That's possible. Old roasts tend to have less crema than fresh roast. The expiration date shown may not be faithfully chosen. Any roast older than 1 - 1.5 month is... "over the hill", "past its prime". That's why I do my own roasting so that I know what the real expiration

That may be part of their "flavored coffee" making process, possibly crème brûlée or caramel flavor infusing method

I thought it looked more like baked beans in tomato sauce, typically served as part of "breakfast" in many places

There are white chocolate, "Coca-Cola Clear" and "Crystal Pepsi" so I don't see why not white coffee

Huge in what way, the price, complexity or something else?

I get both of your points. As for EG-1 grinder, it would be in the comparable category of high-end planes like those private jets owned by... (you know who). I haven't heard about the problems like loose door on those jets. I guess they do a test run before shipping out each grinder... or not?

The highest chance of success in roasting is through the highest level of learning and experience one can get with the given roasting contraption

I wonder if your temperature probe/s are in proper working order

Too bad those are covered up by metal enclosure. At that price point, it should be glass enclosure

I've used Behmor for years before upgrading to ET/BT sensor roaster that allows Artisan hookup. I'll never go back to none Artisan roasting. It's that much more fun. Aliexpress has many roasters around $1K with USB connection