Roasted coffee is dry and shelf-stable, so it fits cottage food laws. California's approved list names roasted coffee; Michigan covers food that isn't time/temperature control for safety; Minnesota covers food that isn't potentially hazardous; and North Dakota allows sales straight to the customer. A home roaster can sell whole beans and ground coffee by the bag. Brewed coffee is a different food. Cold brew in bottles is a beverage that needs refrigeration: Michigan's law excludes beverages, California's list doesn't include it, and Minnesota's doesn't cover foods that need the fridge. Selling cups or bottles of coffee takes a licensed kitchen or a coffee cart permit.
The short version
- Roasted whole beans and ground coffee fit cottage food laws in the four states here.
- California names roasted coffee on its approved list.
- Cold brew and bottled coffee drinks are beverages that need refrigeration.
- Michigan excludes beverages; California doesn't list them.
- Cups of coffee take a licensed kitchen or cart.
- Label each bag: name, net weight, your name and address.
- TaroStack keeps each roast as a batch with its green coffee lot. More below.
Coffee, state by state
| Product | Michigan | Minnesota | North Dakota | California |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole bean coffee, 12 oz | Yes | Yes, registered | Yes | Yes, on the list |
| Ground coffee | Yes | Yes, registered | Yes | Yes, on the list |
| Cold brew, bottled | No: beverages are excluded | No: potentially hazardous | Frozen, with labels | No: not on the list |
Pricing a bag is in how to price coffee, and the licensed path in coffee roasting license.
The rules
| State | Rule |
|---|---|
| Michigan | Food that isn't time/temperature control for safety, including jams, candy, dried fruit, granola, dry mixes, vinegar, dried herbs and baked goods; not meat or poultry, milk products, beverages, salsa, or canned foods other than standardized jams (MCL 289.1105(k)); prepackaged, labeled with the home kitchen statement, sold straight to the consumer (MCL 289.4102) |
| Minnesota | Food that isn't potentially hazardous, and home-canned pickles, vegetables or fruits at pH 4.6 or lower or water activity 0.85 or less; registration every year and approved food safety training (Minn. Stat. 28A.152) |
| North Dakota | No state license for cottage food sold directly to an informed end consumer; foods that need refrigeration labeled with safe handling instructions and as transported and maintained frozen; no uninspected meat, poultry only from the seller's own birds (N.D.C.C. 23-09.5-02) |
| California | Cottage foods are nonpotentially hazardous foods on the approved list, among them baked goods without cream, custard or meat fillings, candy, chocolate-covered nonperishables, dried fruit, dried pasta, granola, herb blends, honey, standardized jams, nut butters, popcorn, vinegar and mustard, roasted coffee and dried tea (HSC 114365.5); Class A sells directly, Class B also through shops and restaurants (HSC 113758) |
This is general information, not legal advice.
An example: a Michigan home roaster
Kalamazoo Bean Co., a made-up home roaster in Kalamazoo, Michigan, roasts on a 1-kilo drum roaster in its garage and sells 12-ounce bags at a farmers market. Under Michigan's cottage food law the beans are a cottage food, packaged and labeled with the home kitchen statement. Customers asked for cold brew; it's a beverage, which Michigan excludes, so the roaster sells a cold brew grind with brewing instructions instead. A café asked to buy beans wholesale, which cottage food doesn't allow, and that waits for a licensed roastery, in how to start a coffee roasting business.
Get the checker
Download the home coffee checker. Two sheets: your products, whether each needs refrigeration, is meat or poultry, a milk product, a canned food other than jam, or a drink, and whether it's on California's list; how Michigan's, Minnesota's, North Dakota's and California's cottage food laws treat it fill in; and each state's rules as read for this article. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
A home roaster's week is several origins, each roasted a few times, and bags that sell over a month. Which roast date is in which bag is on a sticker, if it went on.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps each roast as a batch with its green coffee lot and roast date.
Green coffee by lot. Each green coffee delivery is received with its supplier and lot.
Roasts as batches. Each roast records the green lot, what went in and what came out, so roast loss is on record.
Bags by roast date. Bags carry the roast's lot and date, and the oldest go out first.
| The job | Paper | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Which green lot a roast used | The roast log | Batches by lot |
| Roast loss | Guessed | Input and output on each batch |
| Which bags to sell first | Stickers | First-expired-first-out |
Lots, batches and first-expired-first-out are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.