Really enjoying roasting my own coffee these last several months. I got tired of inconsistent, too dark batches when I was ordering light and medium roasts from Fresh Roasted Coffee.
I roast stovetop, using a stainless steel popcorn popper, this one for anybody interested.
Took the photos just after roasting, they’ll lighten up a bit more as they cool and gas off, from past experience.
I guess it depends on the roaster. My stovetop pot was $75, which was literally paid for within a few batches of coffee, seeing as I was buying 4 lbs for around $75 + shipping, whereas now I can buy 4 lbs for about $34 + flat $8 shipping.
Power is free, as I’ve got solar and battery on my home and my house is net-metered. And for time, well, if I were to charge, I guess it would be around maybe $14 a batch at my given hourly rate, but I suppose for better coffee it’s worth it. And that’s nitpicking, since I can make a week’s worth of coffee in 15 minutes. It’s always fresh, never bad, never delayed, my house gets to smell like chocolate and coffee for a day or two, and I enjoy the process (I also make my own peanut butter and yogurt, and my wife makes jams and bakes). Consider it a hobby in my case, either way I’d be drinking it.