Fresh Roast Plus 8 - Information Needed

[paisley]

Hi:

First of all, I want to thank everyone for the assistance with using the Silvia and the Rocky. My shots are improving by leaps and bounds. In the beginning, I thought I would use flavors frequently but as it is turning out, the coffee shots with frothed milk are nice enough to drink without flavorings. It amazes me.


I need some information on the Fresh Roast Plus 8 roasting machine. Sweetmarias.com offers one on their website at a decent price including green beans. However, I have several questions I need answers to before making any firm decisions.

Will the Fresh Roast Plus do well with decaf beans?

Is this machine big enough to handle one person's coffee habit with 2 to 3 lattes (double shots each one) daily?

Can the machine do well indoors sitting on the stovetop using the hood vent for ventilation without setting off the house smoke alarm detector?

Can it take additional roasting on occasion for caffeinated beans?

Is it fairly safe to use? Remember that I am visually impaired but that doesn't stop me from trying what I want to do. As long as I can keep it safe, I am willing to learn. The hot air popper and whirly gig ones frighten me because of the way they work. The fact that roasting depends on more than sight makes this an opportune solution for me.

Shipping and handling is eating me up when it comes to ordering pre-roasted beans. In addition, I feel this is a viable solution because once I find a few beans I like, I tend to stick to those beans. I will probably continue ordering various pre-roasts but for the most part, I want to roast my own in the future.

It is important to keep expenditures as low as possible to prevent DH from stroking out. (grin) This could ultimately prevent him from needing to stop to pick up beans when possible or me from having to order constantly. Again, shipping costs are killing me. I want the freshest roast possible without costing a fortune.

I appreciate any advice or information anyone can provide. It isn't as if I am plan to order the roaster next week but it is something I hope to do in the future, possibly within the next month or two.

Fresh Roast Plus 8 link to Sweet Marias that I am considering: http://sweetmarias.com/prod.freshroast.shtml

Here is my Silvia/Rocky set up. My daughter took pictures the other day to give an idea of space and what I have. The units take a small amount of space, given the space available, on my countertops.

Thanks again,

Paisley

[another_jim]

The freshroast will do a decent job and is a fairly smoke free roaster, so the range hood location is OK.

Capacity is fine, since it's easy to do back to back roasts indefinitely (it's a tough little machine), especially if you buy a second roast chamber.

The coffee quality is not as high as a properly working IRoast or Hottop; although for dark roasts, it may actually be better. The quality can be improved by slowing down the roast. The highest quality way to do this is to cut the amount of coffee in the roast by about 10%. In air roasters, the higher flow rate through the beans will result in a lower air temperature and a slower roast.

The downside of this is that you're doing slower roasts of less coffee, so that your roast sessions will take longer.

[paisley]

Jim:

Thanks so much. Roasting time doesn't present a problem because I don't work outside of the home. MOF, I don't really work at all except for personal writing (fictional novels) and freelance writing (fiction/nonfiction/nonprofit).

The larger, more complex machines scare me because of my fading sight. The eye disease I have causes tunnel vision. The peripheral (tunnels) tapped at about 5 degrees leaving only my central vision but lupus (an autoimmune disease) and extraordinarily small optic nerves leaves the central vision screwed up as well. It is similar to looking through two barrels, one on each eye, and having saran wrap across the ends. The outer vision doesn't exist at all and what remains of my central vision is a blur or extremely hazy. It isn't too difficult to distinguish differences in light and dark contrasts though. The levels of contrasts may pose a problem but I am sure I can do it with enough practice, trial, and errors.

Thanks again. At least now I know this little machine will work well. I just hope I can learn to roast decaf in it well enough. I hear it is a bit more difficult than caffeinated beans. Now, I have to figure out which beans can be more forgiving when I am ready to try it.

Paisley

[Dr Jim]

Paisley -

Having owned, and sold, an FR8+ - I wonder if you might not be better served by a Zach and Danni's roaster?

My thinking is as follows:

While the FR8+ is a competent roaster, if you keep the batch sizes down, it is somewhat notorious for being very, very quick to finish a roast - in many cases 1st and 2nd crack are literally just seconds apart, if not just run together in a sort of 'exploding pop-corn' effect.

