Coffee is life...this morning I had the best cup of coffee in the world.
To so many people in this world, fair trade and specialty coffee has been a god send to small coffee farmers around the world.
A good friend of mine runs a local specialty coffee company and he has been an inspiration to me as I have watched him help to transform the lives of coffee farmers he deals with. His company directly buys from and then gives back proceeds to help build clinics, schools, shelters and more, all while ensuring the farmers get the profits they deserve.
Now, I find myself retired, yet still working full time helping people with tech issues and manufacturing process problems, while enjoying my everyday cup or two or three of coffee.
For many years I have been doing manual pour over techniques like the French Press, Hario v60, Kalita Wave, Chemex, etc...I gave up traditional electric pot methods decades ago. During the last decade I went deeper into the rabbit hole of seeking the perfect cup, or the perfect shot of Espresso. I thought I had done it all and gotten every last drip of flavor I could.
Then I really started talking with my friend about the why of coffee. Seeking the perfect cup and how it ultimately leads to roasting your own beans. Much like growing your own vegetables has long been accepted as the ONLY way you get really tasty produce, roasting your own coffee beans is the last holy ground when seeking to brew the perfect cup.
Beans 24 hours off roast are a wonder to brew with and drink.
There is an old story about a barista who once went into a tiny café and had what he later deemed the worlds best cup of coffee. He spent days watching and learning their technique for brewing their cup. After many failed attempts at reproducing that flavor using their techniques, water, and the beans he bought from them, he gave up and asked what he was doing wrong.
The owner said he was not doing anything wrong. The only problem was that the beans they sold him were the beans that were leftover after a days business, meaning that they were technically 2 day old beans before he even got a chance to brew with them.
The next few weeks were spent in learning, preparation, and trial and error.
One day the barista roasted his first sample batch of beans. 24 hours later, during his morning ritual, he finally had the best cup of coffee in the world.
This morning I made coffee with my first sample roast I did yesterday. My wife, who normally takes her coffee with cream and sugar drank half a cup before adding cream, she said it was the first time she had ever enjoyed black coffee.
A little peek at what it is like when you take a leap down the rabbit hole. Today I roasted my 2nd sample roast.
Peace
= new reply since forum marked as read
Sadly, my taste buds (or something) have changed so many things don't taste good, including maybe #1 coffee; haven't enjoyed a cup in about 2 years, so I wander around, mornings, trying to find something decent to drink. (MAY have found something, newly developed @ my starbucks, ginger snap frapp, no coffee, no whip; the base is whole milk, good for osteoporosis.)
I have a hot air pop corn popper that I use to roast small batches when I feel like fresh roast... and you are correct; fresh roast is really good! 
but at thrift stores, popcorn poppers are really cheap
it's the oils that really burn them out... and I do it outside and let the hulls float out into the wind... and the smell 
I am a retired manufacturing process engineer...so, I hopped down the hole and never looked back.
His current setup does not even use thermocouples and he is very old school using a vintage commercial roaster where all steps are handled manually and by eye and smell.
Peace and thank you!
Once he has dialed in the process, it hits the big commercial roaster.
Thank you for the kind comment!
Peace and Coffee...
Allergies have forced me to be the worst coffee snob I know.
I am very allergic to Robusta. The smell of it will give me a headache. Drinking is right out.
Roasting my own is the only option. Every batch is a bit different and every batch is wonderful. Unless they mixed in a few Robusta beans, then it is a nightmare. 
I generally go for peaberry. Not because peaberry is better, it can be, but it isn't always. The odds of someone trying to sneak Robusta in to Arabica peaberry is much lower so I stick to peaberry unless I have gotten to cup a batch to test.
I am an ex process engineer so I guess that is why this intrigued me. I love coffee and have always been into producing a good cup, whether it was just for myself or friends and family.
I went through the entire 120g first roast today. 1 30g pour over this morning and 2 20g pour overs today (1 while roasting the 2nd 300g Sample) I did a 20g pour over for my wife this morning, so all in all 120g green yielded approx 90-100g roasted. I may have lost a few beans during the drop and then the transfer to the cooler box. So I'd say 20-25g of weight loss.
Thanks for the laugh!
Smoke from the ghost of StarBurnt, process gone astray, the extra work needed.
But you never forget that cup.
coffee 
Best coffee is brewed by people who care. I am by no means rich...lol. You sound like you care enough to buy beans, hand grind and use a fine drip-o-lator. Therefore, I bet that cup you make is awesome!
8 O'clock coffee rotates so fast that the whole bean bags are generally very tasty as they are quite fresh off roast. I am by no means a coffee snob, I am more a coffee GEEK. As for anyone wondering about whole bean, Eight O'clock coffee might be cheap, but the quality of the whole bean is very good.
Another GREAT VALUE in cheap whole bean coffee is the Walmart Great Value brand Organic Whole bean coffee, when you can find it of course. Because Coffee snobs around the country will buy the GV brand organic whole bean coffee and stick it in their own containers and then serve it to friends and family. True story! Not saying I did it, but a good friend of mine told me to try it as he was secretly buying it and taking it to his friends...
Hand grinders from that era were great at grinding for drip or French press.
Do you have the porcelain one, combo porcelain/alum or full aluminum?
For anyone wondering;
Keep on being caffeinated!
Peace
I looked at lots of options and read a TON, watched videos on the different methods and took some classes, starting with MCR's free one.
https://millcityroasters.com/coffee-roasting-training-classes/
Then I watched a bunch of coffee classes by Virtual Coffee Labs on YouTube.
Since I am a retired manufacturing process engineer and love to cook, this really intrigued me and got me to take my coffee hobby to the next level by roasting my own beans.
Once I decided to roast, I settled on the drum method as it looked like something I could scale over time without losing my initial investment in equipment and it would give me control, like your mods to the popper that have given you control.
The fact that you can control heat and airflow is really critical, well done. A few thermocouples, BT, ET, Ambient and a phidget interface and your Fluid Bed Roaster would be next level.
Congratz on being a veteran, any tips you feel like sharing, I am all cups...
Heat is the enemy of fruity notes. So if you are looking for a fruitier cup apply more heat and get to first crack faster. I found that to be true. Trick of course, is not heating so fast you get a flash roast.
Burman coffee is where I get my beans. We drink mostly decaf and I've been pretty happy with them. I'm not suggesting they are better than other sources, just an alternative.
https://burmancoffee.com/
Once you get a good source for beans there's no reason to search for another, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!
