Top quality roast espresso blends cost $16/lb and up. Not to say you can't get a deal, but that's a fair number for the "top quality" floor. The sort of greens that go into top quality blends typically run less than $7/lb give or take. There are costs which go along with roasting, not including the major hardware, but including energy and a variety of expendables -- some of which vary from machine to machine. It's not unusual for a "typical" home roaster to roast 100lb a year.

Let's take those numbers as representative and look at a few different paradigm setups in terms of amortizing the costs of the major hardware, and do a sloppy analysis of the entire endeavor.

Behmor + Variac:
Because it's an electric, let's assume energy, expndables and other repeatable costs at around $1/lb; and a hardware outlay of around $600. After three years and 600 roasts we're looking at an additional outlay of $300 -- so total cost of $900 less greens. Cost of greens, $2100. $2100 + 900 = $3000. Cost of 300 lbs roast espresso from good roasters, $4800. Net savings $1600. Value of hardware after depreciation, nil. Savings + Hardware = $1600. Quality of output, following fairly flat learning curve: G to VG

HT + TC and Datalogger setup.
Assume energy, expendables (including filters) and other repeatable costs at around $1.25/lb. Hardware outlay around $1500. $1875 + $2100 = $3975. Net savings, $825. Value of hardware after depreciation, around $500. S + H = $1325. Quality of output following medium learning curve: G+ to E.

Mini 500/800n and Datalogger setup.
Energy + Expendables and other repeatable costs, around $0.50/lb. Hardware outlay, around $3500. $4000 + 2100 = $6100. Net loss, $1300. Value of hardware after depreciation, $2500, but probably will hold this or similar value for a long time. S + H = $1200. Quality of output following fairly steep learning curve (more options means more to learn and combined with quicker responses means more choices -- some of which will be wrong): G+ to E.

U. S. Roaster 1 lb Sample Roaster, soup to nuts:
E + E, $0.50/lb. Hardware, $8000. $8000 + $2100 = $10,100. Net loss, $5300. Value of hardware after depreciation, $6000, but will retain value over a very long time indeed. S + H = $700. Quality of output following same steep learning curve as Mini 500, also G+ to E.

But it's probably fairer to the propane roasters to project their amortization over 6 years than 3. Assuming the U.S. Roaster's value after 6 years is $5600, then 6 yr S + H = $3000! (-8000 - 4200 + 9600 + 5600). Going back to the Mini 500/800n, assuming the hardware doesn't completely deteriorate and retains some fair portion of its original value, it would seem to be the best long term investment. That said, my viewpoint towards this hobby is not one of "investment."

A lot of assumptions, obviously; but none, I hope, unreasonable.

Speaking of which, the numbers actually look more reasonable for each of the hardware paradigms than I anticipated before writing them out.

Your thoughts?

BDL

Rich, honestly there are no economics and you can't justify it money wise. Even if you earn minimum wage, which you don't since you could not have equipment you have, you still can't justify all the time you will spend learning to roast, tweaking, preparing, repairing, searching for greens etc.

You can only look at it as hobby, but don't try to justify it as money saving measure because I don't think it can be done. It is cheaper to buy roasted coffee than it is to roast it yourself.

If you try to go money route to justify it I'll bet you'll find that it does not pay to roast once you add in value of your time since it ain't free.

(
Q:
Behmor + Variac: : Because it's an electric, let's assume energy, expndables and other repeatable costs at around $1/lb; and a hardware outlay of around $600. After three years and 600 roasts we're looking at an additional outlay of $300 -- so total cost of $900 less greens. Cost of greens, $2100. $2100 + 900 = $3000. Cost of 300 lbs roast espresso from good roasters, $4800. Net savings $1600. Value of hardware after depreciation, nil. Savings + Hardware = $1600. Quality of output, following "easy" learning curve: G to VG

)

Reply:
Soldered a short extension cord for the Behmor with Romax, but no variac. A roast a week is 36, min. $5lb coffee, Kilowatt usage is negligible. That's it: 36x5=180. Reversed, I order roughly 50lbs yrly, so it costs something more (off invoices I keep a record of), but not much. Say I were to go out, on the other hand, and have a cup elsewhere, thats $2 daily. $700 yearly. Paid for my Pavoni Pro in something over a year (surplus stock sale, orange model);- Behmor was reconditioned and cost the same as an Asasco I/2. Have had everything 5 years or so. Extrapolate restaurant prices, my equipment's paid for itself twice over, so living I'm on Easy St. -- everyday's Sunday.

I wouldn't have even tried home roasting if it hadn't been economically viable.

I had mountains of paper trying to justify it and many where very convincing to even my wife but none of that was a good reason to get a commercial gas roaster. There is no better reason to get a gas roaster then the burning desire to roast on one.

I agree with Dennis; people who say home roasting is economical are mostly propagandizing, not analyzing. If you enjoy the time spent roasting, it's a hobby, not a money saving activity. If you find it a chore, you are paying yourself less than minimum wage, and it's not a money saving activity, since you could spend the time flipping burgers, buying roasted coffee, and save more money.

The one exception is people using large barbecue drum roasters to roast for churches, other organizations, family, neighbors, co-workers etc. There are a few long time home roasters who keep their entire social networks supplied; and many of them have gone pro.

Roasting is a very enjoyable and challenging hobby with a strong online community plus the bonus of it supplying me with great coffee that otherwise I'd have to buy.

"Roasting is a very enjoyable and challenging hobby with a strong online community plus the bonus of it supplying me with great coffee that otherwise I'd have to buy."

Farmroast - perfectly put good sir, I emphatically agree!

Still, taking as a given that some of us are "bound to roast," love some level of equipment and paying ourselves nothing, it's nice to know from BDL's analysis that we do have at least some plausible savings as an appropriate accompaniment to plausible deniability, or at least a happy state of denial: "Just think of all the money we're saving, Hon!"

But for those trying to stretch their coffee budgets and enough time to roast their own, BDL's numbers show some real payback, while getting the job done with really good results. Nice to know.

Don't even bring up the cost as it's not one that will make you feel good about home roasting. There are no economies, only extraordinary taste benefits and the involvement in learning and taking your coffee experience to potentially a higher level. If you want economies then you have to resort to the cheapest beans your can find and use the bare minimum of equipment. I recently purchased a highly recognized coffee from one of the major roasters. After pulling about a dozen shots with it I froze the remaining. Undrinkable in my opinion. How much cost does a major roaster have in a $16 per pound of coffee? $4-$5-$6? Don't know but right now mine is running $7-$10 and some even higher. I don't really care because what hits the cup is worth every bit of it.

Bob