I roast my own coffee, and once you guys see how easy and economical it is to make your own, and what a HUGE difference fresh makes...... You will do it too.
All you need is an old hot air popcorn popper to get started and some green coffee beans. You can pick up the popper at the salvation army for about 3-4$. It takes about 30 minutes of your time to roast a weeks worth, with two poppers.
Coffee is at its best flavor for one week after roasting. You grind just before you brew. The many nuances of the coffee evaporate away after a week.
I am now using a rotary drum roaster with a turkey fryer as the heat source. I can roast 1lb at a time to any degree of roast allowing any ramping up time I wish.
If you are interested in starting this, go to:
www.coffeegeek.com and you can get all the info you need in order to start, or just ask the board.
To get your beans, a group of people have formed a coffee co-op so we can buy directly from the wholesale suppliers.
This way, for usually around $3 shipping included we can purchase what will cost you up to $15 a lb to purchase from Starbucks etc. AND IT IS MUCH CHEAPER AND MUCH MUCH BETTER!
Your friends will be astounded at the quality of your coffee, so buy more because good coffee brings lots of friends.
To go check out our co-op go here:
www.greencoffee.coop Peruse the cupping pages for descriptive terms about each coffee, we have a professional cupper that cups every bag before we buy, puts his cuppers points on that particular coffee and we bid on it. The coffee ranges in price between $1.23lb to $3.25lb.
At this time I have on hand the following coffees:
20lbs Ethiopian Harrar Longberry (flavors of blueberrys drifting to chocolate, heavy body)
20lbs Kenya Kaguimoni (very acidic, bright, some nose of citrus fruit, again cooling to chocolate, medium body, This is THE coffee people seem to want)
Puerto Rico Yauco Selecto, This coffee is directly compared to both Jamaican Blue Mountain and Kona. Truly one of the most perfect coffees there are, and at a fraction of the Blue Mountain and Kona.
5lbs Red Sea Blend, a blend of three different country's beans, Harrar being one of them, to make a perfect espresso blend. Dense crema. with fruits, spices and cocoa thrown your way,and the body to hold up to it.
Indian Mysore Nuggets EB A one of a kind coffee, that is recognizable anywhere by its intense fruits, acids, and heavy body, it is grown alongside black pepper, vanilla, citrus trees so they can shade the coffee plant allowing for a slower more intense ripening.
20lbs Ethiopian Yirgacheffe lot of acid, citrus tang, medium body
lemony.
Columbian Panama Bouqet Another "Coffee drinkers" coffee. medium body that holds up well to milk, a little floral, and it to cools to bitter cocoa. Also a slight nutty taste.
To get started will cost you about..... $8.00 for a couple of hot air poppers, $15.00 worth of beans and a good quality burr grinder to grind it with.
Starbucks and so many of the other roasters roast to Vienna stage, where it has a carbony taste. That way people can always expect to get that carbony taste wherever they go. Problem with that is, to get the pure varietal nuances you should roast to a City roast, that way you get to taste those ephemeral qualities bound up inside the bean. Those Caramels, Butterys, Cocoa, Blueberry, Red wine, nutty, little tasted treats.
So much to learn and you get to drink THE BEST COFFEE AVAILABLE IN THE WORLD as you learn. Watching someone who says, " You know, I'm really not a coffee drinker" turn up their cup and the look that comes over them.
If you can make time..... I assure you, you will never forget choosing and roasting your own. They are a friendly bunch of people on both boards that are delighted to lead you down the coffee path.