Sayde, the first thing you need to know is that 'espresso' is not a roast level. :-) There's a myth out there that espresso is always a dark and oily roast. That is not the case. Espresso is usually a blend of beans from different regions that vary in acidity, body, and flavor. Think of it as notes in a musical chord that blend together to be something beautiful. That's a good espresso blend. The blends that you get from a good coffee roaster (the shop, not the machine) are made up of beans that have been roasted to their best advantage separately, and have then been mixed. You can buy blends green that can be roasted at home. These blends have been formulated to do well when roasted all together. Most vendors that sell green coffee will tell you at what level the blend is best roasted, and that is a good place to start. There are many factors that play into the best roast for a particular bean, including country of origin, elevation grown, variety, age, etc. A good vendor will give you some information about what flavors you can expect to taste at various roast levels. I'd suggest that you start your roasting adventures with a single origin--all the beans from the same variety. This will allow you to get a feel for what goes into roasting, and what each roast level does to the flavor of the bean. You will find that in most cases, you will get the best expression of the unique flavors of a bean in lighter, not darker roasts. Once you get well into the second crack, the roast flavors begin to overshadow the flavors inherent in the bean. (You'll need to do some reading to understand the terminology, but there's plenty of info out there.) Once you get the hang of roasting and what to look, listen, and smell for, then try and roast a blend. I make this suggestion because the various beans in a blend will come into the various roast stages at different times. You will get better results if you know how to judge what you're seeing, hearing, and smelling. Roasting is a multisensory experience. :-) Don't worry, it won't take you long to get the hang of it! Get a pound to play with and a pound of your espresso blend--or even more than one. Be sure to let your coffee rest a bit, at the very least 12 hours, but most do better at 24 or more. I've had some espresso blends that don't really come into their own until about 5 days have passed. If you find the flavors harsh, let it rest another day and see how that affects the flavor--you might be really surprised. You'll need to do some reading so that you have the basics down before even turning on your roaster. Some vendors have this information online for you to read, or will include it with their roasters. Choose a machine that will best fit your own style--one that allows you a lot of latitude in controlling the roast if you're the type to read up and would enjoy finding out how to manipulate the flavors of the beans, or if you'd rather not have to participate too much, then get one with buttons that you can press to activate pre-programmed roast profiles. Don't worry too much about capacity. If you really get into it and want to do your own blends, you're not going to want a large amount of any one bean, because you'll be roasting a small batch of 3 or 4 types to mix. Fresh roasted coffee is good for 2 to 3 weeks, depending on the bean and the roast, and also your personal preference. After that the nuances start to fade, and it starts to taste a bit stale. You will quickly learn to spot when your beans are on the edge of going stale. You should be warned that once you get used to roasting your own coffee the way you like it, you will very likely be spoiled for going out to drink it anywhere else, excepting places that roast their own and do it well. Just sayin'. Have a good time, Cj

Ken and jxbrown, Thank you both so much. I also am the only one here who drinks coffee daily. Problem with being in the boonies is that the availability of fresh anything is questionable, unless you drive mucho distances (with big gas bucks now:)) or pay shipping. There are a few local--meaning an hour or more away--roasters, but I haven't been too thrilled with their coffees or else they don't sell small amounts. I had in the past thought about roasting, but heard that it could possibly be smelly and I also wondered how you knew you were getting quality green beans or where to get them without a lot of added expense--shipping or gas. jxbrown, What roaster do you have and how do you know how long to roast? I like dark, strong black coffee and drink espresso drinks infrequently cause I don't like to mix my coffee, just like it as is! Also, I can't drink any sweetened type coffee drinks and have to limit milk, so usually stick to my french press. Any other help on 'reasonably' priced and yet good functioning burr grinders or roasters will be appreciated. Also, where to buy good quality green coffee beans, how to know that they are such, and what types to buy also muchly appreciated.

I used to get a Sumatran coffee that I loved..switched roasters and didn't like theirs as much as I love their Brazil Dark Roast..so it's my "standard"... Here's the link to where I get mine..And I must say I love the coffee club of the month..You can switch it up, delay shipments, move them up..whatever..Everything I've tried I love...The Sumatran is not as good in dark as it is in medium roast. Some of my favorites from them are the Coffee of the Month when they blend roasts or beans. It's roasted the morning it's shipped out via Priority. Here is a link that might be useful: Camano Island Coffee

>>The headline on the company history page says "It All Began on Vine Street", at the corner of Walnut in Berkeley.>> The first Peet's store was opened in Berkeley. But he sold his beans through a few other shops before opening the Peet's-only stores. I remember being very sad that his store opened in Berkeley instead of being in SF where I could reach it (didn't drive and no car in those days). Even Herb Caen mentioned it, I believe; the Peet's French was highly coveted stuff. We were all hoping his first store would be in SF.....sigh. Aliceinmd, interesting that your recipe uses salt. I used to work in a big hotel in Chicago way back when, and one of the waiters was known for making the best coffee of anyone. I watched him one day and he salted the coffee grounds before turning on the big urn percolator. Much later when "food science" started to become popular, I read that salt offsets bitterness and thought, "Aha, that's why he did that!" Intriguingly enough, according to several articles (NYTimes, Serious Eats) they still don't know quite how salt works to offset bitterness (whether the salt somehow disrupts the bitter receptors on the tongue or whether itâÂÂs some sort of post-processing by the brain)! This post was edited by jkom51 on Mon, Jan 12, 15 at 18:49