HB wrote:What's motivating you to spend the time roasting your own coffee...what am I missing out on?

I'm the only coffee drinker in my household, and I simply don't drink enough coffee to win the staling race -- even with half pound bags (which are hard to find).

So, I have a variety of greens (I think my stash is around 12 pounds -- mostly through overly enthusiastic ordering ), and one roaster batch will last me 2-3 days. I have a batch degassing while I'm finishing the current batch. I get a different bean/blend every few days. There's no way I could have that variety, or those bean options, if I were buying roasted beans.

It's fun, only takes about 20 minutes (from setup to cleanup), gives me the freshest coffee on earth, allows me to experiment with roast levels, provides great variety, it's cheaper than buying roasted beans (especially if they go stale), and it makes the house smell great! I was roasting a batch the other night and my wife came running in from the bedroom, "What are you making? It smells heavenly!" And she doesn't even drink coffee.

There's simply no way I would go back now.

My post was to the wrong thread

Marvin

I just upgraded my roasting (for the second time) to an RK drum with a 50 RPM motor to improve my capacity, and the evenness of my roast. I roasted several pounds for friends over the holidays using a modified back to basics (using a drill to power the agitator), 1 # at a time gets time consuming. (what was that said about cost per pound?)

Roasting is fun to me, a way to get to know my coffee. I agree with another_jim about people spending 1-2 hrs roasting and blending comment made on a different post/site as a waste of time and money. Intelligentsia and Metropolis a less than 1 day shipping for me out in the west Chicago burbs, but I find it interesting to roast beans. No espresso blending is another story, and hopefully this site will help me out. I use Harrar and Rwandan beans for my espresso with good results. I have also tried Tonys Metropolis green line with good results (on my old roaster and steam toy machine). I will have to give it another try with my RK and Anita combo.

I look forward to insight in the the crazy espresso blend world. Thanks and good luck.

Bob

I voted 'No, but interested.'

Reason - I have a popper that the person my wife and I bought our house left me a popper and a few beans (enough to make 2 batches in the popper - first batch burned, second batch outlined here). The beans actually tasted pretty good even though they were a few years old and the roast wasn't perfect. This piqued my interest in roasting. Along with the fact that the only local roaster only stocks one bean (from a farm that they are directly in contact with) and they may or may not be at the farmers market they sell at, I am going to buy some beans from Sweet Maria's to try again in the popper. I also have a post up at CG looking for a HotTop since I think the biggest issue will be in the amount of beans I could roast - 1 roast in the popper is about 1 pot of coffee - that is a roast a day, and something I don't think I could keep up.

If I can find a HotTop (or possible a GeneCafe) for about $350 or so, home roasting here I come.

/mw

another_jim wrote:Simple fact; the time spent by the average middle class American homeroasting puts the cost up at around $20 -$25 per pound. Double that or more for professionals or other upper middle class careers.

While this argument is charming, I don't buy into it. Since I'm not in one of the "billing" professions, or self-employed, the time I spend roasting is not time lost to any sort of money-making opportunity. It is simply "free time."

Now, my "free time" is incredibly valuable, and there seems to be little of it once you slice out work and then stack on my various "obligations" to family. You could argue that it's priceless, in which case you might never want to do anything after running the cold hearted cost analysis as you do, above. On the other hand, the act of roasting gives back in a few ways. I enjoy it, at least somewhat, but what I enjoy more is the result. Saving money is part of the enjoyment, for me, as in "how can I do <activity x> in the best possible way with the least possible outlay?" The act of roasting adds to my enjoyment of the cup, even if I can't do it as well as a pro.

Apart from that, it also fills my garage with an odor like no other. If you've ever smelled autumn leaves burning and been instantly transported to your youth, you will understand the impact of smell on our emotional memory. My Dad didn't roast coffee, but when I smell freshly cut alfalfa, he is here with me. For my kids, who are now still young, the smell of the roast will have this power.

Are you an academic? Quoting the first half of my post, then rephrasing the second is as brazen a bit of strawmanning as I've run into in a while

Abe Carmeli wrote:I guess the bottom line answer is "I like it"....Roasting offers you to become more intimate with the beans. It is like saying, yeah, I knew you when you were green, we go back a long way .

I truncated the entire reply, but this erudite post sums up my extremely limited experience in roasting exactly. Control, creativity, saves a bit of money, anticipation, and nice tasting espresso really make this a fun hobby.

another_jim wrote:Simple fact; the time spent by the average middle class American homeroasting puts the cost up at around $20 -$25 per pound.

RogerB wrote:The act of roasting adds to my enjoyment of the cup, even if I can't do it as well as a pro.

strfish7 wrote:Control, creativity, saves a bit of money, anticipation, and nice tasting espresso really make this a fun hobby.

You're all in violent agreement: Hobbies aren't about economy, they're about the journey.

I don't really think of roasting as a hobby mostly because it involves food. Same is I don't think of my farming as a job. Food is a basic of life and it shouldn't be compared to pumping gas into a car. Foods are not just for survival but I consider one of the best pleasures that is a reason for living. Being a farmer I know what care and devotion goes into growing food well. And bothers me what often happens afterwards. Whether or not my roasts come out well I know the farmer would at least appreciate the care and effort I put into trying. Coffee isn't a necessary food for survival but is one of natures more complex food pleasures.

another_jim wrote:Are you an academic? Quoting the first half of my post, then rephrasing the second is as brazen a bit of strawmanning as I've run into in a while

I suppose if I were academic, I'd understand what you were saying. So does that prove I'm not?

I reread the second half of my post and yours, and I can see where we converge. My statement about the cost of time should be taken as a rebuke of your statement about the cost of time. The rest of my post was not intended to rebuke you or anyone else, but more to answer the OP's question about why I do it. It was meant to be a personal statement about me. Any similarity to your post is accidental.

I take full responsibility for any confusion I caused you.