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Roasting my own coffee beans at home has been something
I've been thinking about doing for a while. It's not something
I've ever done yet. I've been doing some reading up on it, and
there are a few write-ups on the web about roasting beans in
popcorn machines, on cookie sheets in the oven, in bbq grilles,
and in frying pans. Then there are ingenious devices that appear
t be home made that cool the beans quickly once the roasting
process has been completed. I was going to try the frying pan
approach, and may yet do so for those of us without budgets for
new gadgets, but I also read up on the few coffee bean roasting
machines for the home that are available.
 Two
in particular took my fancy, the
I-Roast 2 Home Coffee Roaster and the
Nesco Pro Coffee Bean Roaster. After reading up on both of
them, I decided to go with the i-Roast which I ordered through
Amazon yesterday. The reason I chose the i-Roast was that it
seems it's been on the market longer, and in fact this is
"version 2", so it has a track record and the reviews at Amazon
were pretty favorable. One of the great features about the i-Roast
2 is that it has the ability to save up to 10 roast settings in
memory so that once you hit the sweet spot with a roast, you can
save it and use it again. Both machines have glass viewing areas
which is something essential for getting your roast perfect it
seems.
 One
feature on the Nesco machine that sounded like a big plus is
that it has a catalytic converter that removes the smoke; from
my reading it sounds like smoke is a big thing when it comes to
roasting your own beans and you're almost always going to set
off your smoke alarms. So, again, that seems like a plus, but
living in sunny Southern California, and having a deck with
power outlets means I intend to take my i-Roast outside when I
use it. The thing that ultimately decided me against the Nesco
machine is that it is brand new to the market as of January
2007, and there are no reviews for it, and even on the Nesco
website there is currently very little information about the
machine and its features, which seems like a major marketing
faux pas to me.
 I
ordered some green beans from
Espresso
Vivace when I placed my latest order for beans a week ago.
They supply their Dolce espresso roast as green beans. I intend
to try green beans from other companies going forward too. So
now all there is to do is wait for my
i-Roast to arrive which should be by the end of the week.
Once I get it, I'll be keen to start using it and sharing with
you everything I learn.
See follow up to this post here:
Tips on customizing your roasting profile using the i-Roast 2
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