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Permalink Reply by Timothy Pellizzer on August 5, 2012 at 6:26pm

Hello! I have roasted on Probat, Ambex, and Diedrich. I have had good experiences on all of the machines. Currently my production machine is a IR12 and I use a HR1 for sample roasting. I am very happy with the Diedrich family of equipment. A seasoned veteran once told me that a good chef can always adjust an award winning recipe to another piece of equipment. I think most reputable roasters will produce very good results in the hands of a good roaster but they all roast differently. I ended up with Diedrich for a number of reasons. I liked the fact that the equipment is made in the US with readily available parts. I liked the fit and finish of the machine. I also liked the ease of clean up. This often overlooked but a very important part of the purchase decision. My IR12 is almost as clean as the day it arrived.  But the main reason was the taste of the coffee. I was attracted to coffee that was roasted on  Diedrich equipment. My suggestion is to seek out roasters whose coffee you like and talk to them in great detail about their brand of equipment. There are many great brands. You can PM me if you would like.

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Permalink Reply by N. Hewitt on August 5, 2012 at 8:45pm

Thank you Timothy. I am actually looking into travelling to Idaho to test drive the IR12! how did you know?!!!! /kidding/...

AS far as I understand, one of the major differences between the IR12 and the Probat, is the burner; the IR12 has a less chance of scorching the beans than other open flame burners.

Q: What type of beans do you mainly roast? (Arabica, SO or blend?). Also, is an IR12 more suitable for an SO or a blend? Currently we do both but mostly SO.

Q: Are you using the Zenith Roast Profile Automation? if so, how was your experience with it?

Thank you so much Timothy, and I'm sure i'll be firing out more questions to you prior to 

firing out the new roaster ;)

Nez Hewitt

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Permalink Reply by Timothy Pellizzer on August 6, 2012 at 7:20am

Hello!

Yes the IR12 has infrared burners while the Probat has atmospheric burners. With the Diedrich you are always working 1-2 minutes ahead of where you want to be. The Probat burners will give much quicker changes of direction in your roast. We use all Arabica and very few blends. Espresso being our only blend. I did purchase the Zenith Profile Automation but have only experimented with it. I hope to use it more as I developed more fully. I would suggest sampling coffee from roasters that are currently using an IR12 or any other roaster you are considering. There are many members of this board that are currently using Diedrich as well as all the other brands. Perhaps they would like to offer their experiences.

Tim

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Permalink Reply by N. Hewitt on August 6, 2012 at 8:11am

Hi Timothy,

Thanks again for your input. I really appreciate it and the information you have shared has been most beneficial. 

Have a great week!

Nez

Timothy Pellizzer said:

Hello!

Yes the IR12 has infrared burners while the Probat has atmospheric burners. With the Diedrich you are always working 1-2 minutes ahead of where you want to be. The Probat burners will give much quicker changes of direction in your roast. We use all Arabica and very few blends. Espresso being our only blend. I did purchase the Zenith Profile Automation but have only experimented with it. I hope to use it more as I developed more fully. I would suggest sampling coffee from roasters that are currently using an IR12 or any other roaster you are considering. There are many members of this board that are currently using Diedrich as well as all the other brands. Perhaps they would like to offer their experiences.

Tim

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