I want to start roasting my own beans. Ive read about some that only roast light and some that roast dark. I like a med/dark roast. Can anyone help out and recommend a good roaster?? Money will be an issue. Nothing crazy. Thanks
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can build an sc/co for about $60-80... probably best option :-)
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How much coffee do you use/month?
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You could be like me, Google dog bowl heat gun coffee roasting.
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I have been using a Fresh Roast Plus for about 8 years. I love it. My wife and I drink a Bunn 10 cup pot a day. I roast a few batches interspersed throughout the day, and get enough beans for a week. One roasting renders about 1.5 pots (at the strength we enjoy). Here is a link to this roaster at Coffee Bean Corral. You can shop around if you like, but this is about as good a deal as you will find. http://www.coffeebeancorral.com/Prod...x?productid=FR
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about 3-4 pounds
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thanks for the link rev!
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air roasters are fine for small amounts of home roast but at 65g per roast the end result does not even make a full pot of coffee and to get 3-4 pounds a week than you would have to roast 16 times. I started with a roaster that claims to do 1# but that died after 6 months and after repair it has a tough time doing 1/4#. I than upgraded to the HotTop B which costs around $720 but has produced 3-4#'s per week for 14 months straight with 0 problems. A friend has the Gene Cafe which is around $495 and is also a great roaster and he has had to fix it 1 in 2-3 years. Both of these roasters will handle 280g of green beans that produce 1/2# of roasted beans. It depends on your roasting needs and commitment so starting with an air roaster for under $100 may be a good way start.

I like the reviews Sweet Maria's does for their products and their green beans plus customer service is A+.
http://www.sweetmarias.com/index.html

Mr Moo made a BBQ roaster and has posted details on it which can do 2#'s at a time and I don't believe it costs to much to make one of these.
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For a pound/wk or more I'd definitely be thinking SCCO which, by the way, is not hardly the best roaster-learning device.
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I used an IRoast-2 for almost two years with no mechanical problems, aside from the time I dropped the top that holds the chaff collector and cracked it. (Replacement cost 15 bucks.) My routine was to grab a cigar and retreat into the garage about three times a week. The small capacity is the major drawback, but it got me into the garage for a smoke on a regular basis, so I can't complain.

Air roasters are great learning devices, though the noise of the IRoar takes a little getting used to.
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I started on a Fresh Roast +. I was using about the same amount you are 3 to 4 lbs a month. It is a good one to start on because you can see what is going on and smell the beans as they roast. It makes for great cigar time in the garage. Also check out Sweet Marias web site for excellent information on roasting. www.sweetmarias.com
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This works great for me. Roasting outside (or on my covered porch in inclement weather) is a must because of the smoke and chaff.
Great control over the roast, I do one to two cups of green at a time (I've found 1 cup to be about 1/3 pound unroasted). I'd say 7-13 minutes per batch of roast time, plus cool down, you could easily do your 1+ pound a week in about an hour including set up and take down.
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