Wanna be home roaster that needs advice...

timeggers

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Oct 2, 2004
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Illinois
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I'm an avid coffee lover and have mastered brewing and grinding. I want to start roasting my own beans though. So those of you that have been home roasting:

What do you use?
How do you like it?
How does it perform?

I am not looking to spend a fortune (up to $120). I want a good beginner roaster that I can achieve good results. I am currently looking at the FreshRoast Plus 8 or the Hearthware I-Roast. I don't see any drum roasters that I think would suit me. I am the only coffee drinker in a two person household. I want to roast inside so smoke does concern me. I really only use about 3/8 cup of whole beans per day. Enough for my 32-ounce French press. So I will not need to roast massive quantites at once. I would like to be able to roast every three or four days enough beans to last three or four days. I know that the two roasters above will only brew enough for a pot at a time. I understand that I will have to brew multiple batches with cooling time in between batches. So ease of use is important, but I do not want to skimp on quality either. Okay you experienced guys what do you think?
 

Shep

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Aug 27, 2004
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Louisville, KY
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Home Roasters

I'm a new roaster myself. I've been at it for about a month or so. I started with the FreshRoast Plus 8 but outgrew it quickly. I just purchased an iRoast yesterday. Two thoughts here. If, like me, you end up sharing your coffee with others, you can have a hard time keeping up with the FreshRoast. Secondly, I find the iRoast to be more "interesting" because it allows more experimentation and control. I will say that the FreshRoast is very easy to use and does a fine job. I would consider selling mine if you are interested, since I really don't need two roasters.
 

vkess

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Nov 9, 2004
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Mesa
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Don't know if you're still looking for a roaster, but you could also consider a Zach & Dani's. They have a sort of catalytic converter built into them which eliminates aournd 90% of the smoke, making it the the most-smokeless home roaster on the market. They are great for people who roast indoors. There is an auger used to agitate the beans, so a strong blower is not necessary, which makes the machine very quiet also. On the bad side, it roasts relatively slow - around 25 mins/per batch. I have tested these machines and find the roasted coffee they produce are quite good despite this, especially if you are brewing either drip or press-pot. If you are interested, you can find more information about these machines on my website.

i-roast is good unless you are very un-technical minded (do you have trouble using a tv remote?) Also, the i-roast does not roast de-caf very well at all.
 
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