Wanna be a dental floss tycoon.

Sad but they export most of their coffee beans. I am now thinking to roast my own by shipping about 45 pounds of green beans there. As my name implies I like reasonable priced stuff so I was wondering if you all (I'm from Maryland) had any strong opinions on the green beans I can get thru Costco for $220 for ORGANIC (HONDURAS) or $180 for RAINFOREST ALLIANCE (Brazil) so $40 difference or .90 a pound ($40/45 lbs).

I have never done this before but sounds pretty easy. I was thinking to do outside on a hotplate with a wok(Philippines).

Okay like any opinions.

You will have to be creative in your USPS label. The USPS prohibits shipping coffee to the Philippines.

http://pe.usps.com/imm_archive/html/imm ... r_018.html

You will also have to consider the lifespan of greenbeans, especially in decently large quantities, with respect to how much and often you plan to roast. In hot and humid climates it can be a challenge to keep the beans at ideal storage conditions which will only accelerate their degradation.

I have twice cupped Philippine green samples (4 each time) from an acquaintance in the Philippines. There was nothing in either sample set which called for a buy. One cupping was from the higher grown region on the islands. Nothing to write home about.

Not USPS but LBC by ship 4-5 weeks to my door there. Foreigners ship coffee there all the time.

I like Bo's Café a chain. I get the Americano but at $3 a pop 12 oz. about. Not on a daily basis. There coffee is from the Phils and fresh. They want to sell their BARISTA roast (whole bean) for about $12 a pound or ESPRESSO roast for $14. I read some where you need to have a connection to get the good Filipino coffee beans. The ones they usually export or sell to the Filipino coffee houses. They will readily sell you the seconds.
To do this you have to be in that immediate area. I heard they are also starting to sell Kopi Luwak FYI.

In case I do try this, is anyone familiar with these 2 Costco brands ?

http://www.costco.com/specialty-coffee.html

They come in cans so I have an idea of how to keep them in their cans (for the most part) until I need to crack one open. I would line the box with a heavy mill plastic bag and get say 8 cans in and then open 4 cans and fill the rest of the box up. So I need to deal with about 4 months worth of loose green coffee beans. FREEZER maybe ??? Each can 3.75 lb x .8 = 3.05 lb of coffee so about a month. Roast about .85 lb a week.

Just an idea for now.

So my questions COSTCO ? Roasting in a wok or heavy pan over a hot plate (outside) ? FREEZING green beans to store ??? Not worth all the aggravation to save $20 - $25 a month PLUS the satisfaction of doing it myself ?

I also doubt that my coffee values are as high as your alls BUT if I can attain closer to your standards and economize that is what I am after. Right now if I could do a B I'd be OK compared to your A+. I will compromise to a certain extent since I don't know what I'm missing ... maybe.

Yeah shipping boxes plenty big so no need to open any cans. Reading though to make a good espresso I might want to mix the Brazilian with a little of something else. Any suggestions ? Haven't been able to put my finger on what I want just yet but will know it when I hit it. Looking more for a RICH COFFEE flavor, not chocolatey or fruity. Any recs ?

I have no experience with Costco green coffee, so I cannot offer an opinion. It is possible to roast coffee in a pan or wok on a hot plate. If you have never roasted coffee before, you should expect to sacrifice quite a bit in the learning process. Freezing green coffee is an option. I have not done it, but others report success keeping it fresh for a long time by freezing. I think you should go for it, and report results and progress in this forum. Cheers! And bon voyage.

If you like the Americanos from Bo's coffee, you can order Philippine Arabica green coffee from 18 days (www.botecentral.net). I have tried both Cordillera (wet process) and Matutum (dry process) and while they may not reach the specialty coffee grade, they are not bad at FC Plus to Light Vienna roast levels. Keep in mind that moisture levels on local greens are higher than normal and will need an extended slow drying stage in the roast cycle. Roasting on a wok is not easy and messy.

So upon further review I am finding these COSTCO greenies are put out by Mayorga so I feel comfortable with the quality, just not sure if they are the right beans. 1 from Honduras (Capucas) and 2 from Brazil (Cerrado). Any ideas on how these would work for espresso's and americano's ? They look to be made more for medium roasts. I am just getting into this so bear with me. Right now just wanting a very rich coffee/espresso taste ... RICH is the key word. Not doing so great here in the states but maybe it's my equipment. Tried Zekes Espesso, Green Earth Organic Sumatra, BJ's French Roast, some El Salvadoran las Colinas, Safeway Italian Dark, Mayorga Café Cubano and Sabrosso. All are decent and I mix them together sometimes to see if they improve but just haven't hit what I am aiming for. I kind of like the Safeway Italian dark the best but just got the 2 Mayorga's so I might change my mind. Wish I could go to an espresso tasting, figure out what I really like and then let an expert tell me what it is and why I like it. I would have something to aim at.

I am changing my mind and will use a manual stovetop popcorn popper instead of a wok. I am figuring stainless over aluminum and hoping it will work over an electric hot plate so I can do it outside. A small gas stove is not out of the question either although a little bit more to deal with, those gas tanks are pretty cumbersome over there.

bang4dabuck wrote:... RICH is the key word. .

Dave, "rich" really isn't used within the specialty world as a descriptor. Nail it down a little bit more.

Caramels? Chocolates? Nuts? Fruit notes? Florals? Bright? Comfort drinks? Play with the wheel a little bit and see if we can help you a bit:

https://counterculturecoffee.com/docs/C ... _85x11.pdf