Only use it for coffee. Never mix.

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.

I save quite a bit. Was paying almost $40 per 2 lbs bag of roasted coffee from Fresh Roasted, and other vendors charge more. Got these beans from Burman Coffee, I think the Yirgacheffe was $9.25 per lb at the time, that’s like half the price.

Currently washed grade 1 Yirgacheffe is going $10 per pound, with slight discounts at bulk.

Beans now a few hours after roasting (original pic was right after I finished cooling them), you can see the coloration evens out as they fully cool down and sit for a while. These will be drinkable immediately, but best in 2-3 days.

Before:

After:

I don’t bother with cupping. I occasionally French press, but mostly prefer pour over with my metal Hario v60.

Roast is pretty easy to replicate as I pre-heat the same every batch and time the roast at the same stove settings each time, and I use a laser thermometer to confirm temperatures.

In fact, those jars in the picture are from two separate roasts I did on my lunch break today (I work from home). Each roast took about 15 mins total, give or take, from preheating, 6.5 minutes roasting, and then removing chaff and cooling.

I get rid of the chaff by pouring it back and forth between a colander and mesh strainer outside, then finish cooling by transferring it between two cold baking sheets. As the beans sit on the sheet it absorbs the heat, transfer the beans to another, rinse the hot sheet with cold water, wipe it dry and transfer again. After maybe 3 transfers the beans are cool to about or just above room temp.

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Edit - re: enjoying the roast, that'll be tomorrow. You never want to drink it right after roasting, should sit for some hours and gas off. It's best from about 3 days after roasting, but fine to drink in maybe 8-12 hours. Drinking right after the roast tends to have an acidic or acrid aftertaste and the full flavor doesn't come out..

Saves money and I’m getting better quality roasts overall, so long as I don’t screw anything up. And if a roast is bad I’m less upset because I paid less and did it myself instead of paying more and expecting better from the vendor.

So far everything I’ve made has ranged from “drinkable, at least better than Dunkin or Starbucks” to very good, and better than what I received from online specialty roasters. Partly better because I enjoy light roasts, and commercial “light roast” still runs darker than my preference, and now I’m in control.

It’s easy to get into home roasting, all you need is a stovetop popcorn popper or a cast iron or steel pan. A laser thermometer is recommended, though not required.

Some good videos for pan and popcorn popper methods:

• https://youtu.be/EniBymmi-cw?is=9TlHcx98KLPT8r96

• https://youtu.be/0a1-qd5BySE?is=CcMcMmkENmV3ntF6

Only major caveat worth noting is that if you prefer dark roasts, either open the windows or do it outside on a grill, as darker roasts will smoke.