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Permalink Reply by Aaron Boothe on February 22, 2008 at 10:34am

Hey Jim,

I roast on a couple of things: A Hottop Basic; and what used to be a poppery. There is actually very little left of the poppery...the shell has been removed, the wiring gutted and re-done, it is now fully computer controlled and has only a 40 gram batch size. I use it for a research project at the University of Minnesota Duluth. I wouldn't recommend spending the time on it (unless you happen to have two programmers and an electrical engineer as friends). The Hottop Basic is awesome. Its a great tool for not too much money. I recommend it fully.

As far as the greens go: Sweet Maria's. Hands down.

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Permalink Reply by Jim on February 22, 2008 at 10:53am

Thanks for the info, I have 2 small Fresh Roast Plus 8. I would love a hottop but the boss says no. I got my first roaster from Sweet Maria's but now I sell green beans so I usually roast by inventory lol.

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Permalink Reply by Hugh Mooney on February 28, 2008 at 3:18pm

Hi Jim;
I'm a home roaster in southern California. I roast on a Gene Cafe which I bought this past December form Burman Coffee Traders in Wisconsin. I just posted a video of the Gene Cafe, you might want to check it out. I had never roasted a been in my life until I bought the GC. It's been a great piece of equipment. I've run around 60 batches so far and it has never missed a beat. I love the time and temp control you have and you can see the roasting process really well. I have a website where I sell a bit of roasted coffee (www.thecoffeecorral.com) in 8 ounce packages (which is what the Gene Cafe will net out).

I order from U-Roast-Em, The Coffee Project, Coffee Bean Corral, Burman Coffee Traders and occasionally Sweet Maria's. Typically I order in 5-10 pound lots and usually stock about 12 varieties.

You have a lot of equipment on your website. Do you inventory all that our do you have a "drop-ship" outfit you work with?

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Permalink Reply by Jim on February 28, 2008 at 5:40pm

The equipment is an associates store on Amazon, I only get a very small percentage. I do have 1 Fresh Roast Plus 8, brand new for sale on my main page. What I really like to sell is green coffee beans for home roasters. I have people at work that order from me. I really like to buy direct from the farmer. The Howling Monkey, El Milagro and Venezuelan Guaro are all from farmers. I have bought from U-Roast-Em before but he only sells small quantities. I got my first Fresh Roast from Sweet Maria's. How much is the Gene Cafe?

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Permalink Reply by Hugh Mooney on February 28, 2008 at 10:00pm

I paid $495 for the Gene Cafe from Burman. It included four or five pounds of beans, free shipping and their extra large chafe collector. I looked at the HotTop and was impressed but it was way out of my price range, the Gene Cafe was too, to be honest, but I'm glad I spent the extra money. Here is a link to a very thorough review of the Gene Cafe -

What quantity do you have to buy from The Howling Monkey etc? What I'm paying per pound makes it very difficult to build in much of a profit.

Thanks for taking a look at my website.

Hugh

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Permalink Reply by Jim on February 29, 2008 at 6:09am

All my coffee I usually buy 15-20 lbs because that is the best bang for your buck on shipping. Small farms like howling monkey don't have a great way to get their coffee here. Because of the inventory I currently have I can't afford to buy a whole bag of coffee, also in Howling Monkey case they don't sell it that way anyways but I can get about any quantity I want but again I usually get about 15 lbs.

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Permalink Reply by Hugh Mooney on February 29, 2008 at 7:33am

You mentioned El Milagro. The name didn't ring a bell right away - I just got a 12 pound shipment a couple days ago - El Salvador, right?

I've run four batches through (2 - 4oz and 2 - 8oz) at different roast levels. The two 4's were lighter roasts and the two 8's considerably darker. My wife didn't like the lighter roasts at all but was OK with the darker. She definately likes the bolder coffees with a good punch. The El Milagro doesn't seem to have that.

Poor woman, I don't think she's had the same coffee two days in a row since I started roasting. This morning it's Honduran Las Canas from Burman Coffee Traders.

I've had some email contact with a coffee importer in Baldwin Park, CA (about 35 miles from me) that indicate they might be able to help me out with smaller amounts (like 25 lbs) but just haven't taken the time and go up and see them.

Well, Mary Jo just got up so I've got some beans to grind and coffee to brew. Great talking with you.

Hugh

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Permalink Reply by Jim on February 29, 2008 at 8:00am

Yes El Milagro is from El Salvador. I agree it is a milder coffee and I usually like something more bolder but my wife likes the milder coffee. Since I started roasting my own I really haven't found a coffee I dislike just ones I like better.

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Permalink Reply by Hugh Mooney on February 29, 2008 at 11:24am

Mary Jo really liked the Honduran Las Canas, I did as well. I like the El Milagro in the darker roasts, the light ones just didn't cut it for me. I blended the two, about 20% El Milagro, and we'll be giving that a try tomorrow. Or, who knows, maybe even later today.

I've been watching some of the videos on the Barista site and the latte art just blows me away. I'm still trying to get my espresso grind right so I get a decent pull - lots to learn.

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Permalink Reply by The GreenBean Coffee Espresso & Tea LLC on March 8, 2008 at 7:50pm

I roast anything that catches my fancy. The last green coffee I purchased came from Klatch Coffee Roasters.

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