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Coffee (rec.drink.coffee) Discussing coffee. This includes selection of brands, methods of making coffee, etc. Discussion about coffee in other forms (e.g. desserts) is acceptable. |
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What roaster to buy?
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. |
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What roaster to buy?
"Thomas Reat" > wrote in message
om... > 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. There are basically 2 kinds of purpose-built home roasting devices. The most common and least expensive are "air roasters," similar to commercial "fluid bed" roasters at least in concept. Examples of this are Freshroast Plus (FR+) and Caffe Rosto. A thriftstore hot air popcorn popper will produce similar results at a lot lower cost. The other common type is consumer level drum roasters, of which the Hottop (HT) and Alpenrost (alp) are the most common. The Z&D as I understand it works mostly by conduction of heat and this is distributed to the beans by an auger. A third option if you are handy and after you get obsessed with the coffee, is to convert a home BBQ grill into a drum roaster; you can either fabricate a drum yourself or buy one from either of at least 2 alties who sell them. None of the purpose built home roasters has a great reputation for reliability and service, although the HT is generally considered much more robust than is the alp. Speaking only for myself I'd suggest avoiding the alp due to reliability issues and inability to control roast level very well unless you are lucky or have exceptional hearing. Any of the home air roasters will give you a chance to observe the process of roasting and to learn if you are interested in it. There are reliability issues with these as well so you might end up tossing those just like you might toss an alp. My suggestion is to go over to the Sweet Marias site and read about roasting devices. A popper would be a very minor investment and enable you to learn whether or not you really want to do this on a regular basis. If you do then hang around here to read about how the current roaster crop is holding up vis a vis reliability. There is at least one new roaster out there now, the new Hearthware, which may merit consideration if people find it reliable. 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 for my living arrangements. Best, ken |
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What roaster to buy?
"Thomas Reat" > wrote in message
om... > 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. There are basically 2 kinds of purpose-built home roasting devices. The most common and least expensive are "air roasters," similar to commercial "fluid bed" roasters at least in concept. Examples of this are Freshroast Plus (FR+) and Caffe Rosto. A thriftstore hot air popcorn popper will produce similar results at a lot lower cost. The other common type is consumer level drum roasters, of which the Hottop (HT) and Alpenrost (alp) are the most common. The Z&D as I understand it works mostly by conduction of heat and this is distributed to the beans by an auger. A third option if you are handy and after you get obsessed with the coffee, is to convert a home BBQ grill into a drum roaster; you can either fabricate a drum yourself or buy one from either of at least 2 alties who sell them. None of the purpose built home roasters has a great reputation for reliability and service, although the HT is generally considered much more robust than is the alp. Speaking only for myself I'd suggest avoiding the alp due to reliability issues and inability to control roast level very well unless you are lucky or have exceptional hearing. Any of the home air roasters will give you a chance to observe the process of roasting and to learn if you are interested in it. There are reliability issues with these as well so you might end up tossing those just like you might toss an alp. My suggestion is to go over to the Sweet Marias site and read about roasting devices. A popper would be a very minor investment and enable you to learn whether or not you really want to do this on a regular basis. If you do then hang around here to read about how the current roaster crop is holding up vis a vis reliability. There is at least one new roaster out there now, the new Hearthware, which may merit consideration if people find it reliable. 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 for my living arrangements. Best, ken |
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What roaster to buy?
"Thomas Reat" > wrote in message om... > 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. I was asking the same questions several months ago and it seems that the most unreliable appliance ever made is a home coffee roaster. You get a handful of roast coffee and they all seem to me to be finicky. Some folks seem to like their popcorn air poppers especially after they rewire them with variacs and thermostats but I chose to make a BBQ drum roaster. I have yet to hear one complaint from anyone about these and in my experience the results are excellent. I just wish Ron had come to market with his drum several weeks sooner so I wouldn't have had to build mine. See Ed's site for additional links: http://www.homeroaster.com/ -- Roger Shoaf If you are not part of the solution, you are not dissolved in the solvent. |
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What roaster to buy?
