CHOICE tests of home roasters

[herbie]

CHOICE has just released their test opinions of 4 home roasters. The Behmor was bought from Andy. Good to see Coffeesnobs is recommended as a place to buy green beans.

[MrDerrickC]

Re: CHOICE tests of home roasters

Awwww, subscribers only

[don_nairn]

Re: CHOICE tests of home roasters

is this a sign that home roasting coffee is becoming mainstream?

[shapeshifter]

Re: CHOICE tests of home roasters

Maybe if it does get more popular it might make coffee shops and cafes pick up their game :-)

[Fresh_Coffee]

Re: CHOICE tests of home roasters

I dont believe so 

I think choyce picked it up because of the current "fad value" of coffee.  Coffee is on everyones lips, even when they havent a clue about what theyre talking about....but they still talk about it, and it all helps to sell magazines

If choyce thought people were getting seriously interested in anchovie pelletisers or chook poo concentrators, they would probably do a test on them, and I bet theyve done tests on rice cookers and bread makers in the past and that never made any bakeries that I know of lift their game. 

And people still go out for coffee even when they have a coffee machine at home. Its a social phenomenon!

[sorrentina]

Re: CHOICE tests of home roasters

the review in questions is quite decent actually-

I must beg to differ about rice cookers- cant believe you dont have one. Only way to cook rice. Also I dont think rice cookers are niche at all- unless you consider Asian Australia to be a strictly niche market. Rice cookers are everywhere- and for good reason.

Bread machines I am not so sold on. Square lumps of doughy `meh- put me off years ago- also my flour didnt store as nicely as green beans... sick of weevils I got out of that game. No doubt there are better machines around these days.

as for home roasting: I see it growing just like coffee in general. More and more people are spending big on home machinery- without the best beans I would argue this is a waste of money. Good beans cost good money- and cant be easily had everywhere- home roasting is one way to save money- and guarantee supply. Quite a few i-coffee roasters have found their way to rural destinations and I can see why. Back in the day every farm used to roast their own coffee - or so I have heard.

[malliemcg]

Re: CHOICE tests of home roasters

So which roasters ranked where?

[act180]

Re: CHOICE tests of home roasters

So which roasters ranked where?

Hi Malliemcg, fancy meeting you here! Remember me from VWVortex?
Choice rated Hot top > iCoffee > Behmor > Gene Cafe > iRoast.

Im trying to choose between the iCoffee and the Behmor and I think Ill go the iCoffee based on this comparison.

[Jonty]

Re: CHOICE tests of home roasters

So which roasters ranked where?

Hi Malliemcg, fancy meeting you here! Remember me from VWVortex?
Choice rated Hot top > iCoffee > Behmor > Gene Cafe > iRoast.

Im trying to choose between the iCoffee and the Behmor and I think Ill go the iCoffee based on this comparison.

Okay I own a Behmor and have never used an iCoffee.....

The iCoffee looks a nice little unit and probably does a fantastic job but 150g roasts would see me doing 4-5 roasts a week. The Behmor I use a green bean mass of 300 - 350g and have been known to throw 400g of MM in a achieve 2nd crack.

Just consider the amount of coffee you drink and no doubt by roasting your own, consumption goes up

Good luck with the selection either way.

Jonty

[fivegallon]

Re: CHOICE tests of home roasters

The iCoffee looks a nice little unit and probably does a fantastic job but 150g roasts would see me doing 4-5 roasts a week.  The Behmor I use a green bean mass of 300 - 350g and have been known to throw 400g of MM in a achieve 2nd crack. 

Just consider the amount of coffee you drink and no doubt by roasting your own, consumption goes up 

Good luck with the selection either way.

Jonty

Not sure where you got the 150g roasts from. I put 250g in as standard and have given it a shot with a bit over 300 on occasion 

[lemoo]

Re: CHOICE tests of home roasters

^ what jonty said

the icoffee and the behmor are fantastic roasters
i believe the main factor is how much coffee you intend to roast each time taking into account your consumption

[act180]

Re: CHOICE tests of home roasters

Ive been using poppers for a while and I would like to roast more than 100 gms at a time. Im now leaning towards a Behmor.

I can summarise between the two as follows:
iCoffee - easier to use, cleaner, lower (factory recommended) capacity, smaller, and quicker/cleaner cooling, less control.

One question I have - is it a glorified popper? i.e. does it roast the same way as a popper with smoke filtration and chaff collection?

Behmor - More control, larger capacity, but is bigger, will make a mess inside (I really want to roast inside), is a drum type and Ive read this type of roast is less bright which appeals to me. Also read that its difficult to see the roast colour through the window and cooling is slow with door closed and messy with door open.

Now Im leaning towards the Behmor for larger capacity and the taste characteristic of the drum type. Does it really suck at cooling with the door closed though?

Thanks, Joel

[Steffen]

Re: CHOICE tests of home roasters

Not sure where you got the 150g roasts from. I put 250g in as standard and have given it a shot with a bit over 300 on occasion 

The manual says to use 150g max, but I typically roast 200 or 250g per batch, too.

Cheers
Steffen.

[Steffen]

Re: CHOICE tests of home roasters

iCoffee - easier to use, cleaner, lower (factory recommended) capacity, smaller, and quicker/cleaner cooling, less control.

One question I have - is it a glorified popper? i.e. does it roast the same way as a popper with smoke filtration and chaff collection?

The popper blows hot air through the beans. The hot air does both the roasting and the agitating.

The iCoffee heats the beans from a hot plate below. They are agitated by a rotating paddle. There is also some airflow to extract the chaff, but this is insignificant compared to a popper. The extracted air is after-burned to eliminate smoke.

Cheers
Steffen.

[lemoo]

Re: CHOICE tests of home roasters

Behmor - More control, larger capacity, but is bigger, will make a mess inside (I really want to roast inside), is a drum type and Ive read this type of roast is less bright which appeals to me. Also read that its difficult to see the roast colour through the window and cooling is slow with door closed and messy with door open.

Now Im leaning towards the Behmor for larger capacity and the taste characteristic of the drum type. Does it really suck at cooling with the door closed though?

i roast indoors with fan blowing out towards the door to avoid triggering smoke detectors and any odours to linger in the house for too long

i roast with the door close the whole time and do not have any external cooling methods

its actually not too bad. sure you could do all of the above, open the door half way/cool it externally faster to make it better. but i dont mind. it comes down to personal preference really.

if you are asking if it can be done and produce a good roast, then yes it does. once u want to improve your roast, then you can venture and look into those options above