cafecoffees.com

[ericburns95]

for those who are hunting for a quick and easy roaster to help do small batches one i do not recommend is any item from cafecoffees.com. the roasters are poorly made and very dangerous. they appear to be good machines on the website but buyer beware, the machine is not what it appears.if you have questions contact me. [email protected]

i have been roasting coffee for about 12 years and i have never been so badly treated as by this company so please avoid them other than that little speel i just got in a new coffee celebes kalossi any one have any opinions on maybe french roasting it or should icity roast and blend?

cheers
eric

 

[AJPRATT]

Thanks for the heads up!

 

[Chazzanocoffee]

Cafecoffees Roasters

I am new to the Coffee Forums. I am a Roaster in Farmington Hills, Michigan. I just read the post from March 2007. I have owned every type of home roaster and my favorites are from cafecoffees.com. Really. I have never had any problems with the roaster, except for tightening a screw on the drum. I roast about 30 lbs a week on the TostaCaffe or AeroRost each week. I am very happy with Don Hudson''s customer service. When my business grows larger, I will buy a few larger machines from the company.
Frank

 

[tracycosburn]

Cafe Coffee - Don Hudson

Well - I just bought one of his roasters - first of all it doesn''t work - it shorts out when you plug it in, complete with blue arcing sparks - and when I contacted Mr. Hudson he has no return policy and his warranty - well its really \"just goodwill and he can revoke it at any time.\" a very different response than before he had my money.

There has to be some recourse against this fraud. contact me at [email protected] and for that roaster who loves him - well - I have a roaster for sale...

His easy bake oven roaster is equipped with duct tape and halogen light bulbs - flimsy chamber made of mesh... and his garbage can chaffing pan is powered by a cheap vaccuum motor that would deafen just about anyone. This roaster is put together with ABS toilet pipe and a meat thermometer.

I can tell you that in looking at this design up close - it sure looks dangerous - I can''t believe that people wouldn''t get seriously burned trying to handle this unit if it ever got working.

BOO

 

[konafarmer]

Thanks for the info. What roaster would you recommend? I have been looking to pick up a home roaster that is easy to use and provides great roasts. Thanks.

 

[jlyon10]

Fresh Roast Plus 8

A great inexpensive little roaster that does a great job is the Fresh Roast Plus 8. The only draw back is the amount you can roast at a time. Only enough for 12 cups.

 

[Chazzanocoffee]

Re: Cafe Coffee - Don Hudson

Well - I just bought one of his roasters - first of all it doesn''t work - it shorts out when you plug it in, complete with blue arcing sparks - and when I contacted Mr. Hudson he has no return policy and his warranty - well its really "just goodwill and he can revoke it at any time." a very different response than before he had my money.

There has to be some recourse against this fraud. contact me at [email protected] and for that roaster who loves him - well - I have a roaster for sale...

His easy bake oven roaster is equipped with duct tape and halogen light bulbs - flimsy chamber made of mesh... and his garbage can chaffing pan is powered by a cheap vaccuum motor that would deafen just about anyone. This roaster is put together with ABS toilet pipe and a meat thermometer.

I can tell you that in looking at this design up close - it sure looks dangerous - I can''t believe that people wouldn''t get seriously burned trying to handle this unit if it ever got working.

BOO

I just don't understand how you have had such a terrible time with the CafeCoffees roaster. I truly have had a great time with great success with the AeroRost and the TostaCaffe. I roast 8 lbs at a time with the TostaCaffe. I have never had a fire because I watch the roast constantly. I even purchased the Data Acquisition Module that helps me record the temperature and profile on my laptop.

It really is a simple design but it works. I have never had a baked coffee experience. I roast over 20lbs each week on my roasters. If you place the chaffing pan with the loud vacuum in a cabinet, you won't lose any of your hearing. In addition, there is no other home roaster chaffing pan (that I know of) that cools 8 lbs of roasted beans in 3 minutes.

The chamber has been sturdy enough for the last 2-3 years that I have used it.

When I had a problem with one of his products, he sent me a new one with an improved design. His company has the best customer service in the business. I suspect that your electrical outlet must be faulty. I have used 4 of Don Hudson's roasters in my garage with no problem.

I am working on finding warehouse space to roast my coffee and to grow my business. I will be using CafeCoffee's roasters. If you roast as much as I do, the next level is a $4,000+ machine. I am not ready yet for that step.

I am only defending Don Hudson and Cafe Coffee because I have had great success roasting with his roasters.

Frank Lanzkron-Tamarazo

 

[felani]

Thanks for info.

 

[tracycosburn]

Cafe Coffee

Simply put, his equipment is shoddy and doesn't work. Right out of the box, nothing fit together properly. Suddenly he was too busy to talk to me.

Here is a quote from his final email to me... after I requested warranty service, or a return of my money...

"The warranty on a used coffee roaster is only an expressed warranty based on good will only. This warranty is something i can retract at any time."

After promising me that he made quality equipment, and that he offered a full warranty on EVERYTHING he sold - he has decided to ignore my emails and calls. I am not the first. I bought his used roaster because he assured me that it was working perfectly because he had used it for 4 hours. It does not work.

