Help! Need recommendations/advice

[Stevez]

Hey guys; I am very new to the whole roasting business and want to jump in head first because I love good coffee. I bought a used Fresh Roast 8 and a Cappresso Burr grinder. I have purchased some green Columbian beans from Sweet Marias. The problem is I haven't liked at all what I've roasted. I have roasted a pound or so in several batches.

First, I roasted according to the directions on the Fresh Roast 8 and did a City/City plus roast (about 4 - 5 minutes per the directions). Came out caramel/darker caramel color. I let them rest a minimum of 24 hours and ground them. One issue is that I can't seem to get a fine grind on the Cappresso no matter what I do or try.

Just made another pot of coffee this morning and it was awful. Not just "not great", but awful. I like strong coffee so I put a generous amount in and it still came out weak and tasting very bland/watery.

I hear everyone say that home roasting creates the best coffee around, but I'm missing something here. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Steve