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Date: 02 Aug 2006 10:34:55
From: Bill N
Subject: coffee catering/roasting help.
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Hi all.
I am new to the group, although I have been lurking on the edges,
reading the posts for some time now. Good stuff, and it seems as if the
coffee community is an active, helpful one.
So, before I ask my question, let me give some backgound. I have just
recently (about 2 years) started getting really interested in coffee,
espresso, roasting, etc. I started out with a Gaggia coffee deluxe, but
upgraded to an Andrjea Premium soon after. I bought a Gene Cafe roaster
3 months ago from Burmans. From the very beginning, I was asked to ring
my coffee parephanalia to different function- weddings, etc. Now I am
being asked to roast for others, and my coffee catering services seems
to be at a place where it could really take off. The catch is, I never
advertised it. It seems to be taking on a life of it's own. I was even
interviewed by the regional newspaper after I gave some coffee to a
friend, who then gave it to a reporter friend.
My wife and I are seriously contemplating pursuing this as a business-
a moble coffee house catering service, and coffee roasting.
Now, my question(s). Why SHOULDN'T I do this? I don't feel as if I have
enough experience, but I live in a very rural part of the state, and
know at least as much as anyone else. Seriously, our local coffee house
can pour a doule shot of espresso in 7 seconds. And they use Paul de
Lima for all of their coffee selections. My second question is this: if
I can do it "right", will anyone notice? As I said, we live in a rural
area. The closest starbucks is 90 minutes away, and just opened this
summer. If I do anything as a business, I want to do it right, but will
anyone know, besides myself, that it is right? My last question has to
do with roasting, and is an ethics question. I buy my green coffee from
Sweet Maria's and Burman's. Is it wrong to buy their green coffee,
roast it, and resell it to others? They don't sell roasted coffee, so I
am not competing against them. I wouldn't sell their blends as my own
blends. As a startup, I can't afford to buy 100's of pounds of
different coffees from coffee traders.
So, your thoughts are much appreciated.
Bill N, hopefully soon to be owner and operator of Highlander Coffee
Roasters.
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Date: 02 Aug 2006 17:38:01
From: Jack Denver
Subject: Re: coffee catering/roasting help.
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Sweetmarias is going to overcharge you greatly - they are geared toward
selling 1 to 5 lb. quantities to home roasters. Even at their #20 rate, they
are asking more than $4/lb. for most of their coffees. There are wholesale
green coffee sellers that will sell you larger quantities at a considerable
discount - either partial bags (at a slight premium over a full bag price)
from which you can construct your own blend (it ain't rocket science) or
some even have pre-blends. Preferably you should buy full bags, for which
you will get the best price - maybe 1/2 to 1/4 what SM charges, no small
difference. Green keeps fairly well (there is only 1 crop/yr ) so if you buy
a few months worth at one time and store it properly (just normal dry room
temp storage) it will be a considerable savings vs. SM. If you aren't going
to be selling several bag's worth of coffee over a period of several months,
then it's not worthwhile as a commercial venture to begin with.
"Bill N" <NOSTROM1@juno.com > wrote in message
news:1154540095.418348.295920@p79g2000cwp.googlegroups.com...
> Hi all.
> I am new to the group, although I have been lurking on the edges,
> reading the posts for some time now. Good stuff, and it seems as if the
> coffee community is an active, helpful one.
> So, before I ask my question, let me give some backgound. I have just
> recently (about 2 years) started getting really interested in coffee,
> espresso, roasting, etc. I started out with a Gaggia coffee deluxe, but
> upgraded to an Andrjea Premium soon after. I bought a Gene Cafe roaster
> 3 months ago from Burmans. From the very beginning, I was asked to ring
> my coffee parephanalia to different function- weddings, etc. Now I am
> being asked to roast for others, and my coffee catering services seems
> to be at a place where it could really take off. The catch is, I never
> advertised it. It seems to be taking on a life of it's own. I was even
> interviewed by the regional newspaper after I gave some coffee to a
> friend, who then gave it to a reporter friend.
