Hard to learn profiling Poor quality on stenciling of buttons, etc Hard to hear the cracks **It appears that iRoast will not honor warranty for a unit that does not have a receipt for retail.
Detailed Commentary
This is my third roaster. Had two Zach and Dani's - both of which failed. Though this unit is not smokeless, it is not a real issue. I did not purchase the adapter, but instead place it under the range hood and turn it on while roasting. This works quite well. I am a little hard of hearing and due to the noise of the roaster it is hard for me to hear the 1st and 2nd crack. But nonetheless, I seem to get what I want - a uniform espresso roast.
If there is an area of deficiency, though not directly relating to the machine, it would be the lack of information on how to set-up roasting profiles. i.e. Should the temp be higher or lower in stage one? Two? Or three? Which should be longer in time? I have established two different profiles for the bean I use, but do not know if I am getting the best out of the bean. It looks good, tastes good, but could it be better. A little booklet with the unit would have been helpful - Googling has not produced much help.
All in all, I would not hesitate to purchase this roaster again.
Buying Experience
**I purchased from Marlton Coffee, because they offered FREE shipping and 8 sample packages of beans. Correspondence with them has been great - both pleasant and informative. All aspects of the purchase could not have been better!
Three Month Followup
Looks like I missed it ;)
One Year Followup
I am very happy with this roaster. Have done a little experimenting with profiles, but hard to tell the full difference when the shots go into a latte. The variety of the coffee has more of an impact of the flavor than the roast profiles - in my experience. The unit is still noisey, and smokes, but has less of an impact than when I first got it. With the smoke issue, I have noted that the variety of coffee makes a big difference due to the oil content. The variety I am using now has high oil content and have had to move the unit outdoors to roast as the range hood could not handle the last minute of the very dark roast. This is not an issue for me as it is convenient and no risk of setting off the smoke alarms.
For the dollars invested, I am more than satisfied with the roaster. FAR superior to my previous unit.
Goes well with my Breville 800ESXL and Breville Iconic Burr Grinder.
