Great article here about my local roasters in the Uk
J Atkinson's ... 178 years old .
Using Whitemee and Uno Roasters , the shop is a delight also .
http://dailycoffeenews.com/2015/08/26/a ... ire-again/

Martin,

Thanks for posting that. The antique roasters they use are really worth a look. One of them uses an open flame and an open drum. I'm glad to see there's a working precedent for the home roaster I use, which has a perforated drum heated by a flame underneath and doesn't tip, scorch or otherwise damage the beans.

I'll get some photos or clips next time They are roasting and link them on here ...

Yes, please do. I would love to see it.

Here's a short video of one in action. Burns was also born in London many years previous and many fascinating designs were developed that landed in New York, London and Germany. It's interesting to note the development of different roasting methods and machinery and how two world wars affected their development. Jim Schulman has an incredible old book that details some of the history of industrial roasting, more based on method than make, but nonetheless, interesting. Many of these designs were built with efficiency in mind, not quality of results.

Pretty cool story, and even cooler that they refurbed it to put to work