I would like to get into roasting my own beans. I would like to observe and learn the process before jumping into it. I have searched the net for workshop sources without any luck. If anyone could point me in the right direction it would be appreciated.

Bob

Thank you Eric for the link and the information. I will check it out.

Bob

Eric.....just checked out Diedrich. The smallest roaster they make is the $6500
HR-1 one pound electric home roaster. I am sure this would be a fantastic home roaster but I don't think I am ready for this one yet. However the seminar sounds great and I am going to inquire if I qualify to attend.

Thanks again

There's roasting courses at the SCAA convention and at SCAA accredited labs. They run around 1K and go for three to five days. In addition, Willem Boot, who's famous enough not to require SCAA accreditations, also runs roasting camps for around 1.5K. All these choices are better than the courses run by manufacturers. However, they are expensive, and the people giving them are not very interested in dealing with home roasters.

My advice for someone starting out is to get something very basic, a popcorn popper or freshroast, some Sweet Maria's beans, and start roasting. If you enjoy it, buy a decent roaster and start talking to, and exchanging roasts, with other owners.

I went to a Diedrich workshop earlier this year and was really happy with what I learned. Steve Diedrich really knows his stuff. That being said, unless you're using one of his roasters, I don't think you would get much out of the class. It's mostly geared towards getting familiar with the IR series roasters (cleaning, maintenance and actual roasting on an IR-12 take up most of the class). He does go into detail about roast profiling, but it makes up a very small portion. Very cool, but probably not what you're looking for. Unless you plan on roasting professionally, it's not the route I would suggest.

Echoing Jim, I would suggest getting into the hobby by delving into the wealth of information stored in sweetmarias.com. Get a popcorn popper and get busy!

I know this may sound counter intuitive but you could talk to and become friends with a local roaster. I have tried that and have been, well less than successful, but not everyone is considered an alien when you ask about going into the back room of your local roaster.

Some people are just more sensitive about what they do. But I find that the best ones are the most willing to share. But that is making assumptions crossing hobbies. So it may not work with coffee.

-Cecil