"Thomas Reat" > wrote in message om... > 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. I was asking the same questions several months ago and it seems that the most unreliable appliance ever made is a home coffee roaster. You get a handful of roast coffee and they all seem to me to be finicky. Some folks seem to like their popcorn air poppers especially after they rewire them with variacs and thermostats but I chose to make a BBQ drum roaster. I have yet to hear one complaint from anyone about these and in my experience the results are excellent. I just wish Ron had come to market with his drum several weeks sooner so I wouldn't have had to build mine. See Ed's site for additional links: http://www.homeroaster.com/ -- Roger Shoaf If you are not part of the solution, you are not dissolved in the solvent. |
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What roaster to buy?
"Thomas Reat" > wrote in message om... > 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. Buy a stainless steel dog bowl for $ 8 and a commerical-quality heat gun for $ 45-60 and join the dogbowl side of the force. Details on heatgun roasting can be found at www.coffeegeek.com, in the home roasting talk forum. Do a search or look for postings with the words 'heatgun' or 'dogbowl'. You will be surprised at how well this works. Regards, Michael Lloyd Mill Creek, Washington USA |
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What roaster to buy?
"Thomas Reat" > wrote in message om... > 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. Buy a stainless steel dog bowl for $ 8 and a commerical-quality heat gun for $ 45-60 and join the dogbowl side of the force. Details on heatgun roasting can be found at www.coffeegeek.com, in the home roasting talk forum. Do a search or look for postings with the words 'heatgun' or 'dogbowl'. You will be surprised at how well this works. Regards, Michael Lloyd Mill Creek, Washington USA |
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What roaster to buy?
On Fri, 02 Jan 2004 22:30:57 -0800, Thomas Reat wrote:
> 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. To be fair, there are a lot of happy Alpenroast owners out there but I wouldn't get one. They can be cranky and have problems with smaller beans. A Z&D might be cool. It's not what I would get but I can see the appeal. A popcorn popper is a better deal than most hot air roasters. If you really don't care about batch sizes, a Z&D or a popper would probably be your best bets. If you want larger batches some day, you could try a whirley pop, a bbq drum or a heat gun. I think the important things are beans and heat. The rest is just what's convenient. Jim |
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What roaster to buy?
On Fri, 02 Jan 2004 22:30:57 -0800, Thomas Reat wrote:
> 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. To be fair, there are a lot of happy Alpenroast owners out there but I wouldn't get one. They can be cranky and have problems with smaller beans. A Z&D might be cool. It's not what I would get but I can see the appeal. A popcorn popper is a better deal than most hot air roasters. If you really don't care about batch sizes, a Z&D or a popper would probably be your best bets. If you want larger batches some day, you could try a whirley pop, a bbq drum or a heat gun. I think the important things are beans and heat. The rest is just what's convenient. Jim |
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What roaster to buy?
I have been using, and quite satisfied with, the Zach and Dani roaster. In
addition to doing exactly what I need it to do, it does it without having to stand over and nursemaid it. If you have a grinder, a phone call to their customer service department will yield a price of $90 for the kit. For me, a key factor in the decision for Z and D was the smoke & fumes elimination system. I use my Z&D roaster in an inside room that does not even have a window. Smoke is not a problem. Alan M "Thomas Reat" > wrote in message om... > 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. |
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What roaster to buy?
I have been using, and quite satisfied with, the Zach and Dani roaster. In
addition to doing exactly what I need it to do, it does it without having to stand over and nursemaid it. If you have a grinder, a phone call to their customer service department will yield a price of $90 for the kit. For me, a key factor in the decision for Z and D was the smoke & fumes elimination system. I use my Z&D roaster in an inside room that does not even have a window. Smoke is not a problem. Alan M "Thomas Reat" > wrote in message om... > 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. |
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What roaster to buy?
