Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Joseph Plaugher on July 27, 2009 at 8:27am

If you plan to roast only for yourself and friends at home then you should not spend the money on an industrial roaster- they're pricey! Yes the advantage to the industrial ones is volume. I know because I am currently building an industrial roaster and it's not easy, or cheap, to make one that will do more than about a pound. If you're just roasting at home get a popcorn machine or a manufactured home roaster from sweetmarias.com or coffeebeancorral.com
I started in a Toastmaster popcorn popper which makes a great cup of coffee, but only enough for 3 or 4 cups.
Good luck!

Permalink Reply by Louise on July 27, 2009 at 8:45am

Hi Joseph, actually I want to learn roasting by myself. Thx for advice.

Permalink Reply by Marilyn on July 27, 2009 at 10:12am

Hi, if you are only doing it yourself, I can sell you one. I use them for small batches if I want to test some beans out.

Just check out the link below:
http://www.tancoffee.ca/products.html

Permalink Reply by Bill Sandreuter on July 27, 2009 at 7:51pm

I started years ago with a Fresh Roast, then moved to the i-Roast 1 - which was much more functional/fulfilling. That machine served my home roasting needs for 5+ years - when it finally burned out I went to an i2 (the current Hearthware iRoast offering)...which is a great machine for the beginning home roaster and supports basic roast profiles including a couple of presets. If you want a little more roast capacity and something more closely resembling an industrial drum roaster, consider a machine like the Behmor 1600. Either machine will give you freshness and quality if you purchase quality green and pay attention to your roasts. Be careful...home roasting can lead to a whole new world that will include upgraded grinding and brewing paraphenalia - in extreme cases it can lead to putting a small drum roaster in your basement, or worse! Save that for "round 2" and enjoy your first home roasting experience - whatever price point you choose to enter at. I've had good experience with www.sweetmarias.com - enjoy!

Permalink Reply by Patrick Bock on September 8, 2009 at 2:01pm

YES, YES YES. Just look at price. Do you think a commercial roaster would spend 100k on roasting equipment. If they could get the same results from home roasters, Even a good small professional coffee roaster that will do one or two pounds at a time will cost 2 to 4 thousand dollars. Size does matter, the bigger the roaster easier it is to control the profile.

I do use a small home air roaster for samples and it does a good job. I think the key is freshness. Fresh roasted coffee out of a home roaster is a 100 times better than any stall coffee brand off the store shelve.

Permalink Reply by Louise on September 11, 2009 at 5:12pm

thanks Patrick... the most important thing is the freshness and I agree..

Patrick Bock said:

YES, YES YES. Just look at price. Do you think a commercial roaster would spend 100k on roasting equipment. If they could get the same results from home roasters, Even a good small professional coffee roaster that will do one or two pounds at a time will cost 2 to 4 thousand dollars. Size does matter, the bigger the roaster easier it is to control the profile.

I do use a small home air roaster for samples and it does a good job. I think the key is freshness. Fresh roasted coffee out of a home roaster is a 100 times better than any stall coffee brand off the store shelve.

Permalink Reply by Alun Evans on September 11, 2009 at 5:44pm

Louise, for home roasting it would be fine. Essentially it will not as others mention simulate a commercial roaster in terms of quality produced- airflow and the ability to ramp up or down temperatures quickly really only applies to roasters using gas/propane. However it would give you a nice introduction to coffee roasting and produce a solid and of course fresh product. Remember to buy Kenneth Davids "Home Roasting" book. It is a good guide to home roasting.