Something should be said here about the joys of roasting your own coffee at home. It is well known that the flavor of coffee, as any aromatic spice, degenerates after being ground. Thus, most afficianados will have a home grinder, and buy whole, roasted beans.

It is less well-known that the flavor of even whole bean coffee quickly degenerates after roasting. Interestingly, the peak flavor is not obtained immediately after roasting, but 12–24 hours later. Thereafter, the oils responsible for flavor rapidly dissipate. After five to seven days, most of the best flavor will have been lost.

It is thus somewhat amusing to see the sign boards in Starbucks branches boasting that the coffee they are serving was roasted in such-and-such a place, on such-and-such a day—typically three to four weeks prior! Why not just put up a sign declaring, “the coffee we serve is hopelessly stale...sorry!”

The good news is that the coffee drinker has the option of easily roasting their own beans at home, as was the common practice until the quite recent industrialization of coffee roasting. For only a small initial investment of $85–$150 one can buy a perfectly good electric roaster. The one pictured above is the Nesco Home Coffee Roaster (ca. $150, made in USA), which features a smoke-minimization feature, for those who appreciate the darker roasts (not always advisable for coffees with strong varietal character, but good in some instances). In 8–15 minutes you can roast enough coffee for a couple of days, exactly to your preferred roast, from a wide variety of regional sources (Africa, SE Asia, Central America), and enjoy delicious, fresh coffee as it was meant to be.

The bonus is, you save a lot of money (after the initial investment), since green coffee is typically 1/3 the price of its roasted counterparts. Feel like spending $3.50–$5.00 per pound for coffee (yes, you read that right!)? Try home roasting and learn to really enjoy a cup of joe!