> My wife and I are seriously contemplating pursuing this as a business-
> a moble coffee house catering service, and coffee roasting.
> Now, my question(s). Why SHOULDN'T I do this? I don't feel as if I have
> enough experience, but I live in a very rural part of the state, and
> know at least as much as anyone else. Seriously, our local coffee house
> can pour a doule shot of espresso in 7 seconds. And they use Paul de
> Lima for all of their coffee selections. My second question is this: if
> I can do it "right", will anyone notice? As I said, we live in a rural
> area. The closest starbucks is 90 minutes away, and just opened this
> summer. If I do anything as a business, I want to do it right, but will
> anyone know, besides myself, that it is right? My last question has to
> do with roasting, and is an ethics question. I buy my green coffee from
> Sweet Maria's and Burman's. Is it wrong to buy their green coffee,
> roast it, and resell it to others? They don't sell roasted coffee, so I
> am not competing against them. I wouldn't sell their blends as my own
> blends. As a startup, I can't afford to buy 100's of pounds of
> different coffees from coffee traders.
> So, your thoughts are much appreciated.
> Bill N, hopefully soon to be owner and operator of Highlander Coffee
> Roasters.
>
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Date: 02 Aug 2006 12:28:01
From: Johnny
Subject: Re: coffee catering/roasting help.
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"Bill N" <NOSTROM1@juno.com > wrote in message
news:1154540095.418348.295920@p79g2000cwp.googlegroups.com...
> Hi all.
> I am new to the group, although I have been lurking on the edges,
> reading the posts for some time now. Good stuff, and it seems as if the
> coffee community is an active, helpful one.
> So, before I ask my question, let me give some backgound. I have just
> recently (about 2 years) started getting really interested in coffee,
> espresso, roasting, etc. I started out with a Gaggia coffee deluxe, but
> upgraded to an Andrjea Premium soon after. I bought a Gene Cafe roaster
> 3 months ago from Burmans. From the very beginning, I was asked to ring
> my coffee parephanalia to different function- weddings, etc. Now I am
> being asked to roast for others, and my coffee catering services seems
> to be at a place where it could really take off. The catch is, I never
> advertised it. It seems to be taking on a life of it's own. I was even
> interviewed by the regional newspaper after I gave some coffee to a
> friend, who then gave it to a reporter friend.
> My wife and I are seriously contemplating pursuing this as a business-
> a moble coffee house catering service, and coffee roasting.
> Now, my question(s). Why SHOULDN'T I do this? I don't feel as if I have
> enough experience, but I live in a very rural part of the state, and
> know at least as much as anyone else. Seriously, our local coffee house
> can pour a doule shot of espresso in 7 seconds. And they use Paul de
> Lima for all of their coffee selections. My second question is this: if
> I can do it "right", will anyone notice? As I said, we live in a rural
> area. The closest starbucks is 90 minutes away, and just opened this
> summer. If I do anything as a business, I want to do it right, but will
> anyone know, besides myself, that it is right? My last question has to
> do with roasting, and is an ethics question. I buy my green coffee from
> Sweet Maria's and Burman's. Is it wrong to buy their green coffee,
> roast it, and resell it to others? They don't sell roasted coffee, so I
> am not competing against them. I wouldn't sell their blends as my own
> blends. As a startup, I can't afford to buy 100's of pounds of
> different coffees from coffee traders.
> So, your thoughts are much appreciated.
> Bill N, hopefully soon to be owner and operator of Highlander Coffee
> Roasters.
>
I believe Sweet Marias does frown on using their green coffee for commercial
roasting and they do in fact sell roasted coffee
http://www.sweetmarias.com/prod.roasted.html
the SM price structure and limited supply is another barrier.
there are other ways to get less than a bag. Some wholesalers will split a
bag for you for a small extra fee. I'll leave you to research who.
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