You've probably already made your selection, but I had to throw in a vote for Papua New Guinea. It is a nice balanced coffee with medium body, and mild cherry and spice in the cup, along with a good nuttiness.
Welcome to the roasting world! I started roasting coffee at home, and now have a roasting biz (traded in the home roaster for a commercial sized one). I have to say that there aren't too many things as fun and satisfying as roasting coffee at home.
There are two aspects of this subject that I would like to address: sources of green coffee beans and roasting devices. So far, I have purchased all my green beans (which are called that because they are slightly green and have not been roasted) from Sweet Maria's. I especially appreciate the detailed cupping information, as well as the details of where the beans originate and how they are processed. Advice on how to roast is explicit and nuanced. Also, though the company has roasting equipment, the owner and expert advises using an air popcorn popper and explains exactly how long to roast the beans along with information on what to listen for as the beans are being roasted. I have purchased from this company for about six years and have experienced nothing but satisfaction with the quality of the beans and the expertise of their cupping master.
I actually roasted a few ounces of Harrar in a cast-iron fry-pan.. roasted one of the worlds oldest coffees the way they did in ancient days... except for the gas stove.
There are two aspects of this subject that I would like to address: sources of green coffee beans and roasting devices. So far, I have purchased all my green beans (which are called that because they are slightly green and have not been roasted) from Sweet Maria's. I especially appreciate the detailed cupping information, as well as the details of where the beans originate and how they are processed. Advice on how to roast is explicit and nuanced. Also, though the company has roasting equipment, the owner and expert advises using an air popcorn popper and explains exactly how long to roast the beans along with information on what to listen for as the beans are being roasted. I have purchased from this company for about six years and have experienced nothing but satisfaction with the quality of the beans and the expertise of their cupping master.
Sweet Maria's definitely appears to be the place to go for home roasting needs. I've been dealing with them for several years. I started out using a whirley pop. I would recommend that for anyone just starting out. I bought a Behmor 1600, but almost prefer the coffee I roasted with the whirley pop. My first roast was a disaster but after a few tries, I started getting really good results.