In alt.coffee Thomas Reat > wrote:
> Is the Alpenrost a good roaster, Yes > or is the $250-$300 better spent? Yes Is > the HotTop worth the $600? Yes Is a Zach and Dani's so much worse (at > about $150, Dunno though infomercials make me suspicious)? I don't care how > big a batch it makes, but I do want a very good one. Buy a hot air popcorn popper if you want a good cheap roaster. Buy a hottop if you want a great expensive roaster. Buy an Alp if you want a very good midpriced drum roaster. -- ....I'm an air-conditioned gypsy... - The Who |
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What roaster to buy?
In alt.coffee Thomas Reat > wrote:
> Is the Alpenrost a good roaster, Yes > or is the $250-$300 better spent? Yes Is > the HotTop worth the $600? Yes Is a Zach and Dani's so much worse (at > about $150, Dunno though infomercials make me suspicious)? I don't care how > big a batch it makes, but I do want a very good one. Buy a hot air popcorn popper if you want a good cheap roaster. Buy a hottop if you want a great expensive roaster. Buy an Alp if you want a very good midpriced drum roaster. -- ....I'm an air-conditioned gypsy... - The Who |
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What roaster to buy?
"Thomas Reat" > wrote in message om... > 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. A used Poppery II is the best low-cost entry into the hobby. You can find them on eBay for $10 or so. Search web pages for recommended modifications. With an added thermometer (I use a Weber food thermometer) and a can stuck into the chamber, I do up to 6.5 ounce batches quickly and very repeatably, up to and including French Roast. Total investment: about $25 dollars and one can of corn (but, you can eat the corn). The Poppery II is also very reliable. There have probably been hundreds of thousands of Poppery IIs and their clones sold over the years. I don't think any 'home roaster" can claim the experience or reliability of a Poppery II, judging from the comments posted online. A BBQ roaster is a good option, but unless you have metal fabrication skill, the cost of entry is about $100 (plus BBQ, if you don't have one). If you don't care about batch size, try the air popper route and put the saved money towards green coffee, a grinder, and a decent brewing pot. |
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What roaster to buy?
"Thomas Reat" > wrote in message om... > 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. A used Poppery II is the best low-cost entry into the hobby. You can find them on eBay for $10 or so. Search web pages for recommended modifications. With an added thermometer (I use a Weber food thermometer) and a can stuck into the chamber, I do up to 6.5 ounce batches quickly and very repeatably, up to and including French Roast. Total investment: about $25 dollars and one can of corn (but, you can eat the corn). The Poppery II is also very reliable. There have probably been hundreds of thousands of Poppery IIs and their clones sold over the years. I don't think any 'home roaster" can claim the experience or reliability of a Poppery II, judging from the comments posted online. A BBQ roaster is a good option, but unless you have metal fabrication skill, the cost of entry is about $100 (plus BBQ, if you don't have one). If you don't care about batch size, try the air popper route and put the saved money towards green coffee, a grinder, and a decent brewing pot. |
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What roaster to buy?
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. |
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What roaster to buy?
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. |
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What roaster to buy?
(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 |
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What roaster to buy?
(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 |
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What roaster to buy?
(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 |
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What roaster to buy?
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 |
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What roaster to buy?
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 |
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What roaster to buy?
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 |
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What roaster to buy?
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 |
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What roaster to buy?
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 |
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What roaster to buy?
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 |
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What roaster to buy?
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 |
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What roaster to buy?
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 |
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What roaster to buy?
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 ˝ 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. |
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What roaster to buy?
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 ˝ 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. |
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What roaster to buy?
