This is a great product, but don't buy it if you live high in the mountains. You'll have nothing but aggrivation.
Positive Product Points
This is a well designed unit that works well at sea level. It provides a consistent roast and is very easy to use.
Negative Product Points
It doesn't work at high altitude. Takes about 20 minutes at sea level and up to 45 minutes at high altitude to get a no-so-great roast.
Detailed Commentary
When I moved up to 8,500 feet in Colorado, from sea level in California, it stopped roasting properly. My beans came out still green or at best a light buff or straw color. Swissmar and I thought there was something wrong with the machine, so they replaced it. Same problem. My so I worked with it for a few weeks and found that if I caught the roast just as it was starting to cool and then restarted it, I could get brown beans. French Roast is impossible, but a medium can be managed. The problem is it 40 minutes. I find that my home made air roaster does a better job in 6 minutes. But if you live at sea level the Swissmar is fantastic and that half pound capacity is a god-send. I mention all this because very few people have reported this problem to Swissmar, so they haven't really come up with a solution that I know of.
Buying Experience
I had an excellent buying experience from Cafe Maria and Swissmar was excellent to deal with.
