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 enlarge | Manufacturer: Freshbeans, Inc.
Temporarily Out of Stock...
But Amazon Should Have It
Rating:  10 reviews
ASIN: B0001NJJVW
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 6-10 of 10 | | « PREV | | |
 I haven't had good luck with this roaster January 2, 2006
Sonya G. Dean (Raleigh, NC)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I got this roaster for Christmas and by New Year's day I had to replace it twice. The roaster's heating element would burn out after using it once; eventhough, I follow the intructions of this machine very carefully. I am quite sad about this machine because I was so excited to be able to roast my own coffee beans to my taste and I am giving up on this brand. I hope I find a roaster that works. Any suggestions?
Great machine - but inconsistencies in manufacturing July 30, 2005
D. Bley (Eden, NY USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I purchased the original FreshRoast and loved it, even after the roasting chamber base cracked. I decided it was time to trade up anyway, since the FreshRoast Plus 8 had just come out. It arrived, but the chamber did not fit in the base. The company was very helpful and quickly sent me a replacement. I've used the FreshRoast Plus 8 for about a year, and it takes longer to roast the same amount of beans, but it does not give me the darker roasts. City is as dark as it gets, so French Roasts are out of the question.
 Frugality *and* foodie indulgence, all in one! July 3, 2005
Esther Schindler (Scottsdale, AZ USA)
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
We've had a FreshRoast for four or five years, which we purchased direct from SevenBridges (the vendor who's listed here at Amazon). I've just ordered a new roaster (another brand -- more about that in a moment), because the FreshRoast has finally given up the ghost (given up the roast?). I've no regrets; we've used this thing every day, and ours was among the original models. They've streamlined a bit since then, I understand.
If you're wondering about the wisdom of investing in a coffee roaster, and this one in particular, let me assure you: IT IS WORTH IT. This is one of the few times when your appreciation of good food intersects with frugality.
You may be wondering about the return-on-investment for an item that costs nearly a hundred bucks. I estimate that our family of two paid it off in under six months, and we drink only 1-2 cups of coffee a day. The green beans cost about $5/pound (sweetmarias.com has the best selection I've found) and last indefinitely at room temperature; compare that to the $10+/pound you pay for "good" stuff at the grocery. Our FreshRoast has paid for itself several times over.
And you don't have to be a coffee snob to appreciate roasting. I'm not, I swear. But I've found that many upscale coffee shops -- and Starbucks in particular -- overroast their coffee, and often tastes burned. I much prefer the "city roast" (which is what I've had in Europe, more often than not). With your own roasting setup, you can make the coffee as dark or light as you like.
Nor is the process an onerous one. In reality, this is a hot air popcorn popper With Attitude. You pour in the beans (we've found 42 grams to be "just right" though you don't have to be so picky), crank on the machine, and do the rest of your breakfast setup while the coffee roasts. In our case, when we hear it go into second crack (you'll learn more about this when you get your own roaster), flip the knob to cool and let it finish up. It doesn't take much more attention than making toast. And it's fun, without being fiddly.
So, why am I purchasing another brand? Because we want a roaster that'll make just a bit more coffee. The FreshRoast is relatively small, which is fine; but those 42g turn into coffee for two days , assuming 1-2 cups each for two people. If we have dinner guests, we have to do multiple batches. (And believe me, the dinner guests LOVE this stuff. I'm personally responsible for at least a half dozen FreshRoast purchases!) As a result, we're trying out an I-Roast instead. I'll let you know how well it works.
It fascinates the cats May 24, 2005
B. Chandler (Arlington, Texas)
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
I have the feeling that roasting is out of vogue as I could not find a local outlet to sell this critter. However I did not let that stop me.
A lot of the fun was unpacking the roaster and the accompanying bag of beans. I just scanned through the manual and any warnings. I later read it several times from cover to cover; however I was in a hurry to plug it in. Each piece fit together and was to speculate as to what its function was. The roster also came with a scoop and I had to laugh at the instructions; they said to fill the scoop up twice and then empty it into the roaster.
Because I read previous reviews I planed on the roaster producing smoke and I have alarms all over the house including those that are monitors. So I took it into the garage. There I found a safe place with nothing flammable around it. There the cats and I proceeded to follow the directions.
First try at 6 minutes plus cool down produced dark oily coated beans. And I noticed that there was a section in the top of the roaster to collect the chaff. The cats were fascinated with the beans fluffing up and moving around. And sure enough there was smoke.
Second try at three minutes produced almost even roasting with a few green tasting beans. So third time was the charm at three and a half minutes. Also not a lot of smoke was produced this time. Now I have some beans from a different location and will see if the same timing applies. The cats are sitting by waiting.
Awesome Roaster!!!!! November 19, 2004
P. Ritter (Philadelphia, PA)
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
I have the older model, pre plus, but hope Santa will bring me a plus 8. My review will be of the older model, which, I expect, is valid.
Bought it a couple years ago (1999, 2000?) and LOVE it! Once you figure out what roast you like, it's very easy to set up and leave it alone to roast. As with any roaster, you do need a good venting system - the house will fill with the smell of coffee. While this is not an unpleasant smell it is pervasive. I roast outside and have a covered porch so I can roast in the bad weather as necessary.
Green beans (also referred to as 'peas') can be purchased from many on-line sources as well as local coffee roasters. I have bought many pounds from several local roasters and been able to strike up chats with the roasters and gotten roasting tips. Now I pretty much buy by the 35kg bag as the peas will keep for 2 years. This way you can have fresh roasted coffee and it will not loose its flavor.
Some things I have noticed over time: Roasting regular coffee produces more chaff than decaffinated coffee (the decaffination process removes a lot of the chaff). Make sure you keep a pastry or paint brush solely for cleaning out the roaster when you are done. On occasion, you will want to clean out the roasting chamber with pressurized air (canned air works fine).
In speaking with other home roasters, this brand has a devoted following. They have tried the Alpenroast among others and still LOVE their FreshRoast roaster.
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