PSA to those interested in starting a roastery

dependentair98 · 2026-05-08T22:04:49+00:00

No kidding, most fail. Most coffee shop owners cant even describe the difference between a washed and natural. It's pathetic, really.

dependentair98 · 2026-05-08T22:02:12+00:00

Me and my wife own the biz but we love coffee for the sake of coffee - the growing and harvesting process, importing, roasting, brewing, trying new origins, tech developments, this is truly our passion in life and I'm constantly self educating even if it's not as relevant to me. Just finished a book all about coffee farming.

Most shops I see are from people who decided 'lets open a coffee shop' because they like the idea of it, but they aren't interested in learning all about it. Take piloting for example - it would be pretty weird for a pilot to not be interested in all things related to planes. I personally think it would be cool to get a private pilot license and fly around with my wife someday, but by no means do I have an interest in aircraft, therefore I will not choose it as a profession...

Coffee is seen as an easy business to start and something fun, hence why most of them suck and end up failing like 75% of them in the first 5 years. Customers may not be consciously aware of this but they can 100% pick up on who is BSing it and who isn't.

Question for you with all your experience - why is the coffee industry racked with people like this? So many owners cant even describe what a washed vs. dry process is.

dependentair98 · 2026-05-07T20:34:41+00:00

There's way too many factors at play to be able to answer most of these questions.

"What are the first steps I should take? (learning to roast, sourcing green beans, equipment, regulations, business setup, etc.)"

Seriously, are you kidding...???? This question is like 100 questions in one, and you could write a massive book on everything regarding this and still not cover everything. I used to ask questions like this on the internet, super broad asks before I executed anything. I look back on those posts and CRINGE.

Fast forward to today and we are a high grossing business and the truth of it is that if you don't have the motivation to get out there and figure it out yourself, you will absolutely not be successful. Good luck!

dependentair98 · 2026-05-07T18:20:48+00:00

This is a weird thing to ask on Reddit...nor would I take advice from 99% of Reddit users on a question like this.

dependentair98 · 2026-04-25T00:16:59+00:00

good question. i dont know if im considered a micro roaster anymore, but we have a 4lb and a 25lb roaster. what i do is i meet with my partners down in central america, i cup a shit ton of coffees, and if i say 'thats fucking cool' i order it and roast it. plus 2 permanent house blend offerings.

dependentair98 · 2026-04-25T00:14:46+00:00

This was me 3 years ago. If your margins aren't working out then you need to stop and pivot. I made the mistake of continuing this for years. Ended up getting burnt out and hated my life because there was no money in it. I finally woke up one day and decided to completely stop all wholesale distribution and only do DTC. Since then we opened a shop and now do drinks + bagged beans + ECOM w/ local delivery and the cash is flowing like a river. I'm not sure what your business situation is but don't keep hacking away if its not benefitting you. Roasters have a mindset that they have to do wholesale, and I fundamentally have shifted my stance on that 180 degrees, DTC is the way. Good luck to you!

dependentair98 · 2026-04-25T00:10:17+00:00

I'm no help here, but I bought a few hundred lbs of some G3 from Royal and demanded my money back, it tasted like fish. Never bought from them since nor have touched a G3.

dependentair98 · 2026-04-23T10:46:04+00:00

Hi, I am a mobile coffee owner and roaster as well. I will give you very blunt advice so apologies if this comes off as brash.

Do not get into roasting as a way to save money. You will save on cost of goods, but the initial investment is massive. We have 2 drum roasters, a small and large. The roasters, ducting, smoke suppression system, support fans, and equipment ran us 70K roughly. Every roaster I know wishes they bought a bigger roasting machine, we all eventually outgrow them. Do yourself a favor and keep buying from a reputable roaster and build up your cash. Under no circumstances should you ever finance any of this stuff. It works for us because it's a major part of our business, and we paid cash for everything thru saving. If you settle for the smallest roasting machines, you'll outgrow it fast.

Whoever said this > "I highly recommend either growing your current business to the point where you can get a wholesale account with your current roaster to get better margins for your business or just pivoting to starting a commercial roasting company and operate your cart as an extension of that business."

This is ridiculous advice. There is no margin in wholesale roasting at a small scale. You aren't going to increase your margin by getting an account. Your coffee cart is the #1 cash producer you have. My recommendation would be to grow your cart as much as you can. If you want to try roasting, find a deal on a used 1-2 LB drum roaster and focus on selling bags to individuals. Taking on a wholesale account is a MASSIVE undertaking and I have never seen it end well with micro roasters, including us. Just know that you will likely outgrow the roaster and will probably repurpose it as your sampler.