I posted here to warn everyone. Perhaps he offered service to some. How would you like to be the next person that he randomly ignores?

 

[chadpitchfork]

Don Hudson should be shut down

I recently purchased a 7lb shop roaster from cafecoffees and online, the video and the product look very solid. But, when I received it, it seemed very......handmade. In a bad way. The coffee shute was hand bent in order to direct the hot coffee from the roast canister to the cooling tray. All is made out of household items. The roaster itself is a modified rotisserie oven, the glass roast door is a Pot lid, The cooling tray is 2 baking trays pressed together with the top one''s bottom removed and a grate added for air to pass underneath the Hot beans. There is 5 power cords to plug in. 2 are for the Halogen bulbs (to heat the coffee) with no switch, just plug it in to turn on and unplug to turn off (Hazzard?...yes) The exhaust/cooling is made from PVC pipes and a intermittent cooling fan (you have to bump it a few times, wiggle it and put your finger in and hope to get a good electrical connection in order to get it to work) real great when you have really Hot beans waiting to be cooled off. To get an even roast, don''t plan on more than 3lbs of coffee and when they are done roasting, try not to tilt the roaster wrong. One slip up and you''ll have an oven mitt full of HOT LAVA BEANS. Ouch!!! Roasting a few minutes too long will ignite the coffee beans.
Oh! when the coffee is finished roasting, you''ll have fun jumping through hoops hitting switches, unplugging and preparing for tilting the hot coffee into the cooling tray, fidgeting with the cooling fan and finally stirring the cooling coffee.
I really wanted this to work, too. So much, that I opted to exchange/downgrade to two of the \"2lb roaster\" units....the after really thinking about it, I said \"NO\" if this 7lb roaster can''t roast 1/2 of it''s capacity rating, the a 2lb roaster most likely won''t roast more than 3/4 lb batches....
So, I called Don and said, I just want a rfund. I sent the unit back to him and it was refused. Don said I used the wrong address (It was the same address as it was shipped from). I sent it again with a new address.....REFUSED again. I never could get a hold of Don. So, I went through my Credit Card companies to get the funds put back. They told me they don''t even need his approval. They''ll just take it out of his account. GO CapitalOne GO!!!
As for the \"contraption\" that he calls a roaster? Its still sitting next to my desk. I''m going to take it to a scrap yard and get some recycle money for it.
Don if your reading this, I won''t stop letting other people know about your disservice and extreme fire hazzard home project.

 

[Khannie]

Apologies for bumping this one (my first post and all ). I was glad to see some honest feedback on the tostacaffe before I purchased one. Thanks to those that posted before me.

I''d just like to ask if there are any roasters that people would recommend as an alternative that cover the same or a similar batch size? (anywhere in the 2-10lb range actually).

 

[Coffeeexpert]

You could try asking here- http://coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/homeroast
The RKDrum and JavaPro-CRC are close to the batch size you are looking for.

 

[tracycosburn]

Re:chadpitchfork's experience
I contacted the BBB and the local govenment office in his town. I filed full reports on my circumstance. Unless I want to sue, I can't go further... a bit of a challenge since I am in Canada...I was told that he has many files against him and they are trying to shut him down. If everyone that he rips off continues to complain, they will shut him down. They were most interested in his lack of knowledge regarding wires sitting against metal burrs - my machine actually had bare copper wire rubbing against raw drilled metal burrs (when you drill metal it leaves shards that have to be buffed off... they are called burrs if they are not removed) this was why my machine didn't work... the wires were sliced in half because of shoddy workmanship. The electrician I called was also shocked that the "roaster" had no protection from the heat to the wires... yes - the wires are inside the oven exposed to the heat... and he also said the wires were far too small.... all in all, he told me that he would not fix it because it WOULD cause a fire, or give me a serious jolt eventually .... even though I contacted Ebay about my trouble, they didn't do anything about it - and he continues to sell roasters.... I'm actually glad mine never worked.... likely would have burned down my house, or electrocuted me.... for all of those people who have these roasters, make sure you have specific fire insurance... I'm not kidding
Khannie:
I use Sonofresco 1 pound roasters - beautiful colour and even roast, easy to control the heat... easy to become a pro at it... aromatic too - just be careful with the glass pots - they say they have a new pot now that doesn't break... (as of about a month ago) and they just came out with a 2 pounder... been running mine for 2 years now - and they help me whenever I call for help... keep them clean and they are work horses... watch for refurb deals if you are short on cash
and I also have a Digirosto 3.3.... lots of people don't like them, but mine is awesome.... maybe it's patience that makes a good roaster ; )

 

[ericburns95]

cafecoffees.com don hudson

hello again folks sorry it has been awhile since i have posted life has been busy but i am now posting again a warning to any newbies in the business to stay away from don hudson and cafe coffees .com he still is ripping people off with his bad overprived products i hope no one else falls for his crap he owes me 900 dollars and has yet to pay me back so if you have questions please feel free to contact me

 

[coffeedood]

"I am very happy with Don Hudson''s customer service. When my business grows larger, I will buy a few larger machines from the company."

Chazzano Coffee in Ferndale right? Hmmm... Your company has in fact expanded and I've noticed that you are not using a roaster from this company, what changed your mind?