Home roasting is awesome as I've been doing it for about 2.5 years now and have no intention of ever buying roasted coffee again. I've only used 2 green suppliers... Happy Mug I bought 15# from one time. Price was crazy low, in bulk that order cost me about $4/lb and shipping was nice as well. Maybe $10 at the most and it arrived in 3-4 days. Green quality was pretty good... I did notice more defects (hollowed out, dust, etc.) than I expected, but you get what you pay for. Their descriptions are a bit lacking if you ask me though. The other greens supplier has been Sweet Maria's as they simply have a great selection year round, have killer roasting/cupping notes and charts that indicate what they find the best of in every coffee. The coffee quality is top notch, batch-batch year round is very consistent and their customer service is nice as well. It does cost a bit more than others, but you get what you pay for. in 2.5 years I've bought/roasted about 275# (home use only) and 260# has came from Sweet Maria's. I've tried 7-8 different blends and single origins specifically for espresso, but my 2 favorite by far are the Espresso Monkey blend and the Altiplano blend. I take all my coffees just into 2nd crack (10 seconds or so in), let them degas in Mason jars for 24 days, then let it sit 5-6 days before using. Every morning I'm using coffee that averages being 7-8 days post roast, which gives incredible flavor and consistency. Cost-wise it's awesome... those coffees in 15# bulk orders (cheaper than 1#), adding $9/shipping flat rate up to 20#, an average of 17% weight/moisture loss and the coffee roasted costs me around $7/lb doing it myself. I have fresh coffee when I need it, roasted to the flavor/texture profile I like and I'm saving 40-50% over what I once bought from roasters.
To avoid oily coffee issues simply roast a bit lighter or don't let the coffee sit too long after roasting. Being roasted darker pulls oils to the surface as does sitting in storage for too long.