Since Decaf beans are essentially 'pre-processed' they have little or no chaff, and are already pretty dark in color. Hence, they do not not produce much smoke or other visual clues until they've entered 1st crack and are pretty much done - which means that in an FR8+ you've got a very short time in which to decide that you roast is finished and get the beans cooling.

The Z&D roaster OTOH, is a pretty slow device, often taking 20-23 minutes to take a typical Brazilian bean to City/Full City (medium-dark cinnamon to dark brown with no exuded oils) and there can be several minutes between 1st and 2nd crack. which makes this roaster much more gentle, and possibly easier to control.

I don't drink decaf, and so rarely roast it, but was pretty frustrated trying to get a drinkable decaf for some friends in my FR8+. I haven't tried a decaf roast in my Z&D (just bought used for about what an FR8+ sells for), but my sense is that what many folks perceive as a defect in the Z&D (somewhat slow heating times, and relatively low roast temperatures) may be just the ticket for decaf roasting.

Again, I don't have a lot of experience with the Z&D roaster or with roasting decaf, but thought I'd throw this idea out for other to comment on.

Cheers

Jim

[Gatewood]

I just ordered a FreshRoast+8 yesterday. I'm therefore really interested in this thread. How much less beans should you use in order to slow down the roast? I know another-Jim said 10% but I'm percentage-challenged. If I'm supposed to use about 1/3 cup of beans for a roast, I'm not sure how much less would be appropriate. I guess I can fiddle with it and experiment around, and probably will, but it seems to me that that's already a tiny amount of beans. (Got that amount from the advertisement of the Fresh Roast thing.)
Thanks for any help.
Gatewood

[paisley]

Gatewood:

Would you please post any results you find? I will be extremely interested.

DH is even on board about my roasting beans! I can't believe it!

Paisley

[Gatewood]

Gatewood:

Would you please post any results you find? I will be extremely interested.

DH is even on board about my roasting beans! I can't believe it!

Paisley

Sure thing, Paisley. My husband encouraged me to get the roaster, too. Don't know what they are thinking! Of course, he's in there sampling every shot I pull. I'll be glad to post whatever I find out. I'm a bit concerned about slowing the roast down; I'm not real fond of very dark beans. Let me know what you find out, too.
Gatewood

[another_jim]

I just ordered a FreshRoast+8 yesterday. I'm therefore really interested in this thread. How much less beans should you use in order to slow down the roast? I know another-Jim said 10% but I'm percentage-challenged. If I'm supposed to use about 1/3 cup of beans for a roast, I'm not sure how much less would be appropriate. I guess I can fiddle with it and experiment around, and probably will, but it seems to me that that's already a tiny amount of beans. (Got that amount from the advertisement of the Fresh Roast thing.)
Thanks for any help.
Gatewood

Changing the load is trial and error.

As a hint:

- load the roaster while the fan is running and the motor is off (turn the dial to the cooling area)
- the point where the beans are barely stirring (the highest possible load) will give you a 5 minute roast. This is good for when you want to do a "Vienna Roast" (stop the roast as the 2nd crack starts winding down) or darker, since it will preserve more of the aromatics.
-- the point where you get an 8 to 10 minute roast (best for a first pops of the second crack roast or lighter) will be fewer beans. 20% fewer usually stalls the roaster around the first crack and the roast never ends. somewhat less than that will do the trick.

It's best to either weigh (best) or measure the volume in a precise measuring cup (not quite as good) the beans and record before each roast, so you can repeat a good result.

[Gatewood]

Thanks, Jim. I'll break out the scales for my first couple of roasts. And I guess I'll have to get a little more organized and keep notes, too.

[paisley]

I'll get my feet wet with roasting at home soon. After reading numerous posts throughout the internet including here and cg, I purchased one of the Walgreen air pop popcorn machines for $9.99. CG's website claims this to be a rebadged Toastmaster and others have had success using it to roast beans.

Yesterday, I placed an order from Sweet Maria's for 2 pounds of green Decaf Sumatra and 1 pound green Decaf Donkey Blend. I hoped it would arrive sooner rather than later but it seems it will not get here until the 12th. I ordered a single pound of green from 8th Sin, a local roaster in Raleigh. Since it is about an hour away, I hope the beans will arrive by Saturday at the latest.