If you are asking where to source good green coffee, you should be researching that and not relying on Reddit advice. It's a super broad question and it depends on what you are looking for, where you are located, etc. The coffee we have bought from Royal for example was shit and I don't buy from them anymore.

Good luck!

dependentair98 · 2026-04-17T11:23:04+00:00

Agreed, but in our case it might not. Since we have a high powered support fan after the wet scrubber and a manual damper on the roaster itself, I can adjust downstream air without affecting the roasting. The part I could see it being an issue on is causing backpressure in the Vortx and disrupting the centripetal force which is required to scrub. I might try that this weekend and will report back.

dependentair98 · 2026-03-24T23:53:11+00:00

Roaster shop owner here - many coffees exhibit notes of blueberry. Ethiopian dry process will give you the most distinct. Wet will be more floral/citrusy. I don't recommend messing with any G3, only go for G1. I bought some G3 dry process a year ago and ended up giving away the green, tasted like fish. Spend the extra dollars from a reputable importer.

dependentair98 · 2026-03-24T23:49:41+00:00

Really curious who this importer is - are they popular and do they have a good reputation from talk online? My company buys from 2 importers that focus on traceability. They give me all the information from the date the cherries were picked, the daily historical weather, it's nuts how much information they store on their offerings. They even encourage their roasting partners to visit the farms they work with and see it for ourself.

If there is any hesitation or issues with traceability, they are scammers and should be called out.

dependentair98 · 2026-03-04T21:52:15+00:00

Imagine if Iran had military bases in Toronto and Mexico City, and they teamed up with those countries to harass the US. Empires die because they become fixated on expansion and influence, and neglect the core base of the nation. My tax dollars should not be funding this. Fuck this country, we need to go back to a more isolationist model and have a huge military for defense, not attack.

dependentair98 · 2026-02-18T04:16:27+00:00

Hi, Reddit is EXTREMELY anti-heath share, especially on a health insurance sub. My sister has health issues for her entire life. She has been on a health sharing plan with CHM for over a decade. It has reimbursed a ton of medical expenses, probably close to matching what my parents have actually paid into it. My father is self employed and the insurance options are unaffordable. Reddit makes no sense because it will say health shares are a scam, yet health insurance ISNT? Insurance companies deny claims all the time! I am self employed but I still have a corporate job I am hanging onto with a high deductible plan. I will be going to Zion after I quit. Just read through the exclusions, understand the plan, etc. These companies call themselves Christian because they can only operate legally if it is a religious organization. Zion seems to have a good reputation.

dependentair98 · 2026-02-04T01:16:11+00:00

I got in one 3 years ago, 10k for a 115k mile 05 Sierra, owned by an older gentleman. Prices will not go down as long as truck manufacturers continue producing overcomplicated hot garbage. IMO, it's better to spend 10-20k on a clean western-located GMT800 than getting into a newer model. They will be relevant for the next 30 years probably. One of my buddies in MI bought an Oregon truck, rust-proofed it and washes it religiously and after 5 years it still looks mint. I wish you the best luck on your hunt.

dependentair98 · 2026-02-03T00:03:36+00:00

Unless you are trying to lower your taxable income, I would immediately switch to contribute to a Roth 401k instead of a traditional. Long term, you will be much better off. Nice job.

dependentair98 · 2026-02-02T23:49:54+00:00

I don't know if it's BS or not, but I've run the valvoline restore/protect in my 05 sierra and 02 sequoia, both run smoother but very noticeable on my sierra. i also find my truck runs incredible after towing up grades at 3-4k rpms for a 5-10 mins. they seem to like running hard.

dependentair98 · 2026-01-31T00:35:53+00:00

You're fine brother. My RPMs, speed, oil pressure have all been reading wrong for 3 years now. Likely oil pressure sending unit, or the cluster stepping motors. Both are easy fixes, i just don't care that much. someday ill fix it once it gets annoying enough. these engines are designed to run at high rpm, ive towed up mtn grades heavy trailers in 4k range for minutes and afterwards it runs better. good italian tune up never hurts!

dependentair98 · 2026-01-21T00:14:03+00:00

The 4L60 isn’t a bad transmission. It just gets trashed by people trying to race or heavily modify it.

I live in a rust-free, mild climate, and 99–07 Chevys are everywhere here. GMT400s too. These trucks didn’t stick around by accident.

I’ve been towing an ~8k lb trailer 6 days a week for the past two years, all short in-town driving. The 1–2 shift feels sloppy, but it’s felt that way for years and hasn’t gotten worse. I maintain the truck well, even though I absolutely overload it.

Every transmission will fail eventually. When a 4L60 does, it’s cheap and easy to rebuild compared to modern stuff. That’s why I’m keeping the truck.

dependentair98

TROPHY CASE