On Sat, 3 Jan 2004 08:37:46 -0700, Ken Fox wrote:

If it were me I'd either stick with the hopper or move on to a
^^^^^^
BBQ roaster if my interest continued and if a BBQ roaster was feasible

That's gotta be a freudo rather than a typo.
The h is a long way from the p.

On Sat, 3 Jan 2004 08:37:46 -0700, Ken Fox wrote:

If it were me I'd either stick with the hopper or move on to a
^^^^^^
BBQ roaster if my interest continued and if a BBQ roaster was feasible

That's gotta be a freudo rather than a typo.
The h is a long way from the p.

(Thomas Reat) wrote in message . com...
Is the Alpenrost a good roaster, or is the $250-$300 better spent? Is
the HotTop worth the $600? Is a Zach and Dani's so much worse (at
about $150, though infomercials make me suspicious)? I don't care how
big a batch it makes, but I do want a very good one.

Well, at least the folks here are being a little more open minded.
Not all have been very charitable about the Z&D even though they
probably don't own one. I have a Z&D roaster that I got a few months
ago and have cheerfully roasted about 30 pounds of coffee in it
without a hitch, making it pay for itself about 3 times over (in
savings)from what I was paying at the local roaster for "the good
stuff". It works as well as it did the day I got it, and shows no sign
of wear at all.

I bought it after contacting a couple of folks of the group found by
searching the archives that *actually owned one* to see how they liked
it. All but one were really positive. The one that wasn't was sent a
cheerful refund.

The best tip about this machine I can give you is to put on the mitts
and pour out the coffee on cold stoneware plate (put in the freezer
when you start your roast)as soon as you are through roasting. The
auger is hot and I think it continues to cook the beans that touch it
at the base. Although the cool cycle works pretty well, spreading the
beans out on a cold plate cools them almost immediately.

Pros: Excellent for medium roasts. Your roast timer has a five
minute cool down cycle in it, so it actually doesn't roast as long as
some folks think. Further, it will indeed roast a DARK(black)oily
roast for the espresso machine with no problem. Larger roast chamber
than its competitors translates to around 6 oz of coffe per batch.
And with the auger system, all beans are stirred vigorously throughout
the roast making the roast very even. Replacement parts are available
through their excellent customer service (DAMHIKT)at a reasonable
price. Last, it comes with 3 full pounds of coffee to roast. Best of
all, if you don't like the quality of coffee it makes, send it back
within 30 days for a full refund! No harm, no foul. This is tough to
beat.

Cons: If I don't get the top on correctly, it will shut down the
machine and sit until I reset it. I think this is more of an operator
problem than a machine fault. It does put a little chaffe out on the
counter, more or less depending on the coffee beans. I think this is
far outweighed by the fact that I can roast inside anytime since there
is NO smoke at all.

Try it, you'll like it. You may or may not outgrow it. I cannot see
*me* spending hours modifying a popcorn machine to save $50 to make a
machine that roasts about 3 ozs of coffee and makes smoke in the
house. I was seriously looking at the Alpenroast, but after reading
the archives to this group on the machine I decided against it.

The best advice you received so far was to get something affordable to
see if you will actually enjoy the process enough to keep roasting. I
roast coffee for the next day or two while I am fixing breakfast on
Sunday. I roast again on Wednesday and again during the week as
needed. I drink about the normal pound a week. This little machine
makes that all incredibly easy for me to hav efresh roast on hand.

I can't imagine anything to do with roasting being too much easier,
although this dog bowl business sure looks interesting...

OK, before I get blasted: I am not affiliated with Z&D company, not a
family member or godfather to the kids and I don't even live in the
same city. They don't pay my rent or send me free coffee.

As a general contractor I have bought so many crappy machines I am
just happy to buy something that works as advertised and has actually
payed for itself.

Robert

(Thomas Reat) wrote in message . com...
Is the Alpenrost a good roaster, or is the $250-$300 better spent? Is
the HotTop worth the $600? Is a Zach and Dani's so much worse (at
about $150, though infomercials make me suspicious)? I don't care how
big a batch it makes, but I do want a very good one.

Well, at least the folks here are being a little more open minded.
Not all have been very charitable about the Z&D even though they
probably don't own one. I have a Z&D roaster that I got a few months
ago and have cheerfully roasted about 30 pounds of coffee in it
without a hitch, making it pay for itself about 3 times over (in
savings)from what I was paying at the local roaster for "the good
stuff". It works as well as it did the day I got it, and shows no sign
of wear at all.