Well, not one to keep anything a secret, here are my two bits on
roasters. Much of what I have to say will either be redundant or contradict what has been said here so far. I lust after a big sample roaster, a Probat, Diedrich, etc. I could easily sell 25 lbs of fresh roast beans per week. I have not found a machine that I could afford, so this is just dream stuff. The Hotpop looks lovely, but doesn't have a big enough capacity for the price, AFAIAC. I just did my 200th roast using a stock Hearthware Precision roaster. Its bean capacity is too small for my taste and I don't like the noise (sounds like a loud vacuum cleaner) but it has never failed me, two of my friends own the same machine and are happy with theirs, and the roast is reliable. I like being able to watch the beans while they are roasting and have hundreds of pictures of roasts at 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 minutes. The results are excellent and are virtually independent of ambient temperature and quantity of beans up to roasting capacity. For most beans a very dark French roast takes 7'30'' and I usually don't go anywhere near that far. It takes some time until you can recognise first and second crack, but they are there and for most beans are discernable. Second crack usually occurrs, depending on the bean, of course, at 6-7 minutes, whereby things happen very quickly after that (1 min. later you may have charcoal). Real big beans are a problem as they are with all fluid-bed roasters. You can only do about 40 g of Maragogype or they won't be lifted adequately by the airstream and some will burn while others stay green. All-in-all I am happy with this roaster, which I bought from Ivo and which (perhaps significantly) is a 240V model. I have read many horror stories about these roasters not lasting for more than a few roasts, but I can only say that after 200 roasts I have had no problems at all with it. YMMV, obviously. This last sentence is true for almost anything, of course. It is very important to keep it clean. Especially the chaff collector on top should be cleaned after every roast and washed in detergent after every 3 roasts. I always let mine cool for half an hour at least before doing another roast. This probably has a lot to do with length of useable life. It also severly limits the amount of beans you can roast in an afternoon. My main roaster is an Alp, which I snagged on eBay, brand new for $100, complete with a few kilos of beans. Some poor guy bought it and died before he ever got a chance to use it (probably died of stale coffee) and his widow had someone sell it on eBay. I have owned it for 18 months and have done 120 roasts in it so far. The Alp deserves a few paragraphs. For my use it is almost perfect. It is VERY touchy about two parameters: 1) quantity of beans, and 2) ambient temperature/relative humidity. As has been noted here it does not do a dark roast on it's own. It won't usually go past full-city roast unless you coerce it, which is not difficult. I can turn beans to charcoal if I want to (which I don't) and there is no real trick to it. You just set the roast setting to maximum (15) and use 180 g of beans instead of 230 g. The darkness the Alp will roast to is very easily adjusted by adjusting the amount of beans to the gram. I use an old analytical balance, but any good digital balance with an accuracy of 1 g will do fine. The less beans the darker the roast. As to ambient temperature, at 30°C in the summer I can do 220 g as dark as I like. At 16°C in the winter I can only do 200 g or less. Relative humidity also has an effect; the higher the humidity the smaller the mass of beans you can roast. It goes without saying that you need to keep an accurate roast log with this roaster. Every parameter you can think of should be noted and the results carefully studied so you can repeat roasts. Very small beans, peaberries, etc. will stick in the drum and burn and smoke, but I have not noticed that such a roast tastes smoky or had any other problems with it. I just knock the burnt beans out with a wooden spoon and go on. I let the Alp cool down an hour before using again. I worry about the plastic housing near the fan. It is becoming slightly deformed and discolored. This roaster seems quite well designed and well made, but I am put off by the amount of plastic material in the hot-air path. The fan is also plastic. I have never taken the machine apart, but probably will have to do so as I cannot get the fan shrouding clean anymore and I am afraid the dust could catch fire. I have seen an Alp that caught fire because of this and it was just so much rubbish. After 3 or 4 roasts it is important to wash the chaff tray, vent screen and outlet hood and the roast-bean hopper. After 5 0r 6 roasts the reflecting inner liner of the door should be cleaned and polished. By carefuly removing 2 self-tapping screws it can be removed and washed. I do mine in the dishwasher. Of course, after every roast the chaff needs to be removed from the tray and the roasting chamber, the fan and the outlet hood. I roast under a 1/2hp vent hood in the kitchen and it doesn't completely get rid of the smoke problem, but my wife enjoys the smell, so what can I say? If this is a problem for someone it sounds like the Ben and Jerry (ummmm Zach, something) roaster might be a better solution. Both of my roasters make LOTS of smoke. Also, a small vacuum cleaner is an absolute necessity, especially with the Alp as you need to removed any chaff that has gotten stuck in or around the heating element. I love improving on espresso shots, enjoy the complements I get on milk espresso drinks and get a kick out the look on people's faces when they see my big commercial espresso machines, but the biggest joy I get out of coffee is roasting. A well-roasted, carefully blended coffee has become my own personal equivalent to the hígher-deity espresso shot so many dream of. Best wishes, Bruce "ol' smokey joe" B |
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What roaster to buy?
