That Smith

Ever since I discovered I could save a ton of money by brewing my own beer I have been on a quest to find other things Laura and I could save money on by doing ourselves.

I finally left my weekend job, which means no more free coffee when I am working, and it was costing quite a bit buying whole bean or ground coffee every couple weeks, so I decided to start roasting my own. I ordered 5 pounds of green coffee last weekend and acquired a handy roaster (for free), so now we have the freshest coffee in Wichita.

A few years ago I started grinding my own coffee rather than buying the preground stuff because it tastes better and cost less. Plus grinding your own allows you make any kind of coffee rather than just drip brew. Recently I heard rumors that roasting your own coffee costs even less and that there is a huge difference in the quality of taste – plus you can store unroasted coffee without it going bad. My beans arrived a few days ago and so far all this is true.

The beans and shipping cost less than $20 and the flavor and freshness are the best I’ve ever had. Before I would pay about $6 for 1/2 lb of whole bean coffee or $9 for 1lb of ground coffee. By buying it unroasted I get it from all over the world for about $3 / pound and can roast it as dark or light as I want. Just as it is when making beer, I can have a new kind of coffee with every roast, but unlike the beer, I can change it every day or mix the beans to create my own blends.

Hit me up if you want to try any of my coffee, or order your own green coffee beans and roast your own. You can use a skillet or do it in the oven if you’re brave, or do what I do and use an old air popcorn popper. It’s the same as the roasters that are in stores, but can be picked up for about $3 at a thrift store.