I bought it after contacting a couple of folks of the group found by
searching the archives that *actually owned one* to see how they liked
it. All but one were really positive. The one that wasn't was sent a
cheerful refund.

The best tip about this machine I can give you is to put on the mitts
and pour out the coffee on cold stoneware plate (put in the freezer
when you start your roast)as soon as you are through roasting. The
auger is hot and I think it continues to cook the beans that touch it
at the base. Although the cool cycle works pretty well, spreading the
beans out on a cold plate cools them almost immediately.

Pros: Excellent for medium roasts. Your roast timer has a five
minute cool down cycle in it, so it actually doesn't roast as long as
some folks think. Further, it will indeed roast a DARK(black)oily
roast for the espresso machine with no problem. Larger roast chamber
than its competitors translates to around 6 oz of coffe per batch.
And with the auger system, all beans are stirred vigorously throughout
the roast making the roast very even. Replacement parts are available
through their excellent customer service (DAMHIKT)at a reasonable
price. Last, it comes with 3 full pounds of coffee to roast. Best of
all, if you don't like the quality of coffee it makes, send it back
within 30 days for a full refund! No harm, no foul. This is tough to
beat.

Cons: If I don't get the top on correctly, it will shut down the
machine and sit until I reset it. I think this is more of an operator
problem than a machine fault. It does put a little chaffe out on the
counter, more or less depending on the coffee beans. I think this is
far outweighed by the fact that I can roast inside anytime since there
is NO smoke at all.

Try it, you'll like it. You may or may not outgrow it. I cannot see
*me* spending hours modifying a popcorn machine to save $50 to make a
machine that roasts about 3 ozs of coffee and makes smoke in the
house. I was seriously looking at the Alpenroast, but after reading
the archives to this group on the machine I decided against it.

The best advice you received so far was to get something affordable to
see if you will actually enjoy the process enough to keep roasting. I
roast coffee for the next day or two while I am fixing breakfast on
Sunday. I roast again on Wednesday and again during the week as
needed. I drink about the normal pound a week. This little machine
makes that all incredibly easy for me to hav efresh roast on hand.

I can't imagine anything to do with roasting being too much easier,
although this dog bowl business sure looks interesting...

OK, before I get blasted: I am not affiliated with Z&D company, not a
family member or godfather to the kids and I don't even live in the
same city. They don't pay my rent or send me free coffee.

As a general contractor I have bought so many crappy machines I am
just happy to buy something that works as advertised and has actually
payed for itself.

Robert

(Robert L. Witte) wrote in message . com...
(Thomas Reat) wrote in message . com...

snip

Well, at least the folks here are being a little more open minded.
Not all have been very charitable about the Z&D even though they
probably don't own one. I have a Z&D roaster that I got a few months
ago and have cheerfully roasted about 30 pounds of coffee in it
without a hitch, making it pay for itself about 3 times over (in
savings)from what I was paying at the local roaster for "the good
stuff". It works as well as it did the day I got it, and shows no sign
of wear at all.

I've had my Z&D for a year now. I've not had any problems whatsoever
with it. It's very easy to use, no smoke, no problems, no hassles.

Stan

(Robert L. Witte) wrote in message . com...
(Thomas Reat) wrote in message . com...

snip

Well, at least the folks here are being a little more open minded.
Not all have been very charitable about the Z&D even though they
probably don't own one. I have a Z&D roaster that I got a few months
ago and have cheerfully roasted about 30 pounds of coffee in it
without a hitch, making it pay for itself about 3 times over (in
savings)from what I was paying at the local roaster for "the good
stuff". It works as well as it did the day I got it, and shows no sign
of wear at all.

I've had my Z&D for a year now. I've not had any problems whatsoever
with it. It's very easy to use, no smoke, no problems, no hassles.

Stan

I will add my ditto to all of the other Z&D owners that have posted their
positive comments. My Z&D has been performed flawlessly for over a year now.
Quality, price, NO SMOKE, and too many other pluses to list.
Alan M
snip

Well, at least the folks here are being a little more open minded.
Not all have been very charitable about the Z&D even though they
probably don't own one. I have a Z&D roaster that I got a few months
ago and have cheerfully roasted about 30 pounds of coffee in it
without a hitch, making it pay for itself about 3 times over (in
savings)from what I was paying at the local roaster for "the good
stuff". It works as well as it did the day I got it, and shows no sign
of wear at all.

I've had my Z&D for a year now. I've not had any problems whatsoever
with it. It's very easy to use, no smoke, no problems, no hassles.

