thecoffeefield wrote:I don't know much about roasting but if I was ready to jump into it (need to get my coffee/espresso expertise tuned first) I would go with a Behmor 1600! Here's why:

It's available at Bed Bath and Beyond and the 20% coupon does apply to it!
It's $310 (after coupon), very low investment compared to the benefits
It has automated controls if you don't feel like tinkering or know how to tinker (in the beginning) but it also has some manual controls.
For $310 you get into roasting with a decent roaster and a decent amount of customizability and manual control.
Behmor's customer service is excellent.
If you don't like it, return it to Bed Bath and Beyond, no shipping costs or worries.

Honestly, if it's my money and I want to roast, that will be my first step. it's a no brainer.

Where do folks find the 20% off coupon?

I can vouch for the Behmor roaster and their service dept. Have been roasting all beans fed to the Technivorm for 5 years on the Behmor. Bang for the buck, I don't think it can be beat.

My earlier comment goes to taking roasting to the next step where I have total control & responsibility for the roast curve to tune it for bringing out various different flavor profiles in espresso beans.

Just started roasting with a SR700 and was deciding between it and a Behmor just a couple of weeks back. Decided to go for the SR because I have to move the roaster every time i roast and the Behmor seems too big for that. I thought that I could roast a few batches each time if i needed to. I like being able to see clearly the beans transforming as they are roasted, and the Behmor doesn't really offer that.
The beginner problem I have with the SR is consistency within a single batch of roast, beans are roasted to varying degrees. There are ways to mitigate this, sweet maria's guide for the SR offers 3 methods, but two of them require removing the top cover allowing chaff to fly everywhere. So i use the other method, which I still didn't manage to implement perfectly.
Consistency between different batches seems achievable even by a total beginner like me, due to using Openroast. Running the same recipe on the same beans for different batches result in first crack happening at roughly the same time and roughly same final mass loss. This gives some confidence that profiling is achievable after adding temperature probes.
Even if I decide to move up to a Behmor or something in the future for capacity reasons, I will probably still keep and use the SR occasionally for the different flavor profile that a fluid bed offers.

AKucewicz wrote:As a new college grad and newly wed the Behmor 1600+ was the pick for me. Its interface is simple and practical, you can use pre set profiles or manually change temp and drum speed.

I did 4-5 roasts with the pre set profiles (which is recommended) to get a feel for the thing. Then I went manual and have never turned back. I've been roasting for a little under a year and am starting to make something I would say is comparable to coffee shop quality.

Pros
- cost
- ease of use
- ease of transport/clean up

Cons
- limited capacity (I usually do a 3/4 lb roast)
- cant do back to back roasts (the most ive done in a day is 5 over the course of 7 hours)
- limited/skewed temp readings

The Behmor isnt going to make you a master roaster over night, but I certainly wouldnt say I am selling myself short on quality by using it.

*disclaimer* I am eyeballing upgrades in the 500 g range (Kaldi, Mercury, etc.)

AKucewicz you mentioned 'ease of transport' as a pro, and I am genuinely curious. I know it's a relative term, since compared to huky and bigger machines the behmor is definitely easier to transport. But suppose you have to move the roaster every time you roast, would you think that the behmor is convenient?

Charlene wrote:Where do folks find the 20% off coupon?

I can vouch for the Behmor roaster and their service dept. Have been roasting all beans fed to the Technivorm for 5 years on the Behmor. Bang for the buck, I don't think it can be beat.

My earlier comment goes to taking roasting to the next step where I have total control & responsibility for the roast curve to tune it for bringing out various different flavor profiles in espresso beans.

Just go to their website and sign up for their newsletter.

jayeff34 wrote: AKucewicz you mentioned 'ease of transport' as a pro, and I am genuinely curious. I know it's a relative term, since compared to huky and bigger machines the behmor is definitely easier to transport. But suppose you have to move the roaster every time you roast, would you think that the behmor is convenient?

I do move it every time I roast. During the summer I roast it on my patio, during the winter I roast it at my grandpa's barn. I have back problems and moving it doesnt bother me. Sure, compared to a SR700 its a behemoth, but compared to moving a Huky I would imagine its significantly easier.

so is the OP convinced enough to start roasting?

If not, I'll throw one more in. I've been at the Home Barista game now for two years and I finally scratched the itch about a month ago. I found a 3 year old USRC Sample Roaster and have put about 15# through it so far. Most of what I've roasted has gone to the garden, who knew that four variables(beans, gas, air & time) could lead to so many choices in the course of 13 minutes!!!

I've brought about two pounds of a Peruvian to work and we brewed it for espresso, not too bad but I've got a long, long way to go.

It definitely adds a whole new dimension to the coffee game. The tough part at the moment is waiting till the batch/s have rested enough to pull an espresso from. We did a little cupping, well, more like mugging, with friends on Sunday. They took a pound home and have been brewing it this week as their morning brew.

I get home around 10pm, fire up the roaster and do a couple 350g batches. So fun.

This summer, my wife and I are going to pop up a stand at a local farmers market. Spyglass Coffee!!!

When I got the roaster, someone had put a wonky air valve on it as the gas valve and gauge, I changed that out. I've also added a Phidget inside the electrical cabinet and have cleaned up the thermocouple wires.

JB

amagad wrote:so is the OP convinced enough to start roasting?

I'm chomping to get started! Got a heat gun and bowl, but no green coffee. Working that issue.
Meanwhile, I am considering getting a thermometer setup. Four probe setup that data logs.
I'd like to measure my heat gun temps at the few settings it has. For there, I roast.

Nice setup Jonathan! I could see myself with something similar some day.

Definitely a fun way to go!

EddyQ wrote:I'm chomping to get started! Got a heat gun and bowl, but no green coffee. Working that issue.

I'd recommend that you get couple kilos of a low to moderately priced green coffee for starters. Keep lots of notes on what you do for each batch and the taste results of each. Once you start getting that bean to a point where it's palatable and semi-repeatable results you'll have an idea of what you are doing. Of course when you get another bean you'll quickly realize that not all of what you learned can be used the same way on the next bean...

It's the joy of roasting, every bean is a new challenge.