Green Coffee on the cheap?

[Rughi]

I made up a little starter kit for home roasting for my brother. It was based on an air popper and a couple pounds of various Sweetmarias beans. Just for fun I put together a little one-sheet basic instruction page during lunch one day, of which I have attached a low-res version (there were a couple of typos, but hey, it was all in the family).

He's a very diy-type guy, and was really enthused until I told him that beans from Sweetmarias cost from $5 to $7 per pound. "Oh, the high end stuff," was his response. I thought Sweetmarias had sweet prices, but I guess in his area they seem pretty steep.

Are there other sources that could be significantly cheaper? Maybe the Green Coffee Coop? Buying bulk would fit his mindset, and luckily green beans keep really well.

Roger

 

[Scotto]

You can check out the Green Coffee Buying Club, which I am a happy customer of. Some people like www.ccmcoffee.com as well, though I have never tried them.

 

[brady]

I have had good experiences with Coffee Bean Corral and Sweet Marias but the prices are pretty consistent on all of the green bean sites I have looked at.

I would be a little concerned about his comment. If you don't want the "high end stuff," why on Earth would you go to the trouble of home roasting (especially with a popcorn popper)?

 

[Rughi]

I would be a little concerned about his comment. If you don't want the "high end stuff," why on Earth would you go to the trouble of home roasting

Maybe it'll turn out to be a stupid gift, but I want to give it a chance.
The most I'm out is the $10 popper and $12 in postage (what happened with USPS!?!?!), and of course the amount of effort in putting together the package.

It would be disheartening, though.

Roger

 

[Rughi]

You can check out the Green Coffee Buying Club, which I am a happy customer of. Some people like www.ccmcoffee.com as well, though I have never tried them.

Thanks Scotto,
That's just the type of link I was after. I think that proving cheaper beans exist might get things over the hump. And, being below $3/pound in bulk amounts certainly qualifies.

Roger

 

[tsmba]

I ordered from CBC once and the service was fine. I've pretty much stuck with Sweet Maria's over the years because I can rely on the reviews. Pricing seems pretty close among sources, so knowing I can depend on consistent grading is worth a premium to me.

 

[Jim]

What a great Brother! Bravo.

 

[bman40]

I started off roasting sweet marias,and then found a local supplier, which worked well for a year or so, then they sold me 20 lbs of beans that were pretty much all SH%$.

I have since ordered twice from SM, and the beans (and the resulting espresso) are SO much better, I think I will just keep buying from them.

To gamble on poor quality coffee to save a buck a pound hardly seems worth it.

Barry

 

[mkevenson]

I just bought beans from the Burman Coffee Comp. Nice folks, good specials and relatively inexpensive compared to roasted beans.https://www.burmancoffee.com/

 

[castlebar]

I found a green coffee supplier right up the road from me (Northern NJ) - they offer free pickup if you're local, but their shipped prices are good also...

http://catesgreencoffee.com/OfferingSheet.html

I've also tried Caracolillo Coffee out of FL and their beans are very good IMO

 

[netsurfr]

I have always liked Sweet Maria's.

 

[DogHair]

I alternate between Sweet Maria's and the Green Coffee Buying club. It depends on my stash level and what's going at the club.

 

[Sue]

This is new to me, is it really worth the effort or is it something fun to do (nothing at all wrong with that)?

Can you taste a big differance?
Sue

 

[Rughi]

This is new to me, is it really worth the effort or is it something fun to do (nothing at all wrong with that)?

Can you taste a big differance?
Sue

Well, I like the coffee I roast better than what I buy, the cost of entry is very low and I have a lot of fun roasting.

Roasting takes less than 15 minutes including setup and cleanup for me, but with the size of roaster I have, I need to average a roast a day. This led to the Glengarry Glenross-inspired acronym in my home - A.B.R. (Always Be Roasting!).

If you like making things biggrin, you might invest the $10 for equipment and give it a try. Incidentally, the soapmaker in my home doesn't do the roasting - but she encourages it.

Roger

 

[DogHair]

There is nothing like fresh, properly roasted coffee. After years of roasting I can't drink canned coffee at all. Tasted like cardboard. Most restruant coffee is nasty too. Starbucks, ashtray. My wife is spoiled too. On vacation this year she thought there was something wrong with the coffee. Nope, she just forgot. If you enjoy coffee I cannot reccommended it enough.

 

[Scotto]

There is nothing like fresh, properly roasted coffee. After years of roasting I can't drink canned coffee at all. Tasted like cardboard. Most restruant coffee is nasty too. Starbucks, ashtray. My wife is spoiled too. On vacation this year she thought there was something wrong with the coffee. Nope, she just forgot. If you enjoy coffee I cannot reccommended it enough.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

 

[nowsharing]

When I lived in the states, I was a very happy buyer at greencoffeebuyingclub.com

I now live in Brazil, a capital of excellent coffees...all of which are exported. One local roaster sells to me, which is great but he only stocks one type of bean. Luckily I have many incredible chimarrãos (yerba mate) to fill coffee's void. I'm down to one or two espressos a week, mainly to keep my Gaggia's internals from caking up (mine too now that I think about it).

Be thankful for your delicious african, indonesian, and central american beans! I've forgotten their taste