First Roaster Recommendations..

[kwblitzk]

Hi Guys,
Ive been following these forums for sometime now and believe the feedback from members is very insightful. I love great coffee and in the past year I have become inclined towards coffee roasting. I want to start learning the art of roasting and wanted to know what you guys recommended as a first roaster for a self learner like myself. Initially I was inclined towards the diedrich IR 12, but many roasters have observed that the IR burners are not very responsive to change temperatures. Also, Diedrich roaster charge a significant premium in price and shipping costs an additional fortune since im all the way on the other side of the globe. I am, therefore, inclined towards a Toper 15kg. I have read its well made and many roast masters consistently roast on it with great results. Also its reasonably priced and shipped from turkey, which is quite near.

I want to go knee deep and learn from trials and experimenting and eventually start a small setup if my skill level allows. Do you think my decisions make sense in terms of 1) choosing a toper 2) choosing a 15kg batch. Any other recommendations, pros and cons that you may offer? and lastly, automation and its significance.

I would really appreciate your feedback ..

 

[topher]

I had a 2.5, 10 and 120 kilo Toper. How close to Turkey is close? I liked the 2.5 and 10 kilo. The 120 I didn't like but that isn't because of Toper...I just didn't have the control I wanted..this happens on larger roasters. The reason I don't have a Toper now is because they are so far away and if I need parts I can't just run down to the local motor shop and buy parts. How much do you want to produce weekly? If you bust ass you can knock out over 3,000 lbs a week on that size machine...let us know what you end up doing..

 

[kwblitzk]

Im in Pakistan - its not next door to turkey but still relatively close by as compared to the US. on that point, how is their after sales service?
With regards to size, I understand that i could just start with a smaller roaster to learn but i chose a mid sized (15kg) just to stay open to the option of catering as a small specialized roastery. I know there would barely be any demand for used roasters here so doesnt make sense buying a smaller roaster and disposing it to get a bigger one. Lastly, I just got price quotations from Toper, their 30kg roaster is much cheaper than the 15kg version. Is there any particular reason?

 

[eldub]

Keep in mind that it gets a bit tricky to roast very small batches on a larger roaster, but it can be done. I'm guessing that the 30 kg would make it difficult to roast a few pounds at a time, but it would be easier to figure out on the 15 kg, imo.

Not sure why there would be a price increase for the 15kg over the 30 kg unless the 15 kg was more automated. Could it have been a typographical error on their part?

 

[kwblitzk]

Just got a response from the Toper representative, the 30kg and 15kg were actually separate models types. The 15kg was the SX model which has a faster roasting and cooling time.

 

[expat]

As was mentioned if you've got a big roaster then roasting small batches is difficult. And you said you're just starting out and want to "stay open to the option of catering". So really you don't have a concrete plan and no outlet for the amount of coffee that a 30kg machine should be putting out. In that case you may be shooting yourself in the foot with a 30kg machine.

If you had a 5kg machine and roasted 2 roasts per hour, three days a week, for 6 hours a day, you've roasted 180kg of coffee per week, close to 780kg a month. That's a lot of coffee when you have no consumer lined up except yourself. If you had a 2kg roaster you're at 36kg of coffee per week, 155kg a month. Still a fair amount of coffee just for you and your friends to drink.

I think I'd think out where I wanted to go with my roaster first, and I don't read of too many novices starting out with a 15kg or 30kg roaster, and then size accordingly. And one nice thing about having a small roaster and then having to buy a larger roaster later (not a bad problem to have) is that it is much simpler, and cheaper, to develop your roast profiles on the smaller roaster.

By the way, my roaster is from Turkey also, an Ozturk. It's been a good machine so I'd at least take a look while doing comparisons. Has Garanti is a Turkish roaster also but I have no experience with them. We started with a 10kg roaster. In hindsight I wish it would have been a 5kg. Thankfully we've now grown into the 10kg but we could still be getting by, with ease, with a 5kg roaster.