I was wondering what everyones thoughts / opinions were on home roasting as a small business. I have scoured a lot of coffee forums and have gathered very valuable information. The question that I have and perhaps I must decide myself is at what roaster level do I start? I really do plan on growing a business but I am perfectly content with learning how to roast consistently for a few years and gathering as much education as I can along the way. Of course, while roasting and educating myself I would like to sell what I roast to get feedback because maybe the coffee I roast is great for my palate but just okay for everyone elses. I have looked at most of the advice given and there seems to be two options: start small / sell small or start big / attempt to sell big. I want to start small and sell small but I want consistency. What roaster would give me everything I need as a home roaster but also something that I can be consistent with / sell batches that remain consistent. I don't care if its a 500g roaster by the way. I have looked at the TJ-066, TJ-067, Huky, Santoker, BC-300, BC-600, SF-1, etc etc. If I was comfortable with it I would probably go for the SF-1 because although it is around 11,000$ I would have a roaster for life. I imagine the other roasters listed have a super long life as well. What would you HBer's go for if you were looking to learn roasting but KNEW you would start a small business maybe even to just pay off the green you roast for yourself? I have read a lot about people on here home roasting to sell just wanted to hear some feedback and if you were to start over again where would you have gone. We all know that espresso / coffee is never ending and a lot of people wish they would have taken the plunge initially when buying a grinder or machine and I wonder if its the same with a roaster considering you can actually pay it off with what you sell.


Thanks for any and all replies!

Braden

I've been roasting since January when I bought a used USRC 1#.

For a while, I was roasting all the espresso for a restaurant. They were only using about 7# a week but that was four plus straight hours of getting setup, roasting, cooling, bagging.

When I bought the roaster, my thought was that the size would force me to roast a lot and therefore gain more experience. Most of my batches are 350g. If I were to buy a machine again today and had any plan to sell what I roasted, I wouldn't get anything smaller than a 2K.

Most all 2K machines will successfully roast a 500g batch. The challenge I hear with doing smaller batches on larger machines is the BT probe doesn't have as good a bass mass around it and therefore doesn't give as good of readings as it would when filled closer to its drum capacity.

Two of my friends have a 2K Ambex that they bought used and they automated it(one of the guys is a retire NASA nuclear physicist). They roast for church and it's a perfect size for them.

So, my recommendation would be to buy a 2K machine, either new from Millcity or if you want something American or European made, I'd buy used. With those expensive machines, I'd definitely let someone else pay for the initial depreciation.

JB

What about an 1 kg Bullet R1 or Artisan 2.5 ?

This small shop started his business with a Gene ! and now do pretty well with 1 kg Cafemino...

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_ ... vania.html

You can start with a frying pan and a wooden spoon if you want to....

Sounds to me like you are wanting a hobby not a business from the machines you are looking at.

If you have a way to roast coffee, take 5-10# to a weekend flee/farmer's market and see if you are able to sell anything.

If it looks like a success moving to something like this would be an interim step to let you "set up" at a market. Keeping overhead to a minimum (i.e. no shop rent, no employee salaries) is a must

This forum is slanted more about home roasting, however the Facebook "Coffee Roasters Forum" would be an excellent place to read/post about starting out small commercial coffee roasting.

Thanks for all the replies. Hankua, I don't use any social media and I haven't for probably 3-4 years. I am much happier without it. Obviously if I were to create a small business I would have my wife run the social media side because I do believe it is very helpful. The challenge I have and I have mentioned this on other forums is that I am in the Army and possibly leaving in April 2018. It's almost a catch-22...I want to start roasting before getting out so I have some experience but when transitioning to a new job I can't have a 25,000$ SF-6 to pay off on top of my student loans. <---wish I never went to college and went to OCS lol what a waste! Anyways, I was thinking a TJ-067 or some of the others I have listed. It is possible I will just start with a Huky and go from there as I don't expect many buyers aside from family and friends and they aren't coffee drinkers like I am. I suppose everyones dream on this forum is to work with coffee in some form or fashion. I have read and scoured and realized it is extremely difficult I just would like to be a part of that journey (mom has been entrepreneur since I was born). If I had the money and no debt I would get the SF-6. I will be moving back to PA where there is no limit on sales for Cottage Food and as far as I know you can sell on the internet (might have to check with FDA but I already emailed them). So realistically, you can work from home and have a very small start up cost (bags, coffee, logo, certifications for DBA, roaster) and you can make that anywhere from 2500-25000 (SF-6) I think what everyone saying is valid and I will continue to ponder!


Braden

bradenl123 wrote:TSo realistically, you can work from home and have a very small start up cost (bags, coffee, logo, certifications for DBA, roaster) and you can make that anywhere from 2500-25000 (SF-6)

Seems to me every sprout thinks s/he can be a successful purveyor of roasted coffee. Given that everyone seems to think all you need is a roaster and success will follow, the field is going to be very crowded by the time you 'get out'. It would probably be wise for you to save that decision and that plan until you can actually implement it and determine the demand in the location you find yourself in. Setting up and running a small business is not without a lot of risk, and your assessment of the 'profit' margins seems to me to be just on the other side of unrealistic.

SJM, the 2500-25000 is the start up cost. Not the profit. 2500 would be for a Huky (1800$) bags, labels, inspections, registrations etc. You get the point. The 25,000$ is starting with a SF-6. Just because I am young doesn't mean I am naive. I know a lot of extremely successful entrepreneurs in their 20's. I don't plan to be the best roaster or purveyor of coffee. I never said that. I enjoy coffee as do others on this forum and it brings me joy to roast coffee for others who think Foldger's is quality. The goal isn't to become a millionaire or even a thousandaire. The goal is to have a small business, which, is subjective. Small business to me might mean making 5,000$ a year. I am asking the perspective of those who have been before me, which, I think is an intelligent approach rather than just jumping into things. Anyways, I appreciate the feedback you bring. I do intend to make very slow movements and learn before progressing a business. If I roast for 5 years and sell 1,000$ a year to family and friends that to me is success. If perhaps I am lucky and things go well then I am prepared as much as I can be for the unexpected.


Thanks,


Braden

If it were me, I would start off with something small as a side hobby. Yes, you will have to roast a ton of batches, but maybe you will love it and it will force you to develop your craft. Maybe you will not love it and will be very glad you didn't go for a huge initial investment. The experience and knowledge of your own passions and what you are able to achieve is always worth a small investment, even if you never move on to something larger. And of course if you do, it won't be wasted either.

1. Make sure it's legal.

Selling to friends is cool and all, but make sure you are capable of qualifying for a cottage food business(good kitchen, no pets etc).

2. Buy nothing smaller than a 2kg machine

Ideal batch size would be around 3-3.5lbs. This would allow you to roast about 14 12oz bags an hour. A machine any smaller won't pay for its self