The Dalian Amazon Royal 1000 is a capable 1kg roaster and belongs on the list. Yes it has considerable weaknesses, but also has great strengths. As of this writing, I get very good to excellent roasts consistently.

BDL

Done.

What did you end up getting?

You know I was very close to pulling the trigger on a TJ-067 gas, right? But after giving the whole thing a lot of thought, I decided to at least find out how much the two roasters I most wanted -- US Roaster Corp Sample Roaster, and Coffee PER San Franciscan -- actually cost.

On July 21, I called USRC and spoke to the owner, Dan Joliff. Dan was persuasive, and I made up my mind to go ahead with USRC roaster before calling Coffee PER. On July 22, after talking to my wife/enabler, I placed the order for a green Sample Roaster. Lead time is roughly 60 days, which puts ETA in mid to late September.

Yes, as you know, the wait is agonizing. Yes, as you can read, I'm even more of a raving lunatic.

BDL

Should we add the Joper 1kg roaster to the list, or -- at about the same price as the Diedrich IR-1 currently goes for -- is it too expensive?

BDL

My first inclination was to leave the $8,000+ machines off the list, but price is relative to the buyer, the information can be more objective. I didn't put the Joper down, the same reason I didn't put the Probatino or Geisen. But I'm amenable to the idea. This is more "Index by democracy" than my list of roasters. If people want it, it will get added.

What I'd like to see is if others can take a snag at helping me get solid price quotes, from the manufacturer or direct sales only, not "I heard Joe Smith got it for $------" That would be useful data that I can add to the first listing. It doesn't have to be dead on precise, but just in the ballpark, i.e. Asian roasters will undoubtedly go up and down based on currency exchange rate. Even domestic roasters will fluctuate with their production costs, but I think it will help if some info is there at a glance. I'll make it a project to work on. Any one else want to chime in and help, please do so, from the bottom of the list and I'll start at the top.

Thanks.

TomC wrote:My first inclination was to leave the $8,000+ machines off the list, but price is relative to the buyer, the information can be more objective. I didn't put the Joper down, the same reason I didn't put the Probatino or Geisen. But I'm amenable to the idea.

Coffeetech has the Joper for $13K, which is the same money Diedrich asks for the IR-1.

This is more "Index by democracy" than my list of roasters. If people want it, it will get added.

I say the more the merrier. It's a list, not an endorsement. And while you and I wouldn't spend that money on a roaster considering the quality of the competition at a substantially lower price -- some people do.

I know it's a fluid situation, but given their low price, you should probably add the Sonofresco 1 and 2 pounders.

BDL

Updated.

I'm really surprised about the IR-1. I had a phone conversation about 2 months ago with someone from Diedrich who sent me a lot of their pdf's and training pamphlets etc, and I could have sworn she quoted me $6,500 for the IR-1 not $13,000

I spoke to Diedrich on July 22. Easy day to remember because it's the same day I ordered from USRC. Diedrich quoted me $12,500 and $13,000 for the IR-1 and IR-2.5 respectively. Diedrich's IR prices have been through the roof for a long time.

It's possible I got the amounts wrong, but I was prepared to drop some change and the sticker shock was monu-frikkin-mental. When the nice lady told me the prices, I specifically recall asking her to repeat them. Unfortunately, I was too scandalized to accept her offer of more literature and a written quote.

But context, context, context. While the IR-1 is roughly four times more expensive than Chinese 500g and 1kg gas roasters, and twice as expensive as US 1lb roasters like the USRC Sample Roaster and Coffee PER San Franciscan, it's not at all out of line compared to some 1kg European roasters like Joper, and a steal compared to Giesen and Probat.

After Can you afford it? The big question is: What do you get for the extra money? For all I know, the super-deluxe, beaucoup-buck roasters are really, really worth it and anyone who won't spring for a Diedrich might as well stick with a Whirley Pop.

BDL

With that small a price gap, wonder why anyone would buy the IR-1 over the IR-2?