Roasted coffee and other caffinated soutions

This summer the kids and I headed into Kansas City for a tour at The Roasterie and a stop at The Nelson to see the Water Lilies. It was a fantastic day. At the conclusion of The Roasterie tour, Henry asked aloud why we did not roast our own coffee. A very good question and after a couple of weeks of research we were in business. For the past 5 months, he and I have been roasted select green coffees from around the world to our own delight. We formed a brand name, Blunderbean Express, and with the help of my cousin created a logo. It has been a good bit of fun. Over the summer we had lots of time and sent sachets of the roasted beans to friends across the country. The school year has slowed this enterprise down a bit, but I get lots of questions about my equipment and source of beans so I figured I should create a post.

The roaster:
I use the Nesco roaster. I'm a firm believer in air roasting and this seems to be the best option on the market. It has drawbacks. The link in the previous sentence is to Tom's reviews at Sweet Maria's. I agree with most of what he has to say, but couldn't find a product that seemed better. I would have gladly paid more, but there just wasn't anything I liked better on the market. My unit was purchased in KC through The Roasterie with a couple pounds of green beans thrown in. I think Sweet Maria's offers a similar deal. The unit is also on Amazon. After about 10 pounds of roasting, I couldn't be happier. I don't expect it to last forever, but considering the price of green verses already roasted beans, it will pay for itself.

The beans:
I order ALL of my green beans from The Roasterie. Their Home Roasting section offers a fine selection. If one orders before 12:30 p.m. and spends more than $40, overnight shipping is included. Amanda, at the front desk, who helps with such things, is the bee's knees. A handwritten note comes with every box. There are other places to get unroasted beans, but I consider KC local and with free shipping the price can't be beat. Green beans have a six month shelf life so ordering 5 pounds at a time is not a big deal.