Roasting at home in garage in CT

[joeydyna]

hey guys, my wife and i are getting ready to purchase our first roaster to roast from home. our inital plan was to sell online and at farmers markets, but weve had a few friends who own cafes ask us about supplying our roasted beans to their cafe. does anyone know if there is any law that will prevent us from roasting out of our garage and doing wholesale in the state of CT?

 

[joeydyna]

living in CT i have searched high and low on the town and state websites and cant seem to find anything discussing roasting, let alone roasting out of my garage. i also left a message with the health department and sent an email...if anyone else has any ideas i would greatly appreciate them!

 

[dragonflycanoe]

As Ensoluna recommends, you will need to check with your state authorities. I am in the process of starting up (my roaster is currently making its way across the Pacific Ocean).

In New York, food preparation falls under either Farms and Markets or NY Health Dept. Coffee roasting does not fall under the home kitchen exemption, like baked goods do. Farms and Markets is a bit less strict than Health Dept in NY. The difference in authority is how much of your business is retail (e.g. bagged roasted beans, coffee making paraphernalia, t-shirts, etc.) and on-site service (e.g. serving coffee drinks, pastries, etc.).

At a minimum, in NY, you are required to have a commercial kitchen with three-basin sink, hand-washing station, and washable floors, walls, ceiling. I would not be at all surprised to find the same in CT. A little time spent on a search engine should help elucidate this.

Best of luck with your venture!
Regards,
Dan
Gato Diablo Coffee (and maybe Chocolate).

 

[joeydyna]

ive been on search engines all day trying to find something. no such luck. my garage will have the floors, insulated walls and ceiling. just trying to figure out the rest.

 

[Musicphan]

hey guys, my wife and i are getting ready to purchase our first roaster to roast from home. our inital plan was to sell online and at farmers markets, but weve had a few friends who own cafes ask us about supplying our roasted beans to their cafe. does anyone know if there is any law that will prevent us from roasting out of our garage and doing wholesale in the state of CT?

Start your research here.. DCP: Starting a Food-Based Business

 

[topher]

I would contact the department of agriculture. At least in Florida we report to them not the health department. Good luck and let us know how you got on .

 

[dragonflycanoe]

@joeydyna - I had the best luck getting info by contacting my county's health department, who put me in touch with the inspector I will be working with. She was very helpful with respect to defining requirements and more. As I re-read my earlier message, perhaps suggesting using the phone would have been better advice than relying on google...

@ ensoluna - I am awaiting a 1kg Mill City (North) roaster, and yes, we are establishing a micro-roastery company. We have an immediate opportunity to share space with an existing coffee shop that has a new owner that is making positive changes in one of our small, local communities. We have an opportunity to purchase property (actually two - it's complicated) in another local community that we are wrestling with.

At least we've chosen our name - Gato Diablo Coffee Roasters

Cheers,
Dan

 

[joeydyna]

@joeydyna - I had the best luck getting info by contacting my county's health department, who put me in touch with the inspector I will be working with. She was very helpful with respect to defining requirements and more. As I re-read my earlier message, perhaps suggesting using the phone would have been better advice than relying on google...

I actually got in otuch with our local planning and zoning department who will be hopefully getting back to me on tuesday! I guess they then need to speak with the health and fire departments, but hopefully all will go well and we will be ordering our bc-5md from buckeye coffee roasters!

 

[Musicphan]

I actually got in otuch with our local planning and zoning department who will be hopefully getting back to me on tuesday! I guess they then need to speak with the health and fire departments, but hopefully all will go well and we will be ordering our bc-5md from buckeye coffee roasters!

Did you read the link I posted? Not trying to be a debbie downer but the state doesn't appear to allow you to roast from home "Food may not be manufactured in the home for distribution, except for product exempted pursuant to Public Act 10-103."

 

[joeydyna]

Did you read the link I posted? Not trying to be a debbie downer but the state doesn't appear to allow you to roast from home "Food may not be manufactured in the home for distribution, except for product exempted pursuant to Public Act 10-103."

i did see that, im still waiting to hear back from my town officials to see. not sure if they are considering coffee a food

 

[Musicphan]

i did see that, im still waiting to hear back from my town officials to see. not sure if they are considering coffee a food

Your local town officials will have nothing to do with your ability to get FDA approval to sell coffee. The city officials will only define if your zoned properly / city ordinances / business licensing.

 

[joeydyna]

Your local town officials will have nothing to do with your ability to get FDA approval to sell coffee. The city officials will only define if your zoned properly / city ordinances / business licensing.

there must be a ton of people doing it illegally then. i spoke with multiple roasting companies and their reps all told me that they have sold to a lot of businesses that do it out of their garage

 

[Musicphan]

there must be a ton of people doing it illegally then. i spoke with multiple roasting companies and their reps all told me that they have sold to a lot of businesses that do it out of their garage

Must be... looks pretty cut & dry to me. Best of luck!

 

[chast]

There is no difference in having a smoker in your garage vs a 5 kg roaster. The Roaster is not illegal it is the business setup that requires scrutiny from big brother. Once you mention wholesale you enter the world of FEDs. In MA, if you want to sell at farmers markets you need a certified kitchen certificate. We also have what they call the Cottage Law. Either way when you deal with the locals it can go either way. As mentioned in a previous post, there are plenty of people who roast out of their garages on the qt. We also have a Mass Approved gas appliance list. If the gas unit is not listed it is a process to get a variance look into that before dropping any cash down. Some roaster manufacturers are listed and a lot are not. If the roaster is listed it is nothing more than getting a gas permit to install. Look into purchasing double wall class A pipe for venting that way the FD cannot give you a hard time.

 

[JoeConiglioArmenia]

Any update from the local level?