Looking for Advice - For New Roaster

[daneja72]

Anyone is welcome to comment, but mainly looking for input from those who have some experience. I'm looking to buy a new roaster. We'll call it a hobby for now but if I can make money as I go that is my goal. I think I've narrowed it down to three roasters. The first two are 6lb. capacity, on is a Dieterich and the other is a Sanfranciscan, both of which are superior quality. The third is an Ambex, twice the capacity but less on price. Thanks to anyone who has thoughts to share.

 

[daneja72]

Wow, so many looks but no one has an opinion.

 

[Redswing]

I settled on a San Franciscan 6 lb roaster. But EVERY roaster has it's supporters, people who really know what they are doing and are dang good at it. By the way, the case is easy to make that San Fran and Diedrich are not superior by any stretch of the imagination. I've heard people call the diedrich a toy, the ambex a tin can on it's side, and the san fran overpriced because there just aren't that many out there.


Best of luck.

 

[topher]

I have used all of the brands you are asking about and a few more. I always return to Ambex. Like Redswing said..it comes down to preference.

 

[PinkRose]

Hi daneja72,

I changed the title of your post. It just said "looking for advice", and it needed to be more specific. Maybe that will help.

Rose

 

[JumpinJakJava]

I really do not think you would regret any of the 3 choices. But for the best bang for your buck,
and a real durable machine with great roasting results, I too would side wholly with Topher.
Ambex. Enough said. I have a 2006 ym10, and the only downside is the chaff collection box, no cyclone
chaff collector on this model, a lot of vacuuming. But the great news is that if you buy a new 5k and up,
now equipped with cyclone chaff collectors. It is about time.

 

[CavalierCoffee]

The only commercial roaster I've used is a Primo. I did quite a bit of research and for me, Primo worked out. Great customer service, Parts are easy to get (if you need them) and made in the USA as well.

 

[buckhorn_cortez]

I'm surprised the Probat Probatone series is not on your list for "quality roasters." Having used Diedrich roasters, I like the Diedrich IR series as the IR burners burn cleaner, and with less combustion by products than standard gas burner roasters. The air in the roaster is produced through heat exchangers and not directly from atmospheric burners. I would advise looking at how the roasters operate, and not just capacity.

 

[expat]

If you are a hobbyist roasting 500g to 1kg batches, and that is your 'main thing' for the foreseeable future, get a small roaster.

The bigger the roaster the harder it is to roast a small batch. Think of a pan that can hold a 6lb steak and then you cooking a 1/2-lb steak in it. Lots of heat. Hard to control for the best outcome for the 1/2-lb steak. Same principle applies for a coffee roaster.

That said, I doubt with a 6lb roaster that you'd have too hard of a time finding a home for the coffee you roast -- just selling it to friends and family.

 

[poison]

One thing I looked at when choosing a roaster, was 'who is using each brand'? I know who I look up to in the world of coffee roasting, and who is producing award winning, top quality coffee. I know those people are using Diedrich, Probat, Giesen, San Franciscan, and one or two others. They aren't using Toper, Ambex, Ozturk, or your ebay special. I apprenticed on an IR 12, and initially had my heart set on a small Diedrich, but the small ones have airflow issues, and are expensive (comparatively). In addition, they generally aren't really capable of the stated capacity; a 2.5kg is really a 2kg roaster. I hate that they do that.

In the end I went with a San Franciscan 6lb roaster based on much of the above thought process, as well as the fact that it will (hopefully) best mimic my current roast profiles due to the ability to apply some radiant heat (my current drum is perforated), it's much more portable than the other brands, and it's purty.

Understand that the roastmaster is the most important part of the equation, and a good roast master will likely be able to roast great coffee on ANY roaster.

 

[daneja72]

So I took Redswings advice and went digging around in the forum. Found a lot of good stuff. Topher and poison were part of my favorite thread I found. I think the last comment in the thread was poison deciding to go with the San Franciscan. Was interested in how that was working for you. How small of a batch can you go, and will it actually do a full 6lbs? Buckhorn...I had looked at Probat, the 5k roaster starts at $26500, a bit out of my league.

 

[poison]

I would pay attention to topher, he has a lot of experience at a level you and I can only dream of now. There was another roaster who is very popular on coffeegeek who was also very influential. This guy has used almost every roaster brand on the planet, and has very good hands on criticism. He prefers his 6lb sf, and usrc. Usrc has won the roasters guild retreat roast off most of the last few years, and they have great features. In addition, they will customize their roasters to meet your requirements, they are very responsive. Usrc was probably my second choice, and I would have had a mild steel drum instead of stainless put in. In the end the sf fit my needs better.

As far as batch size on the sf, it won't do less than 2-3lbs,supposedly,but I plan on testing that. I have a lot of experience roasting on very rudimentary roasters, and may be able to do it. As far as maximum batch size, it can do a full 6lbs. We'll see if it will do 6lbs with the results I need.

Ideally, one would buy a small diedrich or sf sample roaster to start, then step up to a 6-10lb roaster, but it simply wasn't going to happen that way for me. I will need a sample roaster in the future, but can continue to use my current roaster for that (or buy a Quest m3).

My roaster is being built now, so I'm still slaving on my hunk of junk.

 

[CoffeeJunky]

I would also put resell-ability is one of the consideration. They will all sell pretty well but I see the Diedrich or Probat in good condition sells better at higher price.

Good Luck.

 

[topher]

Thank you for the kind words Poison. I do have to say that Ambex and Toper roasters can produce excellent coffee. I have scored very high on all of my coffees that my last company sent to Kenneth Davids to rate. We never scored under a 90. I was using a 10 kilo Toper and a 60 kilo Ambex for those coffees submitted. That being said....I think that all the machines have their good points as do they have some bad ones. Their is no such thing as the ultimate coffee roaster. That is what makes us as roasters so important. We have to learn to adapt and work with what we have. By the way...super stoked for you on your new investment!! I expect pics once you get it dialed in!

 

[poison]

That's amazing man. Just goes to show that as they say, it's the driver not the car. I may hit you up for some advice soon, if you don't mind.