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Selling Your Roasted Coffee

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dgrueber:
Hey Guys,

New to the forum, just received my Huky (LOOOONG wait in customs for no apparent reason) and I'm starting to roast.  I see some of your setups, especially impressed by the setup at BoxAlarm's and am very impressed.

I am currently roasting and selling off of a Behmor 1600 at bout 30 lbs a month to friends/family.  With the Huky, I'm looking to start my gradual ascent into larger orders with my eye on a 5kg roaster in the next year or so (getting an investor on board) after I learn/hone my skills on the Huky.  I'm wondering how you guys sell your coffee and or get permits to roast from home and sell.  Here in Illinois it's not easy from my understanding as to have a "certified" kitchen you have to have smooth walls/floors/ceilings, triple basin sink and bathrooms available.  This is not practical for a home based business therefor I can't get a permit.  I see Box Alarm roasting in a garage and has much larger equipment and more capacity and either has A LOT of friends or has found a way to work with the system.  Just curious if anyone could share some advice on how to scale up out of your house as commercial property in the Chicagoland area is crazy expensive.

Thanks!

Dan

hankua:
Sounds like you state does not have a cottage food program?

Next option might be finding a coffee shop or bakery to partner with or a shared roastery. There can be a lot of regulatory roadblocks in a commercial operation: venting, air quality compliance, code gas piping, etc. Afterburner/air quality requirements keep roasters from buying larger machines in certain locations. In my area we can go up to @12K; whereas I'm reading west coast @3K.

dgrueber:
We do have cottage food law but limits it to ONLY farmers markets. Specifically no online sales is listed in the actual law.  Also, you can't sell at retail stores either.  It's a start but I'm trying to figure out how to start online sales legally and I haven't been able to get anyone to tell me how they do it.  I know people are selling online illegally but I'm trying to figure out how people have huge roasters in their garage and sell the beans.  PS the cottage law limits you to like 25,000 in sales which is not enough to sustain a business.

Seion:
I have the same problem in Kentucky

I can't roast out of my garage / house unless I can pass a Commercial Kitchen Inspection/Certification and make sure I am not violating any zoning laws...

My only cheap option is to find a kitchen that will allow me to rent space...

LTB:
Waw, I thought USA were a very liberal country for enterprise, seems more complicated than in france !

Hope you can easely find the good solution for you.

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