Roast Your Own Coffee for Less

Coffee and tea are the most drunk and arguably the most important non-water beverages across the globe. A great cup of coffee in the morning or evening is a delightful experience to the coffee lover and is enjoyed by many cultures all across the world. In our tightening economy, you may have found it to be more taxing on your wallet to buy the best premium coffee. You many even have had to buy less coffee or the unthinkable...buying the cheaper stuff. Fortunately, getting coffee for less can be done in other ways, and with some surprisingly good benefits.

Buy Green Coffee for Less - Roast it Yourself

Buying green coffee and roasting it yourself is something that has grown in popularity over the last few years. If you have never seen a green coffee bean that has not been roasted before, you'd be surprised at how little it resembles the coffee beans that you know and love. It doesn't even smell or taste anything like a roasted bean. This should tell you that the roasting process is extremely important in producing the best tasting coffee. Fortunately this can be done at home, and buying green beans is around half the price as buying premium coffee. If that seems like a significant difference to you, well, it is. So why else should you roast your own coffee besides the price?

Why Roast Your Own Coffee for Less? 

1.) Already discussed in the previous section, roasting your own coffee is much cheaper.

2.) Home roasted coffee is not only cheaper, but it tastes better. Way better in fact. Many people do not realize how much flavor and freshness is lost in coffee that sits out for even just one week. And if coffee has already been ground it loses even more flavor. The old coffee in the fridge technique only goes so far, and will not save your coffee. Most folks do not realize how weak and tasteless the coffee that they drink on a regular basis is.

3.) If you want to, it is very likely that you may be able to sell your home roasted coffee. Many people will not believe how much better home roasted coffee is until they try it. So share some. Before you know it, friends, family and neighbors may be asking if they can buy it from you. You can charge them the same amount as they'd pay for a premium roast or even charge them less, and they'd still be getting a great deal. Then you'll really be getting coffee for less as you sell it on the side.

How Do You Roast Your Own Coffee for Less?

There are many ways to roast your own coffee, but some are far more expensive than others. Most home roasters will cost over $100, getting up into the $800-$900 range. While this may sound expensive, you'll make up for the cost if you switch from buying pre-roasted beans to green beans exclusively. There are cheaper alternatives however.

Cheap Method 1 - Roast your beans in the oven on a cookie sheet. This requires that you flip the beans at some point, produces a lot of smoke, and it is very easy to burn your beans. If you stick with it though, you can get some good results through some trial and error.

Cheap Method 2 - Roast your beans over a fire or controlled heat source in a metal bowl. This method has been used in Africa for years, and can produce some very nicely roasted beans, but again will produce a lot of smoke and requires a lot of practice to get evenly roasted beans.

**Cheap Method 3** - This is by far the best cheap method of roasting your own coffee for less. You use an ordinary popcorn popper. The popcorn popper will roast the beans with hot air while bouncing them and mixing them around, making for a surprisingly even roast. You'll need to learn how to listen to the crack and to know when your beans are done, but it only takes a few tries to get fantastic results. This method is highly recommended by many home roasters and you can find cheap popcorn poppers off of ebay and other places online for $30 or less.

I would highly recommend Sweet Maria's for purchasing green coffee. They have a fantastic selection with great prices. They are also a great resource when it comes to coffee in general. They have information on roasting coffee, tasting coffee, brewing coffee, and some wonderful recommendations from guys who really know their coffee. They sell and review coffee roasters, and have all the information you need on learning the different types of roasts and how to produce them consistently. If you want coffee for less, Sweet Maria's is your ticket there.

Roasting your own coffee will net you a lot of coffee for less, and its so much better, you'll have a hard time going back to all that other stuff.