Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by sage on September 27, 2010 at 5:49pm

hey arnold, best of luck with that novel idea! i know the regs can and do vary by state to state, county to county, etc. i started out with a mobile espresso unit, selling primarily at equestrian events. once we were shut down by health officials because one of us working the window didn't have a cap (hat) on! we closed, went and bought a cap, and reopened. i'm betting that you are intending to roast and sell brewed coffees, etc. i do think it would be challenging to earn a living on roasting alone...my bad if i'm wrong! keep us posted...always wanting to hear the success stories of fellow baristas-roasters-whathaveyou! (also, i'd be up for sampling a high quality espresso roast, if that is possible...i'm looking to up my espresso game some from a fairly generic, yet decent bean now).

best,
sage/the coffee hound

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Permalink Reply by David Lanning on September 27, 2010 at 6:28pm

Hey Arnold,

Some regs are just insane...

What would it matter who does the plumbing as long as it was done to code??

I caused all kinds of bureaucratic upheaval with our coffee bike ( http://youtu.be/ogxTxR0iAVg )

Glad your able to confuse them with your mobile roasting!



Arnold Juelfs said:

In order to roast out of your garage"legally, you have to have permanent plumbing for sinks. The county I live in, requires the plumbing to be done by a licensed plumber, which is totally outrageous on the cost. My cost for doing it in the step van is a 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of doing it out of my garage.

Ron Ingber said:

This is not intended as a negative comment, but...
What's the point?
What are you trying to achieve by roasting out of a mobile facility vs. setting up a roaster in a commercial location (or even in your garage)?
Are you going to haul around hundreds and hundreds of pounds of green beans with you?
Will you be packaging the roasted beans in the van as well?
Will you still have to meet all of the requirements of the Health Dept as you are handling a food item?

I must be missing something, but I just don't get it.

Please, don't slam me, educate me.

Thanks,

Ron, the Country Guy

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Permalink Reply by Arnold Juelfs on September 27, 2010 at 6:41pm

Thank you! The inspectors write the language so vague so they can twist it anyway they want it. The language also contradicts. The state regional inspector who is an engineer, and he has to always confer with "his plumbers", which by the way are union licensed plumbers, before he can give me an answer on any of this. My local health inspector, keeps telling me she doesn't really know anything about coffee, but continues to tell me only what I can't do. Iwas so mad a couple of weeks ago, I told her it is a good thing she was not around to help form this country, or it would never have happened. Number 1, to me coffee is not food, it is heated to above 400 degrees, and than heated in hot water for another 200 degrees, before it is consumed. if any germs live through this, we all may as well hang it up!

sage said:

hey arnold, best of luck with that novel idea! i know the regs can and do vary by state to state, county to county, etc. i started out with a mobile espresso unit, selling primarily at equestrian events. once we were shut down by health officials because one of us working the window didn't have a cap (hat) on! we closed, went and bought a cap, and reopened. i'm betting that you are intending to roast and sell brewed coffees, etc. i do think it would be challenging to earn a living on roasting alone...my bad if i'm wrong! keep us posted...always wanting to hear the success stories of fellow baristas-roasters-whathaveyou! (also, i'd be up for sampling a high quality espresso roast, if that is possible...i'm looking to up my espresso game some from a fairly generic, yet decent bean now).

best,
sage/the coffee hound

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Permalink Reply by Arnold Juelfs on September 27, 2010 at 6:44pm

David, they have a perfect racket. I have talked to a lot of other people in other trades in my area, they all hate the plumbers, because they have this racket.

David Lanning said:

Hey Arnold,

Some regs are just insane...

What would it matter who does the plumbing as long as it was done to code??

I caused all kinds of bureaucratic upheaval with our coffee bike ( http://youtu.be/ogxTxR0iAVg )

Glad your able to confuse them with your mobile roasting!



Arnold Juelfs said:

In order to roast out of your garage"legally, you have to have permanent plumbing for sinks. The county I live in, requires the plumbing to be done by a licensed plumber, which is totally outrageous on the cost. My cost for doing it in the step van is a 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of doing it out of my garage.

Ron Ingber said:

This is not intended as a negative comment, but...
What's the point?
What are you trying to achieve by roasting out of a mobile facility vs. setting up a roaster in a commercial location (or even in your garage)?
Are you going to haul around hundreds and hundreds of pounds of green beans with you?
Will you be packaging the roasted beans in the van as well?
Will you still have to meet all of the requirements of the Health Dept as you are handling a food item?

I must be missing something, but I just don't get it.

Please, don't slam me, educate me.

Thanks,

Ron, the Country Guy

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Arnold Juelfs on September 27, 2010 at 6:51pm

Sage, yes that is what I have in mind. You don't need to roast thousands of pounds to make a good living. I simply offer a fresh roasted on the spot product. I have converted a lot of people over to the great tasted of fresh roasted coffee. I will admit a drum roaster can bring out a deeper taste on some beans than my air roasters, but I have a lot of people now that like the clean, non-burnt taste it produces. As far as the deeper taste, a french press helps bring that out.
I will definitely keep you posted. I too, love seeing individuals getting to do what they dream of!

Arnold Juelfs said:

Thank you! The inspectors write the language so vague so they can twist it anyway they want it. The language also contradicts. The state regional inspector who is an engineer, and he has to always confer with "his plumbers", which by the way are union licensed plumbers, before he can give me an answer on any of this. My local health inspector, keeps telling me she doesn't really know anything about coffee, but continues to tell me only what I can't do. Iwas so mad a couple of weeks ago, I told her it is a good thing she was not around to help form this country, or it would never have happened. Number 1, to me coffee is not food, it is heated to above 400 degrees, and than heated in hot water for another 200 degrees, before it is consumed. if any germs live through this, we all may as well hang it up!

sage said:

hey arnold, best of luck with that novel idea! i know the regs can and do vary by state to state, county to county, etc. i started out with a mobile espresso unit, selling primarily at equestrian events. once we were shut down by health officials because one of us working the window didn't have a cap (hat) on! we closed, went and bought a cap, and reopened. i'm betting that you are intending to roast and sell brewed coffees, etc. i do think it would be challenging to earn a living on roasting alone...my bad if i'm wrong! keep us posted...always wanting to hear the success stories of fellow baristas-roasters-whathaveyou! (also, i'd be up for sampling a high quality espresso roast, if that is possible...i'm looking to up my espresso game some from a fairly generic, yet decent bean now).

best,
sage/the coffee hound

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by luke hudek on September 28, 2010 at 4:43am

I wanted to make a point of saying thank you for this thread. We had issues with where we were roasting when we started out and had to make personal changes in our lives to accommodate our roastery, and reading this thread and hearing other people going through the same problems is very comforting.

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Permalink Reply by Arnold Juelfs on September 28, 2010 at 3:27pm

Luke, sounds like coffee is the best thing in your life as is mine. I hope all is well with your roasting business. Our government has gotten way to protective.

luke hudek said:

I wanted to make a point of saying thank you for this thread. We had issues with where we were roasting when we started out and had to make personal changes in our lives to accommodate our roastery, and reading this thread and hearing other people going through the same problems is very comforting.

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