Profile: Mr. Green Beans

A few years back, I received an e-mail from a guest to the site, asking me what I thought of roasting coffee beans at home and whether it was worth the trouble.  I was embarrassed.  I'd never heard of it at the time. What followed was a long process of educating myself on home roasting, the work and the reward.  That ongoing adventure brought me to Portland's Mr. Green Beans.

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Mr. Green Beans was opened two years ago by Trevin and Ginny Miller in the Mississippi District of Portland, Oregon.  To the best of my knowledge, it is the only company in the area, catering to the gradually growing awareness of buying green unroasted coffee beans and roasting them at home.The Millers are do-it-yourselfers by nature, which combined with a love for the social qualities of coffee, translates into a business that helps build awareness and teach people the value in doing something new for themselves.  That something is the fun of taking a natural step back in the coffee process, and become acquainted with the roasting process.Trevin explained to me that the Portland area is a mix of people who are familiar with -and equipped for- home roasting, and looking for somebody to help support that, and those to whom it's new.  Mr. Green Beans takes the time to educate both sides of it.  This month, I will be attending one of their regular Introduction to Roasting classes.  Following that, an advanced class. And so, to answer the question I was asked years ago...if you love coffee, experiment with home roasting.  Coffee really starts to go stale after it's been roasted, so home roasting allows you to keep unroasted green beans on-hand that won't go stale in a week or two, as roasted coffee does. You also get the chance to truly prepare your own coffee to taste.  I've come to enjoy a combination of having coffee on-hand from great local roasters that I've come to rely on, and green beans to roast for myself on occasion.Click to visit Mr. Green Beans website.

Trevin Miller helps a customer that is buying green beans for the first time, and will be roasting them himself at home in a frying pan.