Green Coffee Bean Roaster----Yes I know Im sorry

[camelman0075]

Good morning Gentleman

Hate to bring this thread up again, but im looking into picking up a nice big bag of Green coffee beans (ORGANIC PEABERRY (A4) BOLIVIA GREEN COFFEE to be specific) from an importer friend of my uncle's. Anyway, it came to my conclusion that i have every tool imaginable to brew the coffee(perculator, espresso, french press, that thing we make turkish coffee in...i knwo it in arabic but not in english.....etc) except a roaster. So i was wondering, because i know many of you have home roasting experience, what would be a good beginner roasting device. Im looking for one of good quality for max $150 +/- 10% i guess. I honnestly have no idea what to look for, what brands are available, what to look for in a good roaster, etc......

Please Help:confused:

[ouch]

You'lll get a lot of responses, as many members do this. I can't help, as I'm a "cast iron pan in the back yard" roaster, but there's a lot of expert advice floating around.

Try clicking my "I don't have a blog" link.

[Howard Newell]

I currently use a camp stove with a propane burner and a wire mesh colander. What can I say? I get an even roast and I can roast enough coffee for about a week this way.

[Monkeyboy]

I use a Hearthware Precision air roaster and get good, even results. My only complaint is the small batch size (1/2 cup). I only drink one cup of coffee a day and I still have to do three batches for a week's worth of beans.

The Precision isn't made anymore though but I've heard good things about its successor, the I-roast 2. It runs $180 and can do a cup at a time which results in about 2 cups of roasted beans.

For $20 you could go the popcorn popper route. You just have to look for the right kind.

[JackinNC]

I use a Hearthware Precision air roaster and get good, even results. My only complaint is the small batch size (1/2 cup).

+1 on the Hearthware. I've had mine for about 9 years. The new one looks really nice and, were it not for the small batch size, it'd be what I plan to replace mine with. Ultimately, though, I'm gonna have to go with something with bigger batch size.

I assume you'll be picking it up from SweetMarias.com, yes? :-)

Homeroasted coffee, the first part of my gourmet morning triples... Coffee, wetshave, bike to work. It doesn't get any better.*

Jack

* Well, not having to work at all would be better, I imagine...

[whitebar]

The problem with anything in the $150 price range is the small batch size it will roast. They work well but you spend a lot of time roasting a bunch of small batches. In the end if you decide to keep roasting, you will want something that does larger batches. Here are some options to consider in all different price ranges.

I use the Gene Cafe. It does 1/2 pound at a time and I end up doing a couple batches a week. I love this machine because it is easy to adjust the roast profile as your roasting skills develop. You can get info here:

Gene Cafe $495 (http://www.sweetmarias.com/prod.genecafe.shtml)

Another popular roaster is the Behmor. I have not used one but many people on a coffee group I frequent are very happy with them. They roast up to one full pound! Info is here:

Behmor $299 (http://www.sweetmarias.com/prod.behmor.shtml)

Finally, another great option is the Heatgun-Dogbowl. It is nothing fancy but it works great! I have used this method many times and it is easy to roast a pound or more at one time. Keep in mind that there will be a learning curve but it is really fairly easy to learn. The price is really right as well because you can get everything you need for about $100. I recommend spending the money on a good heat gun because the cheap ones don't hold up well. Here is the info:

Heatgun-Dogbowl (http://www.homeroaster.com/heatgun.html)

Good Luck with your decision!

[JackinNC]

Finally, another great option is the Heatgun-Dogbowl. [...] Here is the info:

Heatgun-Dogbowl (http://www.homeroaster.com/heatgun.html)

Good Luck with your decision!


Hee! I just recently had a conversation with wtruitt about my CRAD and mentioned HGDB. I think he thought I was kidding! :-)

Jack

[sainttoad]

I use a turbo crazy: http://biobug.org/coffee/turbo-crazy/

I roast about 10-12oz at a time, enough for a week of drip coffee for two people.

The oven part cost me 70 bucks a couple years ago, the bottom part is 30 bucks at target. I'd recommend the shaft mod, too, since I've had the stock plastic shaft melt. Other than that, it produces a good even roast, cheaper than any off-the-shelf product, and with a reasonable batch size (my first roaster was a FreshRoast 8, which was nice, but only roasted 3oz at a time. That's 2 days of coffee!)

[Sabledog]

I've got the Turbo Crazy setup, too. I was fortunate enough the pieces at the GoodWill type shops when i lived in Denver. I am thinking about the Behmor, though, just for something different and presumably an upgrade after 4 years.

SweetMarias.com is one site that shows a bunch of roaster styles from the popcorn poppers to the more expensive ones.

