As somebody who is just beginning to explore home roasting I wonder how, when done well, it compares to a well roasted commercial product? Over the years Ive read a bit about and talked to commercial roasters and have often found theyre as passionate about the product they produce as any good Barista is about theirs. In addition theyre using enormously expensive and sophisticated equipment to achieve that end result.
Now of course some of the expense/sophistication comes as a result of size. You dont exactly wheel your 60kg roaster outside to spray chaff and smoke all over the neighbourhood! However is it possible, using equipment readily available to the home enthusiast, to produce an end product consistently better than the commercially roasted equivalent? In other words Im ruling out somebody running a sample roaster at home, rather using something like a Hottop or "corretto"?
While Im sure roasting at home is interesting, and most certainly educational (not to mention cheaper), to me its all about whats in the cup. So while I may mess about with a popper just for fun, there may be no point in getting too carried away with it if it will never truly replicate the results of a professional.
So what do you think? Be honest now
Now of course some of the expense/sophistication comes as a result of size. You dont exactly wheel your 60kg roaster outside to spray chaff and smoke all over the neighbourhood! However is it possible, using equipment readily available to the home enthusiast, to produce an end product consistently better than the commercially roasted equivalent? In other words Im ruling out somebody running a sample roaster at home, rather using something like a Hottop or "corretto"?
While Im sure roasting at home is interesting, and most certainly educational (not to mention cheaper), to me its all about whats in the cup. So while I may mess about with a popper just for fun, there may be no point in getting too carried away with it if it will never truly replicate the results of a professional.
So what do you think? Be honest now


). To paraphrase Lucas signature, its whats in MY cup that counts. I do a huge number of things myself, in all manner of areas, from home renovation, car servicing, electronics, mechanical engineering, furniture making, and so it goes on. Sure I get satisfaction from doing the work, but the main reason I do it is because I know the chances are Ill do the job better, albeit MUCH slower, than if I was to get a so called "professional" in to do it. Each area involves a whole set of skills I have to learn and problems I will never have seen before. But at the end of the often laborious process I sometimes need several goes at to get right, Im left with a result that suits ME; its whats in MY cup. So it is with any new area, I try to take a step back and ask, given realistic time/expense constraints is it possible I will be able to reach a point where I am reasonably consistently doing this job better than a professional (who may be bound by constraints that dont apply to my situation). Unless thats the case Im simply not interested in going down the path. It reminds me somewhat of these "home shows" featuring a segment where you make lamp shades out of potato skins or something equally hideous. At the end Im left wondering why you would possibly bother spending a good afternoon wasting your time and money on something that looks like crap. Just go out and buy a lamp shade! But to others the satisfaction is completely different.
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