I have various how-to pages bookmarked. With the notebook computer in hand, hopefully I can pull off my first roasting experience with some semblance of success. I believe I will enjoy roasting. If it works out, perhaps it will save me some money and provide the freshest roast possible for the Silvia. The cost of ordering decaf in an origin I like in addition to the expensive of shipping is killing me. (And I thought my computer habit was expensive?) Anyhow, I hope it goes well. If I can work through roasting with the air popper, perhaps moving up to a real roaster will be easier. I am hoping it will convince my DH to help me purchase a better, more expensive roaster in the future. He is learning to enjoy the coffee I brew using the Silvia so I have a shot. He still doesn't like cappas or lattes but I am hooking him on Americanos of a sort. I brew one shot of espresso, mix with 4 to 6 ounces of hot water, and then add steamed milk with his Sweet & Low or Equal. I have an order in for two bottles of Sugarshots, one regular and the other sugar-free. I hope the liquid sugar will dissolve better, provide better taste than granular, and should lessen cooling the coffee during preparation.

With the way I am going through coffee each day/week, I suspect 4lbs will not last long but at least it will be nice while I have it. I don't think DH will argue too much with the cost considering green coffee beans are cheaper than roasted and I will be doing my own roasting at home. He is becoming quite the connoisseur although I never thought I would live to see the day. I overheard a slight brag to his brother over the weekend regarding my coffee making. It was nice to hear especially on the verge of our anniversary. It's today. We survived 12 years of marriage and nearly 18 years together. It's the longest time I've spent with any one man. (grin)

Thanks for all the help. I'll post my results - success or failure.

Paisley

[cannonfodder]

I went from the popcorn popper to a home made drum roaster and just recently went to a Hottop digital. I cannot imagine a machine being much easier to use. You just plug it in, push the time button to select the roast length, 17-21 minutes I believe but I rarely go more than 19, and push power. The machine runs a preheat (or cool if you just ran a batch) and gives you an audible beep for several seconds to let you know it is ready. You dump the beans into a funnel and they drop into the roast chamber, take the funnel off and put the cap on, then sit.

The machine will auto dump the roast when the timer runs out, it also gives you an audible beep when you get to the last minute so you can add time if needed. There is also a manual dump button if you wish to end the roast prior to the timer-hitting zero. I set it long and dump the roast when it gets just right.

They roast drops out the machine into a cooling tray. An agitator turns on automatically to stir the beans, a fan turns on to aid cooling and you sit some more. When the cooling cycle is finished it gives you another set of beeps. Remove the cooling tray (it just lifts up) and dump your beans into their resting vessel.

Sounds like a lot, but it is incredibly simple. Turn it on and wait for the beep, dump your beans in and wait for the roast to get where you want it. Push the eject button and wait for the beeps for the end of the cooling cycle and you are finished. Nothing to wrestle with, no small parts to touch or move and you can roast on audible queues. It also does a half-pound at a time so you will not have to roast two or three back-to-back roasts.

You can also get them for much less than SM sells them for.

[cannonfodder]

I have an order in for two bottles of Sugarshots, one regular and the other sugar-free. I hope the liquid sugar will dissolve better, provide better taste than granular, and should lessen cooling the coffee during preparation.

I have been using sugarshots for a while. There is no dissolving to do because it is already liquid. Works wonderful for iced tea, no dissolving. It is also sweater than table sugar so you can use less. If you have a Williams-Sonoma around, you can get it from them as well.

The wife and I will hit 13 years in a few months and 19 years since we started dating in high school.

[paisley]

Thanks for the information. I had a call from 8th Sin this evening. It was a courtesy call to make sure I meant to order green coffee beans. I thought it was sweet of the company. I explained that I would be roasting with the hot air popper at first and then hopefully move up from there. He gave me some roasting tips, which I thought was sweet of him too. He told me about the Hot Top roaster. The price he quoted is way out of my price range though. Unless I heard him wrong, he said it was around $600. That's way out of my range. It was hard enough to get my husband to help with the expense of the Silvia and Rocky. Maybe I can find one much cheaper. I'm hopeful. He said, as you mentioned, that it was a breeze to use.