Stan

I will add my ditto to all of the other Z&D owners that have posted their
positive comments. My Z&D has been performed flawlessly for over a year now.
Quality, price, NO SMOKE, and too many other pluses to list.
Alan M
snip

Well, at least the folks here are being a little more open minded.
Not all have been very charitable about the Z&D even though they
probably don't own one. I have a Z&D roaster that I got a few months
ago and have cheerfully roasted about 30 pounds of coffee in it
without a hitch, making it pay for itself about 3 times over (in
savings)from what I was paying at the local roaster for "the good
stuff". It works as well as it did the day I got it, and shows no sign
of wear at all.

I've had my Z&D for a year now. I've not had any problems whatsoever
with it. It's very easy to use, no smoke, no problems, no hassles.

Stan

Ken,
I got a Freshroast Plus for Christmas and I am quite happy with it. I
can get a good dark espresso roast or a meduim roast. I don't mind the
smoke as I roast in the garage. I am still keeping my fingers crossed
since I read of a few people having problems with their FR+'s. When I do
multiple roasts I have to reduce the time since it gets hotter the more
you roast. That may be why some people have problems with it. I do look
around the thrift shops for the poppery to see what all the fuss is
about. Anyhoo, I'm not affiliated...just a satisfied newbie roaster.
Finally! A decent cup of coffee! Had I known it was this easy I would
have got into this a looooong time ago.
Cheers!
Dominick
--
Dominick Fiumare Email:
Facilities & Services Voice: 505-646-2529
New Mexico State Univ., Box 30001, MSC 3545 Fax: 505-646-1269
Las Cruces, NM 88003

Ken,
I got a Freshroast Plus for Christmas and I am quite happy with it. I
can get a good dark espresso roast or a meduim roast. I don't mind the
smoke as I roast in the garage. I am still keeping my fingers crossed
since I read of a few people having problems with their FR+'s. When I do
multiple roasts I have to reduce the time since it gets hotter the more
you roast. That may be why some people have problems with it. I do look
around the thrift shops for the poppery to see what all the fuss is
about. Anyhoo, I'm not affiliated...just a satisfied newbie roaster.
Finally! A decent cup of coffee! Had I known it was this easy I would
have got into this a looooong time ago.
Cheers!
Dominick
--
Dominick Fiumare Email:
Facilities & Services Voice: 505-646-2529
New Mexico State Univ., Box 30001, MSC 3545 Fax: 505-646-1269
Las Cruces, NM 88003

Coming back to an old thread with a negative answer and I hope this has
not already been thrashed to death he

Here is a roaster NOT to buy. It's new here in Germany and I've never
seen it anywhere else, but things like this do not usually remain local.
You can look at it he

http://www.dieckmann-aroma-kaffee.de/

It roasts an amazing 300g and is basically a heat-gun with a small,
plastic-gear driven rotating drum. The price is €199 or about $230.

Reading the well-hidden instructions it says (albeit in German): DO NOT
USE WITH NORMAL GREEN COFFEE BEANS! THESE HAVE NOT HAD THE CHAFF REMOVED
AND CAN BE A FIRE HAZARD.

What this means then is you can only roast the "pretreated" beans sold
by Dieckmann in 300g portions in plastic bags for €2.50. The beans look
vaguely like the description of monsooned Malabar, ie. a dirty,
yellow-grey color. I don't have any idea whether they are preroasted or
how the chaff is removed, but I think it is obvious why one would not
want to own one of these.

Just a warning to German alties and/or in case this thing shows up on
other markets.

Bruce "who likes to remove his own chaff, thank you" B

Coming back to an old thread with a negative answer and I hope this has
not already been thrashed to death he

Here is a roaster NOT to buy. It's new here in Germany and I've never
seen it anywhere else, but things like this do not usually remain local.
You can look at it he

http://www.dieckmann-aroma-kaffee.de/

It roasts an amazing 300g and is basically a heat-gun with a small,
plastic-gear driven rotating drum. The price is €199 or about $230.

Reading the well-hidden instructions it says (albeit in German): DO NOT
USE WITH NORMAL GREEN COFFEE BEANS! THESE HAVE NOT HAD THE CHAFF REMOVED
AND CAN BE A FIRE HAZARD.

What this means then is you can only roast the "pretreated" beans sold
by Dieckmann in 300g portions in plastic bags for €2.50. The beans look
vaguely like the description of monsooned Malabar, ie. a dirty,
yellow-grey color. I don't have any idea whether they are preroasted or
how the chaff is removed, but I think it is obvious why one would not
want to own one of these.

