iRoast2 arrives...

RE*AC*TOR

My iRoast2 coffee roaster arrived today. Still in work, so haven't got a chance to try it yet.

But will try it out later and report my findings....

Mr Magnolia

Hope the reports not good. If I buy any more coffee equipment my wife will probably leave me

Seriously though, happy roasting. Look forward to the report. Where'd you get the beans from?

RE*AC*TOR

roaster and beans courtesy of hasbean.co.uk

Gran Hermano

I'm with Mr Magnolia on this, I'm running out of kitchen counter space.
~Must resist urge to order, must resist urge........... ~

Keep us posted on the progress.

RE*AC*TOR

Sorry guys, I just had the best moka coffee ever (made by me at least). Finca La Fany Bourbon coffee from El Salvador. Roasted with preset one, stopped with about 3 minutes to go (when I was happy with the color) - a medium roast.

Amazing depth of flavour, little droplets of oil visible on the surface of the coffee.

And that was just my first attempt.

Not supposed to put it through my espresso machine for at least 12 hours, to let it degas, but feck it, I'm gonna give it a whirl.

*edit*

came through a little on the fast side with my normal grind size. Not sure if this is because it needs to degas, or because i need to go finer... but either way, loads of crema, an interesting tasting coffee, starts off a little acidic, almost lemony, but finished deep, really really good on the finish.

Mr Magnolia

RE*AC*TOR wrote:

Sorry guys, I just had the best moka coffee ever (made by me at least). Finca La Fany Bourbon coffee from El Salvador. Roasted with preset one, stopped with about 3 minutes to go (when I was happy with the color) - a medium roast.

Amazing depth of flavour, little droplets of oil visible on the surface of the coffee.

And that was just my first attempt.

Glad to hear it went well and your enjoying it. Don't know where I'm going to get the counter space, suppose we don't use the toaster very much anyway

billyblanks

RE*AC*TOR wrote:

Sorry guys, I just had the best moka coffee ever (made by me at least). Finca La Fany Bourbon coffee from El Salvador. Roasted with preset one, stopped with about 3 minutes to go (when I was happy with the color) - a medium roast.

Amazing depth of flavour, little droplets of oil visible on the surface of the coffee.

And that was just my first attempt.

Not supposed to put it through my espresso machine for at least 12 hours, to let it degas, but feck it, I'm gonna give it a whirl.

*edit*

came through a little on the fast side with my normal grind size. Not sure if this is because it needs to degas, or because i need to go finer... but either way, loads of crema, an interesting tasting coffee, starts off a little acidic, almost lemony, but finished deep, really really good on the finish.

It will taste better in 24/48 hours, flavor needs to develop. Also the acidity will reduce as the Co2 escapes....

Gran Hermano

Suppose I could chuck the kettle and make space, not like I drink tea

RE*AC*TOR

negative points... sure why not...


its very loud.

it set off my smoke alarm (without seeming to give off a lot of smoke).

rockbeer

Mr Magnolia wrote:

Glad to hear it went well and your enjoying it. Don't know where I'm going to get the counter space, suppose we don't use the toaster very much anyway

Sounds like time to move coffee operations outside. Why not get yourself a nice big shed (I'm assuming you don't live in an apartment here). That way when your wife kicks you out you'll have somewhere to go

How much can you roast at a time in the iRoast2?

RE*AC*TOR

about 150g

RE*AC*TOR

Just tried the same beans and same grind as yesterday (with an extra day's rest). Didn't go through as fast this time. Darker coloured crema, not as acidic. Still slightly on the fast side (20 seconds), but not majorly.

The aftertaste is amazing. Now must try the Brazilian blend....

rockbeer

Do you think it's a robust machine? I mean, could you run it all day or does it need to cool down between roasts? I don't suppose the documentation specifies a duty cycle?

Sorry for all the questions. My thirst for knowledge almost beats my thirst for espresso

Gran Hermano

Rockbeer,

I've been looking at these machines for the last few months and
am verging on ordering. During my trawl through on-line reviews
I found the following which might be of interest to you:
(check the coffeegeek site for full review and info on duty cycle)

http://www.coffeegeek.com/proreviews/firstlook/iroast2

Roasting Capacities and Limitationshttp://www.coffeegeek.com/images/27875/200x200/warnings.jpg?Popup=1
The iRoast2 is designed to roast between 130 and 150 grams of green coffee. This is double the capacity of the older Hearthware models and most hot air popcorn popper roasters. The roaster's software is designed so that it will only roast for a maximum of 15 minutes, no matter what profile you program in - done for obvious safety reasons - coffee can literally instantly combust at high temperatures, burning down kitchens and entire homes. Don't laugh - it's happened to people in the CoffeeGeek forums.

The roaster allows up to five programmed settings per profile (up from 3 on the original iRoast)

Hearthware has a big yellow sticker on the machine that says do not use more than 7 times a week or more than twice in one session or..... something dire will happen. Maybe it will blow up. Seriously though, their previous products were so over-used by some home roasters that they had a very short shelf life, and Hearthware nearly went bankrupt from dealing with all the product returns and warranty work. Hearthware puts this warning on to let people know this isn't a product you use 24/7, or for that matter a product than should be used to roast 5 pounds of coffee in one day. They also state quite clearly the limitations of their warranty.

rockbeer

Many thanks for the extra info Gran Hermano...
I read up that CofeeGeek link and it looks like a great machine for home roasting. You'd have to have a serious habit or a mad number of friends to get through more than 500g a week at home.

I'm still looking for something I can roast a more commercial quantity with. Commercial roasters are mad money. Thinking of trying to build some kind of heath robinson contraption with a gas barbeque, rotisserie attachement and some kind of drum. I'm sure if I work at it I'll eventually find a way to burn our place down