My brother uses a Whirly popper (crank handle popcorn popper) on the stove, btw.

[Aneurysm]

I use the cafe rosto. Roasts pretty evenly with a slight "rocking" motion from side to side and it does about 140g each time. Been using it almost 2 years now.

[letterk]

I use the Behmor. It's nice in that it will do a full pound, but someone of a pain to modify the roast profiles.

[analog_kid]

I own a Fresh Roast Plus 8. It's simple, easy to use, and gets the job done. Granted the batch size is rather small, but works well for me. I make 16oz of coffee per day, so about 2 batchs on the Fresh Roast gets me through the week(I usually roast every Saturday morning). If you drink coffee like it's going out of style, or have a whole family full of java-heads, you will probably need something with more roasting capacity.

[kreigle]

SweetMarias.com is one site that shows a bunch of roaster styles from the popcorn poppers to the more expensive ones.


My brother and I share a West Bend Poppery that I picked up off e-bay 2 1/2 years ago. It gets used almost every weekend. I usually get about 6oz in it and roast two batches (1 regular, 1 decaf) at a time.

[wtruitt]

Hee! I just recently had a conversation with wtruitt about my CRAD and mentioned HGDB. I think he thought I was kidding! :-)

JackDang.. You WEREN"T KIDDING!!! Unreal!
Wayne

[DogHair]

I've been roasting with an I-Roast 2 for nearly 2 years and couldn't be happier. Easy to use and program. Before that I roasted in a popcorn popper but I get much more consistent roasts with the I-Roast. I'd like to get a Behmor for the larger capacity but I'm in no rush as long as the I-Roast is working.

[wtruitt]

I've been talking some to Jack about roasting my own beans.. he was kind enough to give me some of the coffee he roasted, and it was a DELIGHT!!! Wonderful coffee that I thoroughly enjoyed...

I am going to have to give this a try!!
Wayne

[TimmyBoston]

I've been roasting with an I-Roast 2 for nearly 2 years and couldn't be happier. Easy to use and program. Before that I roasted in a popcorn popper but I get much more consistent roasts with the I-Roast. I'd like to get a Behmor for the larger capacity but I'm in no rush as long as the I-Roast is working.

How much larger is the I-Roast than the Fresh Roast 8?

[wtruitt]

I've been roasting with an I-Roast 2 for nearly 2 years and couldn't be happier. Easy to use and program. Before that I roasted in a popcorn popper but I get much more consistent roasts with the I-Roast. I'd like to get a Behmor for the larger capacity but I'm in no rush as long as the I-Roast is working.Tell me more about the I-Roast >>>

[Readerbob]

I agree with Whitebar on this one. I have a Behmor, and generally like it, although it's tricky to get a darker roast. But being able to roast a pound at a time (a little less if you want to get it darker) is great. I have a Fresh Roast Plus 8 that I used before the Behmor. It ran me about $85, including 4 pounds of sample coffees from Sweet Marias. It was fast (good) but would only roast up enough for about 1 1/2 carafes of coffee - around 3-4 oz (not so good).

--Bob


The problem with anything in the $150 price range is the small batch size it will roast. They work well but you spend a lot of time roasting a bunch of small batches. In the end if you decide to keep roasting, you will want something that does larger batches. Here are some options to consider in all different price ranges.

I use the Gene Cafe. It does 1/2 pound at a time and I end up doing a couple batches a week. I love this machine because it is easy to adjust the roast profile as your roasting skills develop. You can get info here:

Gene Cafe $495 (http://www.sweetmarias.com/prod.genecafe.shtml)

Another popular roaster is the Behmor. I have not used one but many people on a coffee group I frequent are very happy with them. They roast up to one full pound! Info is here:

Behmor $299 (http://www.sweetmarias.com/prod.behmor.shtml)

Finally, another great option is the Heatgun-Dogbowl. It is nothing fancy but it works great! I have used this method many times and it is easy to roast a pound or more at one time. Keep in mind that there will be a learning curve but it is really fairly easy to learn. The price is really right as well because you can get everything you need for about $100. I recommend spending the money on a good heat gun because the cheap ones don't hold up well. Here is the info:

Heatgun-Dogbowl (http://www.homeroaster.com/heatgun.html)

Good Luck with your decision!

