Our point about any home roasting cost savings is that it’s not much when compared to the time investment (equipment and power aside). Here in SF it is typical to find high-end coffees for $12-16 per pound that you can find at Sweet Maria’s green for $5-8 per pound. Having a larger capacity roaster and consuming a lot more coffee in a given period does help the equation, however.

But even with multi-tasking, it’s still work. We lost count of the number of times we’ve multi-tasked ourselves into a Full Charcoal roast because of inattentiveness. Better roasting equipment will help prevent that. But still, given whatever slight cost savings, it’s hardly the kind of profit that would make someone start their own roasting company out of their home from all the extra cash they’ve pocketed.

As for the freshness, you still have to let the fresh roasts gas out many hours, if not a few days. So you still have to plan ahead and wait – as much as we wish perfectly de-gassed coffee can come out of our tap, on demand, once we started home roasting.

And as for any cost savings with a prosumer machine, it’s still about committing a lot of money up-front and regular time and labor on a regular basis to do it right. For people who place a high value on their time to do other things – even if it’s just reading a book – the lack of convenience just isn’t worth it. And let’s face it, in a nation where people gladly pay more for pre-mixed salads and pre-sliced apples, we’re generally too lazy as a population to do much of anything for ourselves. Exceptions excluded, of course, as you certainly seem to be one among the few.

All of which is why we think home espresso and home roasting is best when you don’t just buy the cheap stuff and try to skimp your way and value your time at McDonald’s wages. To exhume that ever-popular wine analogy: what’s the point of making your own boutique wine if you’re gunning for a 7-Eleven Chardonnay and some extra pocket change? If it’s worth your time, it’s worth making something of semi-rare quality.

And as to the espresso machine, I drink at least three or four double espressos, espresso drinks (reg. or decaf) a day. My prosumer machine paid for itself in less than a year, if you consider what a quality cafe like Metropolis or Intelligentsia charges. (Starbucks? Only when I need to get caffeinated in the airport or along the tollways).

Decaf is a good example. Quality decaf coffees are getting easier to find these days, even though the selection is far more limited than with the normally caffeinated variety. By turning to home roasting, that should open up the varietal options even further.

And you definitely know my stance on decaf coffee. While caffeine plays an integral role in the flavor enhancement of coffee (and hence why Duncan Hines is the third largest consumer of purified caffeine in the world), the idea that coffee is pointless without caffeine comes more from coffee users than coffee appreciators. Which is why we believe decaf coffee fans are some of the truest coffee lovers out there.

One other reason I’d add – a kind of a supplement to your first two- is decaf coffee. While decafs have improved, it seems like they are still a couple of years behind where all these tasty, new roasters are presently with their caffeinated beans. Not that home roasting will ever be able to overcome the inherent limitations of the decaffeination process, but it does give you more selection of different types of beans and the opportunity to customize the roast level of the same beans you probably already enjoy. Of course, that’s just a thought for those of us who actually want to drink decaf coffee!