[corkybstewart]

I started with a Zach and Dani unit years ago. When it died after at least 5 years I bought a IRoast II which lasted about 2 days past the warranty. They replaced it but again it lasted until the warranty ran out and died. So for the past 3 years I've been using my 2 old popcorn poppers but now I want something better. What would all y'all experts recommend. I usually roast about 5 cups of green beans per week(as measured by the popper cups).

[corkybstewart]

So nobody has any recommendations? What does everybody here use to roast coffee.

[bigmike787]

I have a Behmor that I use for about 12oz. roasts and I have a RK drum roaster as well. The RK drum is used in a dedicated propane grill. I can roast about 3 pounds at a time in that setup. It just depends how much coffee I want. I would recommend the Behmor as a step up from the hot air roasters.

[billtzk]

I roast in a Whirlypop stovetop popcorn maker, outside on a propane grill. It's too smokey to do it in the house. I roast 8 oz at a time. I get great results as long as I roast to full city or darker. It's really hard to get an even city or city plus roast. Fortunately, I usually prefer FC or FC+ and sometimes Vienna.

Roasting is very much a visual, aural, and olfactory art using this sort of equipment. You can't effectively profile your roasts, aside from timing, but even that is only general because you'll never reproduce the exact same conditions on subsequent roasts, especially when roasting on a propane stove outdoors.

But then, I really don't care about profiling or exactly reproducing a roast. What I care about is enjoying a satisfying cup of coffee, or shot of espresso, and I can do that with hundreds of variations in the final roast.

The only thing I don't like about roasting in the Whirlypop is I can only do 8 oz at a time. I go through a pound of coffee in five or six days, so I tend to do two back to back 8 oz roasts. It's a bit tedious, and I can't enjoy smoking my cigar as much with all that continuous cranking.

So I just bought a brand new grill a couple of days ago (it's still in the box, in fact) that will be dedicated to roasting coffee. I plan to buy the 4 pound RK drum and motor setup for it. I plan to fire it with natural gas, since I have a hookup in my back yard and nat gas is much cheaper than propane.

[corkybstewart]

I've never had a propane grill(and probably never will)so I'm looking for an electric tabletop model like the Gene Cafe or Behmor.
Since 90% of the time it's just my wife and I so I don't need a lot of volume, maybe a couple of pounds per week.
How long do you have to wait between batches on the Behmor?

[billtzk]

When I researched the small indoor models, I liked the Behmor best for its 1 lb capacity. But it does have some limitations that are spelled out in the very thorough review at Sweet Marias. Have you read that yet? Your answer about back to back rosting may be in there. Sweet Marias recommends limiting batches to 3/4 pound, btw.

For me, the killer was that the machine isn't designed for dark roasts, which I sometimes like (Vienna and French). You are supposed to go no more than 20 seconds past second crack. I didn't mind so much the advice in the "tip sheet" to keep a fire extinguisher nearby in case of a fire in it. I think that's a good idea with all roasters.

Make sure you read the section in that review on comparing the Behmor to other roasters. There's some good info there.

For me, after a lot of consideration, I decided that none of the commercially manufactured small roasters for the home market are built well enough and durably enough to suit my taste. I doubt any of them will last long enough to suit me. They all seem too delicate. They rely too much on electronics. I don't mind electrical equipment (because I can fix it if it breaks), but I try to avoid electronics when it comes to appliances. I'm more of a Y1K kind of guy.

If I could tolerate the small batch size of 120 to 200 grams, I'd go with the Quest M3. It seems best made of all the small roasters. It's more of a shop sample roaster than a home appliance, but it's small and well-built. But after all my research, I decided a stovetop whirlypop popcorn maker was the best low cost approach to home roasting, and an RK drum in a natural gas fired BBQ grill was the best overall option. For me.

[corkybstewart]

I've read the reviews at Sweetmaria's which is why I'm looking for people with real world experience with them. The whirlypop seems interesting, I'd never heard of it before-I'm not laying out $1200 for a Quest unit.
How much coffee can you roast at a time with the whirlypop? I could use it in the garage or back porch with a propane burner.
Never mind, I just scrolled up and read your first post.