Just a warning to German alties and/or in case this thing shows up on
other markets.

Bruce "who likes to remove his own chaff, thank you" B

Thanks for the warning!
I just saw these in a shop in Freiburg (DE) during Christmas and was
precisely wondering how the chaff was supposed to be collected...
Luckily my Christmas shopping had already ruined me so that I couldn't
afford one.

Serge


Bruce B wrote in message ...
Coming back to an old thread with a negative answer and I hope this has
not already been thrashed to death he

Here is a roaster NOT to buy. It's new here in Germany and I've never
seen it anywhere else, but things like this do not usually remain local.
You can look at it he

http://www.dieckmann-aroma-kaffee.de/

It roasts an amazing 300g and is basically a heat-gun with a small,
plastic-gear driven rotating drum. The price is ?199 or about $230.

Reading the well-hidden instructions it says (albeit in German): DO NOT
USE WITH NORMAL GREEN COFFEE BEANS! THESE HAVE NOT HAD THE CHAFF REMOVED
AND CAN BE A FIRE HAZARD.

What this means then is you can only roast the "pretreated" beans sold
by Dieckmann in 300g portions in plastic bags for ?2.50. The beans look
vaguely like the description of monsooned Malabar, ie. a dirty,
yellow-grey color. I don't have any idea whether they are preroasted or
how the chaff is removed, but I think it is obvious why one would not
want to own one of these.

Just a warning to German alties and/or in case this thing shows up on
other markets.

Bruce "who likes to remove his own chaff, thank you" B

Thanks for the warning!
I just saw these in a shop in Freiburg (DE) during Christmas and was
precisely wondering how the chaff was supposed to be collected...
Luckily my Christmas shopping had already ruined me so that I couldn't
afford one.

Serge


Bruce B wrote in message ...
Coming back to an old thread with a negative answer and I hope this has
not already been thrashed to death he

Here is a roaster NOT to buy. It's new here in Germany and I've never
seen it anywhere else, but things like this do not usually remain local.
You can look at it he

http://www.dieckmann-aroma-kaffee.de/

It roasts an amazing 300g and is basically a heat-gun with a small,
plastic-gear driven rotating drum. The price is ?199 or about $230.

Reading the well-hidden instructions it says (albeit in German): DO NOT
USE WITH NORMAL GREEN COFFEE BEANS! THESE HAVE NOT HAD THE CHAFF REMOVED
AND CAN BE A FIRE HAZARD.

What this means then is you can only roast the "pretreated" beans sold
by Dieckmann in 300g portions in plastic bags for ?2.50. The beans look
vaguely like the description of monsooned Malabar, ie. a dirty,
yellow-grey color. I don't have any idea whether they are preroasted or
how the chaff is removed, but I think it is obvious why one would not
want to own one of these.

Just a warning to German alties and/or in case this thing shows up on
other markets.

Bruce "who likes to remove his own chaff, thank you" B

I own an Alpenrost and 3 FR+ modded with aluminum bases and on
individual Variacs.

2 of our friends (at our recommendation) bought Z&Ds in the past few
months and love them...rave about them actually. No smoke/in the house
roasting in one case.

Another acquaintance has a 5 kilo Deidrich (sp?) and gets great results!
He also sells a bunch of coffee.

I store the Alp on a shelf most of the time, because every 2 months it has
to be opened and 'adjusted' using the volt ohm meter and an allen wrench...
and the roasts are too dull for my liking. I do have the benefit of comparing
the taste of the roasts between my setups. The Alp is limited to roasting
beans of adequate size as well...small beans stick/burn and fall through
the screen in the drum.

The throughput on the Alp is about the same as the 3 FR+. I can turn out a
pound an hour with the FR+ and slightly less with the Alp.

The FR+ have thousands of roasts on them now, and I have been toying with
the idea of looking into a 1 pound BBQ setup as long as it can handle smaller
loads... I only roast ½ pound at a time, and prefer to have 2-3 types of beans
and 2 espresso blends on hand all the time. I have not seen an 8-12 oz
BBQ roaster.

L a r r Y

(Thomas Reat) wrote in message . com...
Is the Alpenrost a good roaster, or is the $250-$300 better spent? Is
the HotTop worth the $600? Is a Zach and Dani's so much worse (at
about $150, though infomercials make me suspicious)? I don't care how
big a batch it makes, but I do want a very good one.