognized around the world, with partners in the Bahamas, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and more. We’ve become a company that’s reputable for our coffee sourcing, roasting, education, consulting, and retail. The company is known for its Direct Trade model, which prioritizes long-term relationships with producers and pays well above Fair Trade minimums. Built on foundations established by her father, Mike Perry, we work closely with farm partners producing coffees often scoring 90+ points or higher, with a strong focus on sustainability and mutual growth.
A key differentiator is also the “peak of flavor” roasting method developed by Mike, whose background in chemical engineering helped shape Klatch’s scientific approach to coffee. This method is especially evident in post-roast blending, where each component of a blend is roasted individually before being combined afterward. This allows every coffee to reach its optimal expression rather than being constrained by a single roast profile. This meticulous approach is what helped Klatch Coffee go from just a coffee roaster, to an award-winning roaster.
Coffee for the Curious
Although she holds the prestigious CEO title, Heather still remains deeply hands-on in nearly every part of the business. Her week often includes cupping coffees with her dad, developing seasonal drinks with her sister, training baristas, building menus, consulting on operations, and even helping pack orders during peak seasons. She moves comfortably between the lab, the office, and the cafe floor.
Her versatility is part of what has helped build Klatch Coffee’s culture. The company places strong emphasis not only on product excellence, but also on education and empowerment. Through its training lab, Klatch offers classes and consulting that help both professionals and everyday coffee drinkers better understand brewing, sourcing, and flavor development. Heather helps lead this effort, developing new classes, giving lectures, and training baristas across the organization.
Heather’s leadership and mindset reinforces a simple idea: coffee is never finished. It is a constantly evolving experience shaped by curiosity, learning, and experimentation.
A Presence in Every Cup
Heather’s presence within the industry is something that’s both written in history, and also something that continues to evolve. From becoming the first woman to win the U.S. Barista Championship to helping create an award-winning espresso recognized on the world stage, her career consistently pushes boundaries. She also played a key role in expanding Klatch Coffee’s partnerships, including its growing presence in retail channels like Sprouts Farmers Market, where shared values around quality and sustainability align.
More than anything, Heather is reflected in how Klatch Coffee approaches every cup—with intention and passion, and a genuine love for coffee.
