Roasting your own coffee - A hobby you can love

There is nothing like a cup of coffee that has been freshly roasted, ground and brewed to perfection. There are a growing number of enthusiasts who are roasting their own coffee beans and enjoying the benefits of truly fresh coffee at about one-third of the price of beans from your local coffee shop. A recent article touts that roasting your own coffee is one of the fastest growing hobbies in the USA today. A gift of freshly roasted coffee which you have roasted yourself is sure to be a hit and amaze the receiver of the hand made gift. The actual roasting of the coffee beans may be the easiest and most fun part. The packaging of your thoughtful gift will be the most challenging as you prepare the package with as much care as you have roasted the coffee. Coffee which will be kept for any length of time should be kept in an airtight container out of sunlight. For the trip from roasting to the airtight container is where the creation of fun ideas comes in. Coffee is traditionally shipped in burlap sacks. You can buy some burlap at a craft store and sew up bags that will be great for packaging. At the same craft store you can buy pre-cut stencils with flowers, Lions, Elephants, Crocodiles etc and stencil your bags with animals, plants or other landmarks from a country of origin. A Lion on a bag of Kenya or Malawi, Palm tree from Costa Rica, Coffee cherries from Colombia, etc. Plain brown bags work well also and can be decorated in many ways with a coffee theme, re: cups, saucers, coffee pots etc. Another idea, with the ease in which art can be produced and printed on stickers with the help of a computer, is to make your own labels. YOUR NAME