Such a thing as good coffee around 10 bucks a pound?

Tired of paying 15 bucks for 12 oz of SVD coffee to make a latte out of.

Priced like SBUX. Not over roasted like SBUX. And not garbage. That’s my criteria. Too much to ask?

Buy green beans from sweet Maria’s and roast your own. They are located in Oakland so orders are always received next day in nor cal. Lots of bean options for less than $10 per lb.

Hard to beat the freshness and roast level control of DIY roasting.

FIFY.

And yeah, nothing beats home roasted…

Can I really just throw em in a hot air popper (that I might add has no other reason for being)?

I know lots of people that use the popper and they swear by it. Takes some time to get the timing down but it should deliver the same results as a nice home roaster.

That being said, I recommend picking up a behmor roaster. Depending on how much coffee you drink it definitely pays for itself within a year or so.

Truthfully, IMHO, for lattes or cappucinos, I almost wouldn’t care what beans to use. Some of the Trader Joes whole organic espresso blend beans are fine.

If you have a PhilZ near you, they are decent at the $10 level.

Know what I want for my birthday now. Thanks!

In NY there is Porto Rico with a few locations downtown and a number of options under $10 lb. Porto Rico Importing Co.

I used to go in there for tea, Greg – the one in the village. I was very happy with my daily starbucks back then. Now? Now I evidently need a 300 dollar coffee roaster.

$5.69 a bag. 8 scoops of coffee for 4 cups (24 ozs) of water.

If you’re watching your caffeine intake:

Buying a home roaster is an interesting idea. I guess it is probably the only piece of coffee equipment where you can justify the price as you would break even roughly a year out if you consistently use it.

And yeah, nothing beats home roasted…[/quote]

Does everyone agree with this? Do you roast the same day you use? Big batches?

I’ve always heard that roasted beans need a few days to allow the oils to incorporate…much like letting a roast rest to do so.

Curious.

Yup, I use TJ’s.

I roast in 9 oz batches. What I’ve read about resting is that it gives CO2 a chance to escape from the beans. Some of the best coffee I’ve ever tasted was from beans less than 15 minutes after roasting though. And the guys cupping up in the mountains to gauge quality are tasting immediately after roasting. The beans definitely do change over time but it’s probably a matter of personal preference and no “best” or “optimal” window for everyone. I’m sure there are people out there that would pick out 6 month old beans as their favorites…

I’ve been roasting for just a few months now. I roast a half pound or so and give it a first try the following morning. Some coffees show well on the first morning, others are better after another day or two of rest. Typically we have two or three recently roasted (within the past week) coffees to choose from at a given time.

We currently maintain a standing stock of about 12-20 different kinds of green coffee. It’s nice to drink freshly roasted coffee from hither and yon without driving hither and yon to fetch it. And a pound of green coffee delivered to your doorstep costs something like half the price of a 12 oz bag of the same coffee roasted at your local shop (if they even have that particular coffee).

Some foodie friends stayed with us for a few days recently. They are ordering a roaster…

Here is a list of current offerings at Sweet Marias. If you look at the detailed descriptions for each of the coffees, you’ll find suggestions for roast degree/darkness, and perhaps a comment that the coffee benefits from a couple days rest.
http://www.sweetmarias.com/prod.greencoffee.mvc.php?source=side

David - out of curiosity, how much effort/time does it take to roast a batch? Is it something that needs constant attention, or can you walk away and do something else nearby?

Time to roast depends on the size and degree of roast. As a ballpark, it’s around 20 min for 12 oz with a fairly dark roast.

You should watch your roast too. Perhaps not like a hawk, but you need to be there to listen to tell you when you’ve hit first/second crack.

A 1/2 lb roast in the Behmor takes about 15 minutes to get through first crack (1C) and just a couple more to get into second crack (2C). Three-quarters of a pound takes a few minutes longer. I try to stop before, or just at the beginning of, 2C. If you go much past 2C you increase risk of igniting the beans. For this reason, Behmor cautions to never leave the machine unattended while roasting and this seems wise, especially in the neighborhood of 2C. When the roast is done, there is a 13 minute cooling cycle. Many roasters say it is OK to leave the room after the first couple of minutes of the cooling cycle.

I have something to read or do email etc. and listen for 1C, then concentrate on the beans. The basic process is really pretty easy, though thre is a lot you can do to fine-tune roasts if you really get into it.

I like to stop at about City+ to Full City… one of the reasons I like to roast my own is to avoid the ubiquitous “Vienna-or-darker uber alles” popularized by Peet’s, and taken to extremes by Starbucks. An outline of roast characteristics (with pictures!) is here: https://www.sweetmarias.com/library/content/using-sight-determine-degree-roast

I have a Behmor and love it, but for daily coffee, the Trader Joe’s Shade Grown Ethiopian is awesome and only $10 per pound.

Thanks! I’ll check it out. Need to drink something while I read up on home roasting.