Unassuming little portal to the homeroasting multiverse
Positive Product Points
Small footprint, entry price. Quick batches
Negative Product Points
Quick batches. Small batches.
Detailed Commentary
My introduction to coffee obsession came from a recomendation to check out the SM's website. Lucky for me my lunch date got me this roaster the next day for my wedding. The FR is a great introduction to the world of homeroasting.
I will never tire of watching coffee roast in a fluid bed roaster. The FR gives a very gratifying show because you'll be knocking on Vienna's door after only four minutes or so. I've heard a few ways of slowing the roast but short of the variac that I never tried this thing is still a quickie.
A big plus to this roaster is the fact that since you are looking at about a 2 oz. batch you can blend different roast levels of the same bean to give you a really balanced cup.
When my roaster was new I was a bit put off by the excess silicon calk holding the glass to the base of the roast chamber.
After a few months the top of the base of the unit developed a few radial cracks. A couple of tries to reach the manufacturer's rep. in SLC got me an offer of replacement for what was a superficial non-issue. I didn't want to deal with down time to dance around with a warranty. I've probably roasted 100 batches with my roaster.
I just upgraded to the gene cafe because I was always wondering just what I was missing sending my beans from room temp to 400 some odd degrees in four minutes or so.