[wtruitt]

Dang.. well, I just bought another razor (I am not a collector, I am not a collector, I can control my RAD).. so I better not look at coffee roasters for awhile :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Wayne "I am not a collector" Truitt

[DogHair]

Tell me more about the I-Roast >>>

The I-Roast is about the size of a drip coffee maker. It roasts about one cup of beans at a time and takes somewhere in the range of 12-15 min per roast. The roasting time and temp are configurable so you can control the roast. Some beans are much more flavorful when roasted light. Green un-roasted beans can generally be purchased on the internet for about $5 per pound but maybe higher or lower depending on the quality and origin of the beans. I get a lot from here (http://www.sweetmarias.com) but there are plenty of other places to get roaster and beans. It makes great coffee. Once you start drinking fresh you can never go back. It's like wet shaving...

http://www.sweetmarias.com/hearthware-irst2/sweetm-irst2.jpg

[wtruitt]

Thx much DogHair!

[Sando]

I used the Caffe Rosto for a couple years. It does an adequate job with a 'small' amount of beans. It ultimately wasn't what I wanted. Too small and I couldn't get the roast dark enough for my taste. http://coffeegeek.com/reviews/accessories/cafferosto

I've now gone to a bbq roaster for the last couple years. I roast 1 lb. at a time to my liking in about 35-40 minutes.
http://www.homeroaster.com/brockman.html I can roast up to 2 1/2 lbs at a time but that's too much for my house. I found that stainless can on Amazon but I can't find the link to it right now.

...Ray

[JBHoren]

My brother and I share a West Bend Poppery that I picked up off e-bay 2 1/2 years ago. It gets used almost every weekend. I usually get about 6oz in it and roast two batches (1 regular, 1 decaf) at a time.

There ya go!



Reminds me of a cartoon strip from back in the 60s, with Ed Sullivan on his TV show, introducing the next
act: "And now, a potpourri of popery..." (apologies to my Cat'lic friends)

Anyway, I've been using a West Bend "Poppery II" for the past year-and-a-half (yes, it's still going strong), roasting (by volume) 2/3-cup of green beans at-a-time. It works like a champ, and voila! another "hobby"... and another AD! :tongue: :tongue:

[Readerbob]

You can find the stainless inserts for BBQ roasting on eBay, but the ones I found just now were a bit pricey - in the $90 range. Still, they should last almost forever.

[TimmyBoston]

How much coffee per batch can you roast in an I-Roast 2?

[rikrdo]

See THIS (http://www.angelfire.com/pro2/panroastingcoffee/howtopanroastcoffee2.html/)

not exactly how I do it (I am NOT as precise) but its a good "how-to" ....to get you started.

[DogHair]

How much coffee per batch can you roast in an I-Roast 2?

The I-Roast roasts 1 cup of green beans. I get two 8-cup pots out of a roast with a little left over so I would guess two 10-cup pots using one tablespoon of beans per cup. It takes three roasts to make a pound of roasted beans.

[Monkeyboy]

I upgraded from the Hearthware Precision to the I-roast 2 about a month ago. I will say this - the 2 presets on this machine are useless, especially for city or c+ batches. They start out too hot and seem to leave the inside of the bean noticeably underroasted (sour, grassy, undrinkable cups).

I've been experimenting with profiles using Sweet Maria's reference as a starting point and am getting dramatically better results.

[ibuzzard]

I agree with Whitebar on this one. I have a Behmor, and generally like it, although it's tricky to get a darker roast. But being able to roast a pound at a time (a little less if you want to get it darker) is great. I have a Fresh Roast Plus 8 that I used before the Behmor. It ran me about $85, including 4 pounds of sample coffees from Sweet Marias. It was fast (good) but would only roast up enough for about 1 1/2 carafes of coffee - around 3-4 oz (not so good).

--Bob My Behmor is on it's way to me as we speak,and I believe I'll be happy with it,with one caveat:How DO you do a darker roast with it?My daughter and I do enjoy the darker roasts.My friend,who already has a Behmor insists I'll really come to enjoy tasting the full flavor of the beans that is really only discernible in the lighter roasts.Still I'm skeptical.Steve.

[letterk]

My Behmor is on it's way to me as we speak,and I believe I'll be happy with it,with one caveat:How DO you do a darker roast with it?My daughter and I do enjoy the darker roasts.My friend,who already has a Behmor insists I'll really come to enjoy tasting the full flavor of the beans that is really only discernible in the lighter roasts.Still I'm skeptical.Steve.

It's very easy. Just put in less beans. For instance, tell it you're roasting 1 lb but put in 12 oz. You should be able to go way past 2nd crack all the way to fire if you want.

[uofi1963]

I'm surprised that the Hottop roaster wasn't mentioned. I love mine. http://hottopusa.com

old Joel

[DogHair]

I would love a Hottop. They were just out of my price range when I when roaster shopping. I heard they make great coffee though.