Roasting is like any discipline. Practice makes perfect. Think of roasting like training for any sport - you need to put in the hours to fully develop the skills and more importantly understand the dynamics that are constantly at play. For roasting, there is no such thing as a natural talent like in physical sports, however, you need a very analytical mind. I learn something every day and it's not necessarily from using the roaster - more often than not it is tasting something I've just extracted from an espresso machine or speaking with my customers and reflecting upon what went into creating those beans, or it's the fact I'm facing an upcoming bean substitution and need to develop a transition plan - this occurs far more frequently than people could imagine. It's rare to have a 3-month stint where things are stable. As BF mentioned, getting time on a roaster is important and one way is to approach people who have roasters. I can't speak for other roasters, but I know that for myself I personally struggle with the concept of letting anyone else use my gear, despite the fact I've spent 100's of hours and lots of money developing sophisticated computer systems managing roasting to achieve as close to 100% consistency - it is very difficult to remove the human operator variable. It's not the cost of a batch of beans that could get ruined - it's the cost of customers that may not be happy. This is what sits in the back of my mind 24x7 and never, ever disappears - it's like a grey cloud following you around all day, every day. In a competitive market, acquiring customers is extremely expensive. Capacity/supply far outstrips demand in the coffee industry. Even if you have a pretty good product at a great price, that does not mean you can sell it. For this reason, an absolute focus on the customer is the only way forward for roasters unless of course if you have a few $M spare in working capital that can be used to build and create "lock-in" of a customer base. It will take you at least 2 years full time to properly understand roasting - including bean selection, blending, maintenance, etc. That's assuming you have the ability to be analytical and learn from your mistakes. It will take you at least 5 years to build a sustainable business - perhaps more in the current climate. It will take you at least $500- 600K in capital to get to this point (inclusive of all the green you will roast in your journey of learning) - maybe more $$. The cost of a roaster is less than 10% of the required sum needed to build a viable business. Never, ever, build your business plan around the basic cost elements of Roaster purchase, green bean pricing and the fact you think you can do it better, faster and cheaper than everyone else. Like all businesses, there are many risks at every stage, and ongoing risks that need to be managed.