Well, not one to keep anything a secret, here are my two bits on
roasters. Much of what I have to say will either be redundant or contradict what has been said here so far. I lust after a big sample roaster, a Probat, Diedrich, etc. I could easily sell 25 lbs of fresh roast beans per week. I have not found a machine that I could afford, so this is just dream stuff. The Hotpop looks lovely, but doesn't have a big enough capacity for the price, AFAIAC. I just did my 200th roast using a stock Hearthware Precision roaster. Its bean capacity is too small for my taste and I don't like the noise (sounds like a loud vacuum cleaner) but it has never failed me, two of my friends own the same machine and are happy with theirs, and the roast is reliable. I like being able to watch the beans while they are roasting and have hundreds of pictures of roasts at 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 minutes. The results are excellent and are virtually independent of ambient temperature and quantity of beans up to roasting capacity. For most beans a very dark French roast takes 7'30'' and I usually don't go anywhere near that far. It takes some time until you can recognise first and second crack, but they are there and for most beans are discernable. Second crack usually occurrs, depending on the bean, of course, at 6-7 minutes, whereby things happen very quickly after that (1 min. later you may have charcoal). Real big beans are a problem as they are with all fluid-bed roasters. You can only do about 40 g of Maragogype or they won't be lifted adequately by the airstream and some will burn while others stay green. All-in-all I am happy with this roaster, which I bought from Ivo and which (perhaps significantly) is a 240V model. I have read many horror stories about these roasters not lasting for more than a few roasts, but I can only say that after 200 roasts I have had no problems at all with it. YMMV, obviously. This last sentence is true for almost anything, of course. It is very important to keep it clean. Especially the chaff collector on top should be cleaned after every roast and washed in detergent after every 3 roasts. I always let mine cool for half an hour at least before doing another roast. This probably has a lot to do with length of useable life. It also severly limits the amount of beans you can roast in an afternoon. My main roaster is an Alp, which I snagged on eBay, brand new for $100, complete with a few kilos of beans. Some poor guy bought it and died before he ever got a chance to use it (probably died of stale coffee) and his widow had someone sell it on eBay. I have owned it for 18 months and have done 120 roasts in it so far. The Alp deserves a few paragraphs. For my use it is almost perfect. It is VERY touchy about two parameters: 1) quantity of beans, and 2) ambient temperature/relative humidity. As has been noted here it does not do a dark roast on it's own. It won't usually go past full-city roast unless you coerce it, which is not difficult. I can turn beans to charcoal if I want to (which I don't) and there is no real trick to it. You just set the roast setting to maximum (15) and use 180 g of beans instead of 230 g. The darkness the Alp will roast to is very easily adjusted by adjusting the amount of beans to the gram. I use an old analytical balance, but any good digital balance with an accuracy of 1 g will do fine. The less beans the darker the roast. As to ambient temperature, at 30°C in the summer I can do 220 g as dark as I like. At 16°C in the winter I can only do 200 g or less. Relative humidity also has an effect; the higher the humidity the smaller the mass of beans you can roast. It goes without saying that you need to keep an accurate roast log with this roaster. Every parameter you can think of should be noted and the results carefully studied so you can repeat roasts. Very small beans, peaberries, etc. will stick in the drum and burn and smoke, but I have not noticed that such a roast tastes smoky or had any other problems with it. I just knock the burnt beans out with a wooden spoon and go on. I let the Alp cool down an hour before using again. I worry about the plastic housing