I've been somewhat busy with roasting coffee.

I scored a P1 for reasonable $, then ordered a drip brew sampler from Sweet Marias. Ended up with a lb of Ethiopian dry process Limu(not as good as I had anticipated for an Ethiopian), Sumatra Lintong Grade One(very nice), Brasil Fair Trade Organic Poco Fundo Peaberry(okay) and Panama Golden Peaberry(best of the bunch, great!)

A few observations thus far as I'm a newb at this.....it's EASY to do and alot of fun for minimal investment. I get up in the AM and look forward to trying the latest batch. I didn't anticipate actually looking forward to that, but it's a little perk on a 6am work day that I didn't count on but have found I *really* enjoy. It's the little things in life.

Roast....level of roast...still trying to wrap my hands around this one. Most of my roasting has been to the first crack stage and then I quit. I haven't had the nerve to burn a batch yet to really learn what 2nd crack sounds like( I realize 2c doesn't mean burned but I haven't taken it that far).

My P1 roasts *just fine* in 32deg garage. 5-7 minutes to 1c, no problem. It's probably a scorcher in 80 deg weather. I'm going to have to consider splitting the heat and fan to gain control. Not sure I want to this far(yeah, who am I kidding-I have a 250hp VW rabbit in the garage, I can't resist hotrodding ANYTHING).

I suspect a thermometer of some sort is essential to really grasp your roast levels. That's my next cheap step to gain control.

A minute in the roaster makes a BIG difference in the taste of the coffee. As does the brewing technique. Using the same roast in a drip brewer vs a press pot makes a noticeably different brew.