I’ve been roasting my own coffee now for about 3 years, and there is no comparison to freshly roasted coffee vs the stale offerings in grocery stores- Starbuck’s included! Once coffee has been roasted, it deteriorates in quality in about 2-3 weeks (No- the valved bag really does not make a difference!), and once ground, in just a few minutes! Here are a couple of my favorite blends.

3 oz Brazil (Cerrado) & 3 oz Sumatra Iskander w/ 4oz Costa Rican Tres Rios & 2 oz Kenya PB. Roast just to a few snaps of second crack- a little longer, if you prefer a slightly darker roast. This is one of the best blends I’ve ever stumbled upon! This is what I lovingly call "Little Buddy Blend", named after a term of affection I called my absolute best friend of 20 years who passed away on my birthday in 2006. I had made this blend , and he absolutely loved it. It was his favorite out of all the blends I had made to that point!

My other favorite is: 3 oz Ea: Sulawesi Toraja and Colombia Mesa de los Santos or Colombia Huila- Los Idolos de Bellavista roasted 10-15 seconds into active second, with 3 oz Costa Rica Tres Rios La Magnolia w/ 1&� oz Costa Rican Dota Tarrazu- El Conquistador or Coopedota, roasted just to the start of active second. This is a favorite of all of my 6 sisters-in-law!

The great thing about roasting coffee is the endless blends you can create, and the fact that there is no right or wrong. Whatever you come up with that you like is what is best. Don’t try and roast to someone else’s standards- instead, roast to your standards. After all, that really is all that matters!