BTW, congratulations on your upcoming wedding anniversary. Ours was somewhat dull but what can I say. It fell in the midst of a work week. Maybe we can go out this weekend to celebrate. DH is a bit miffed at me right now but he will get over it. There is a school function Friday night and he swears I didn't mention it to him. He knew about it but given the fact he normally works on Fridays and the fact I cannot drive, I thought the answer to going was a given. Well, we will work through it one way or another. It didn't help matters that I've felt like crap the last few days. I am in the midst of a cold of some sort and a lupus flare. We'll work it out. We always do. Marriage definitely isn't one of those fairy tales. It takes work. Sometimes I think it is harder than any job I've had through the years. I'm not too great at working on the compromise part but I am getting better. Here's to the 12 we managed to work to so far and here's to hoping we manage many more to come. I wish the same for you too.

BTW, do you know if Williams Sonoma carries Monin Syrups or Ghardelli (sp?) sauces with pumps? I am looking local syrups that don't include sugar-free in addition to coffee toppings. I have some sprinkle nutmeg and vanilla but I wanted to try some others. There is a Williams Sonoma somewhere in Raleigh but I would have to hunt the address for DH to find it for me.

Paisley

[cannonfodder]

There are other sources for the Hottop. It sounds like they quoted you the analog model. I got the digital for $550 plus shipping ($10?). SM sells the analog without extra greens, for $585 and the digital for $685 plus shipping. It is a lot, but worth it in my humble opinion. Given your vision challenges, it may be simpler to use although I have not used a FR. It should last for many years and many roasts.

A marriage is work, unfortunately most couples do not dedicate enough time to it which is why the divorce rate is so high. There are good years and bad, like we said 12 years ago, richer and poorer, sickness and health, till death do us part. We have had plenty of poorer and sickness, still waiting for richer and health, hopefully before the death part catches up to us.

I am not sure about the Syrups or chocolate. WS does have drinking chocolate but if memory serves, it is not cheap. The only thing I ever got there was the sugarshots. Now I just get raw sugar. I almost never sweeten my espresso, but when making a milk drink, I add the sugar to the milk. That way it gets dissolved and thoroughly integrated with the milk during the frothing. My son loves to drink the left over sweet froth, and an occasional cappa.

[DigMe]

I was not satisfied with the batch sizes of the FR+8. It was good for learning the roasting process but I quickly outgrew it and began using a Poppery 1 that could do larger batches. I was still not satisfied with those batch sizes (i don't want to have to roast every other day) and I now use an Stir Crazy/Convection Oven setup that I'm very happy with. It also offers a slower, more controllable roast and I usually get 6 to 7 minutes between 1st and 2nd crack. I could probably get more if I worked with it but I'm really liking the roasts I'm currently getting from it.

EDIT: Oops - just realized how old this thread was...oh well!

bc

[tmaynard]

Will the Fresh Roast Plus do well with decaf beans?

Yes, in fact better -- since decaf beans generate less chaff. Cleanup is simpler and faster.

Is this machine big enough to handle one person's coffee habit with 2 to 3 lattes (double shots each one) daily?

Of course it depends on your dosage, but let's say a double shot = 14-16 grams of coffee. The green bean weight for the Fresh Roast Plus 8 is about 46 grams. You can easily get 2 double shots from one roasted batch. Three might be pushing it a bit. (I read ahead and know that you tend to stick with a single bean -- roast two batches at a time, mix the leftover roasted beans with any new ones ... and you're good to go!)

Can the machine do well indoors sitting on the stovetop using the hood vent for ventilation without setting off the house smoke alarm detector?

It works just fine on my cooktop (and it worked just fine on my brother's (gas) stovetop. It will generate some chaff that requires sweeping up (moist paper towels work just fine). I can't speak to the smoke detector issue since all of mine have dead batteries in them (note to self: replace batteries!).

Can it take additional roasting on occasion for caffeinated beans?

Yes, of course! In my experience (in case it isn't obvious, I own a FR+8), by the time the beans are cool enough to store, and the chaff collector(s) are swept clean, the machine is (nearly) ready for another batch. When you can pick up and comfortably hold the roast chamber in your hands (including the metal bottom), you're ready to roast again.

> Is it fairly safe to use?
Um, "totally safe" is the phrase that comes to mind. I can't think of any particular dangers involved -- providing that you remain with the roaster during the batch (DON'T LEAVE IT UNATTENDED). It's not really far removed from a hot air popcorn popper -- except for the chaff catcher. I wrote a rather detailed review of the FR+8 for CG that you may wish to peruse (same userid).

Shipping and handling is eating me up when it comes to ordering pre-roasted beans

I hear you! I am lucky to have a couple of artisan roasters nearby, but even so, with gas prices, my time, and the limited selection, it just didn't make sense anymore to me.

