Re:Roast your own (Score 1)

I've been using the heat gun/dog bowl method for a long time. A friend started me that way, and I only later discovered the Poppery II method. I can't speak highly enough of it. I have obtained beans from Sweet Marias a few times, but they are a bit on the pricey side. Some local shops sell them green, but not at prices I like. I usually get my beans from The Coffee Project. They have good prices, you can buy in 1 pound increments to test a bean with, then can get 5# (or 25#) of beans at a lower rate if you like them. Plus they send 5# increments in really nifty burlap sacks. One roasting friend gets all his from Coffe Bean Direct, but you can only purchase in 5# or more increments there. Another friend buys from the Green Coffee Buying Club, which is very community oriented and sometimes hard to navigate and get what you want. (Rather Linux like, in some ways.) There are many great things about buying green and roasting it yourself. You can buy tons of it, and it won't go bad unless you put it in sunlight, extreme heat or cold, or moisture. And the freshness is beyond measure. It also has a really fun DIY aspect. For heat gun/dog bowl method, you get a heat gun ($20 or less at your local hardware store), a wooden spoon, and a metal bowl. (Dog bowls are the most popular, but I don't like them personally. I use a straight-sided bowl, or a deep egg-shaped bowl. When I need a lot of beans, a Kitchenaide stand mixer bowl is awesome.) Pour in 1/4 to 1/3 the number of beans you think the bowl can hold, kick the gun on high, and aim it point-blank at the beans. Start stirring. Keep this up for the 15-45 minute it takes for them to be ready. (This will vary by the gun's power, quantity and type of beans, ambient temperature, bowl shape, and moon phase.) Go at least till it seems to stop cracking the first time, and probably at least till it starts again. Then cool them in a metal (NOT plastic!) colander or perhaps a metal screen affixed over a horizontal box fan (easy to build and well worth it.) Wait until the next day has passed, then grind and brew. Even with a bad brewer, you've never tasted such good coffee.