{
  "slug": "coffee-roasting-cost",
  "title": "Coffee Roasting Cost Calculator",
  "heading": "Coffee Roasting Cost Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/coffee-roasting-cost",
  "summary": "Cost per roasted pound and per cup.",
  "description": "Green coffee price plus roast shrinkage, energy, bags, and labor gives a real cost per roasted pound and per brewed cup.",
  "formula": null,
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=coffee-roasting-cost",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "greenLb",
      "label": "Green coffee price",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 5.2,
      "unit": "$/lb",
      "min": null,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "shrink",
      "label": "Roast shrinkage",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 16,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 5,
      "max": 25
    },
    {
      "id": "energy",
      "label": "Energy per roasted lb",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 0.35,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": null,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "bag",
      "label": "Bag + label",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 0.85,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": null,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "labor",
      "label": "Labor per roasted lb",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 1.6,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": null,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "gramsCup",
      "label": "Grams per cup",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 18,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 5,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "retail",
      "label": "Retail bag price (12 oz)",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 18,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": null,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "cost",
      "label": "Cost per roasted lb",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "perCup",
      "label": "Cost per cup",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "bagCost",
      "label": "Cost per 12 oz bag",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "margin",
      "label": "Retail margin",
      "format": "percent",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Green coffee price: 5.2 $/lb",
      "Roast shrinkage: 16 %",
      "Energy per roasted lb: 0.35 $",
      "Bag + label: 0.85 $",
      "Labor per roasted lb: 1.6 $",
      "Grams per cup: 18",
      "Retail bag price (12 oz): 18 $"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Cost per roasted lb: $8.99",
      "Cost per cup: $0.357",
      "Cost per 12 oz bag: $6.74",
      "Retail margin: 62.5%"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter green coffee price ($/lb).",
      "Enter roast shrinkage (%).",
      "Enter energy per roasted lb ($).",
      "Enter bag + label ($).",
      "Enter labor per roasted lb ($).",
      "Enter grams per cup.",
      "Enter retail bag price (12 oz) ($).",
      "Read your cost per roasted lb on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "greenLb": 3.12,
        "shrink": 9.6,
        "energy": 0.21,
        "bag": 0.51,
        "labor": 0.96,
        "gramsCup": 11,
        "retail": 10.799999999999999
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "greenLb": 5.2,
        "shrink": 16,
        "energy": 0.35,
        "bag": 0.85,
        "labor": 1.6,
        "gramsCup": 18,
        "retail": 18
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "greenLb": 8.32,
        "shrink": 25,
        "energy": 0.5599999999999999,
        "bag": 1.36,
        "labor": 2.5600000000000005,
        "gramsCup": 29,
        "retail": 28.8
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "How does the coffee roasting cost calculator work?",
      "a": "Green coffee price plus roast shrinkage, energy, bags, and labor gives a real cost per roasted pound and per brewed cup."
    },
    {
      "q": "What do I need to enter?",
      "a": "7 values: green coffee price, roast shrinkage, energy per roasted lb, bag + label, labor per roasted lb, grams per cup, and retail bag price (12 oz). Each field starts with a sensible default, so you can change one number at a time and watch the result move."
    },
    {
      "q": "What does the cost per roasted lb result mean?",
      "a": "It is returned as a money amount in US dollars and updates live as you edit the inputs, so you can compare two or three versions of a scenario in a few seconds."
    },
    {
      "q": "Is this calculator free, and do I need an account?",
      "a": "Yes, it's free, and no account is required. Nothing you type is stored on our servers — the maths runs entirely in your browser."
    },
    {
      "q": "How accurate is the result?",
      "a": "It applies the standard formula exactly, so the arithmetic is precise. Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them."
    },
    {
      "q": "Who is this tool for?",
      "a": "It's built for anyone comparing money scenarios before committing — budgeting a payment, sanity-checking a quote, or seeing what a change in rate or term actually costs."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/homebrew-batch-cost"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Coffee Roasting Cost Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/coffee-roasting-cost)"
}