I want the freshest roast possible without costing a fortune.

You have found the very best path to your goal: the FR+8. It will take a few roasts (more if you don't monitor the roast temperature) to get "dialed in" -- but once you learn the difference between "first crack" (a "POP") and "second crack" (a "SNAP") you have climbed the learning curve.

It isn't as if I am plan to order the roaster next week

I dithered over the decision (while my artisan roasted beans were staling rapidly) for quite a long time. But I made the leap, and I've been angelically happy ever since -- I'll never go back, and that is that.

I roasted a batch this evening and when my wife came home (she doesn't drink coffee) she said (before the door closed behind her) -- IT SMELLS GREAT IN HERE!

Do your due diligence, and then jump on the bandwagon.

[DigMe]

You have found the very best path to your goal: the FR+8.

Actually I put together my SC/CO for less money then my FR+8 and it gives me larger, better roasts...so I would say there is an even better path than the FR+8!

bc

[CoffeeBird]

I know this post is kind of old, but I wanted to offer up a little bit of advice for the FreshRoast 8.....
Make sure not to do consecutive roasts in hot outdoor weather. This past summer, after owning the FR8 for only 7 months, I was roasting my third consecutive batch on my back deck and the roaster died in the middle of the roast. I think the heater pooped out. It was about 85 degrees outside with a strong afternoon sun. The machine was nice and hot from the 2 previous roasts.
Otherwise, for the price, the FR8 is a GREAT first roaster. I became hooked on roasting my own coffee and went on to buy the Gene Cafe roaster after the FR8 broke. I am roasting even better coffee now!!! much better.

[cafeIKE]

I went from the popcorn popper to a home made drum roaster and just recently went to a Hottop digital. I cannot imagine a machine being much easier to use. You just plug it in, push the time button to select the roast length, 17-21 minutes I believe but I rarely go more than 19, and push power...

Try starting with 21 minutes and 200g, waiting 6 or 7 minutes before loading the beans. The resulting profile is very close to a Diedrich IR-12 and gives a less baked roast. The interval from 1st to 2nd is still too fast, but the drying ramp is steeper and there is no flat spot in the middle of the roast. You can pull the chaff tray out about 1/8" just as 1st gets going full steam to lengthen the interval between 1st and 2nd slightly CAREFUL : It's HOT!!!

Back on Topic :
The FR is a great little roaster. I settled on 65g ± 1g of beans as the scoop method is too variable for such a small volume of beans.

I use it almost whenever I roast decaf, which I only do for dinner parties. I try to roast about 12-24 hours before serving. I do the first batch to about the fifth outlier of 2nd and the second batch to just the start of rolling 2nd. You must pay attention as things happen quickly on an FR. After mixing the two roasts, the coffee is quite enjoyable. The varietal notes are preserved in the first roast and the second adds depth and 'roast' tastes.

You can improve the coffee dramatically by dumping it into a colander and cooling it with a small desktop fan. The FR uses a dropping resistor in the air stream to develop the motor voltage and this prevents the coffee from adequately cooling. WARNING : Use oven mitts as the roast chamber and beans are VERY HOT as in 400°F HOT !!! I use Orka silicone rubber oven mitts and they work a charm. The trick is to not blow beans and chaff all over the place: Lift the roast chamber and chaff collector from the base as a unit. Once out of the air stream, lift the chaff collector from the roast chamber and dump into the colander. Set the roast chamber back on the base to cool. Set the chaff collector on the counter. Practise a few times with no beans and the unit cooling only to get the hang of it.

Another small, but measurable improvement, can be had by raising the FR from the counter top. I stand mine atop an inverted cereal bowl very close to the same diameter as the base. The idea is to allow more air into the unit, slowing the roast slightly. Be sure the unit is stable if you attempt this.

[TintoKing]

Have both of these and generally prefer the IRoast unit, since it gives a bit more control and does over twice as much coffee per load. Both have excellent visibility of the beans during the roasting process, but both make such a racket that it's often hard to hear the cracks clearly.

I find that the Iroast-2 is getting used here at least once a day, and I usually set it to the #2 profile and adjust the time during the last stage to establish a particular roast, while compensating for ambient temperature (both of these will create odors and smoke, so am doing this outdoors under varying temperatures).