near the fan. It is becoming slightly deformed and discolored. This roaster seems quite well designed and well made, but I am put off by the amount of plastic material in the hot-air path. The fan is also plastic. I have never taken the machine apart, but probably will have to do so as I cannot get the fan shrouding clean anymore and I am afraid the dust could catch fire. I have seen an Alp that caught fire because of this and it was just so much rubbish. After 3 or 4 roasts it is important to wash the chaff tray, vent screen and outlet hood and the roast-bean hopper. After 5 0r 6 roasts the reflecting inner liner of the door should be cleaned and polished. By carefuly removing 2 self-tapping screws it can be removed and washed. I do mine in the dishwasher. Of course, after every roast the chaff needs to be removed from the tray and the roasting chamber, the fan and the outlet hood. I roast under a 1/2hp vent hood in the kitchen and it doesn't completely get rid of the smoke problem, but my wife enjoys the smell, so what can I say? If this is a problem for someone it sounds like the Ben and Jerry (ummmm Zach, something) roaster might be a better solution. Both of my roasters make LOTS of smoke. Also, a small vacuum cleaner is an absolute necessity, especially with the Alp as you need to removed any chaff that has gotten stuck in or around the heating element. I love improving on espresso shots, enjoy the complements I get on milk espresso drinks and get a kick out the look on people's faces when they see my big commercial espresso machines, but the biggest joy I get out of coffee is roasting. A well-roasted, carefully blended coffee has become my own personal equivalent to the hígher-deity espresso shot so many dream of. Best wishes, Bruce "ol' smokey joe" B |
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What roaster to buy?
Bruce B wrote: > > The Hotpop looks lovely, but doesn't have a big enough capacity for the > price, AFAIAC. Aw heck! I meant Hoptop. Sorry about that. Or was that Pottop? Pophot? Bruce "cold bottom" B |
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What roaster to buy?
Bruce B wrote: > > The Hotpop looks lovely, but doesn't have a big enough capacity for the > price, AFAIAC. Aw heck! I meant Hoptop. Sorry about that. Or was that Pottop? Pophot? Bruce "cold bottom" B |
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What roaster to buy?
completely
> get rid of the smoke problem, but my wife enjoys the smell, so what can > I say? If this is a problem for someone it sounds like the Ben and Jerry > (ummmm Zach, something) roaster might be a better solution. Both of my > roasters make LOTS of smoke. Also, a small vacuum cleaner is an absolute > necessity, especially with the Alp as you need to removed any chaff that > has gotten stuck in or around the heating element. > > > Best wishes, > > Bruce "ol' smokey joe" B > Hi Bruce Thanks for a well written essay on roasters. Do not hesitate and open the Alp to clean the interior after 12 month of use. The first indication that the machine is becoming too dirty is the need to increase the setting to a higher number to obtain the usual roast color. -- Ivo van der Putten www.ivanderputten.nl www.ongebrand.nl |
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What roaster to buy?
completely
> get rid of the smoke problem, but my wife enjoys the smell, so what can > I say? If this is a problem for someone it sounds like the Ben and Jerry > (ummmm Zach, something) roaster might be a better solution. Both of my > roasters make LOTS of smoke. Also, a small vacuum cleaner is an absolute > necessity, especially with the Alp as you need to removed any chaff that > has gotten stuck in or around the heating element. > > > Best wishes, > > Bruce "ol' smokey joe" B > Hi Bruce Thanks for a well written essay on roasters. Do not hesitate and open the Alp to clean the interior after 12 month of use. The first indication that the machine is becoming too dirty is the need to increase the setting to a higher number to obtain the usual roast color. -- Ivo van der Putten www.ivanderputten.nl www.ongebrand.nl |
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