It's a hyper-responsive, somewhat tempermental, hands-on and yet very lovable roaster.
Positive Product Points
Quick roast time. This is a huge benefit both to save time and to avoid the muting of coffee flavor that sometimes occurs as coffee "bakes" over longer roast times. Once you get used to the roaster, it's easy to control the level of roast. It's also very quiet, which makes it easy to hear the cracks. Also cheap.
Negative Product Points
Not an easy roaster to learn.
Detailed Commentary
This is an awesome deal on a roaster, if you're willing to spend some time with it. Due to the fast roast time, it's not a "set-it and leave-it" roaster as 30 seconds can make a huge difference in roast. This roaster is very sensitive to amount of coffee in chamber and roast time. I learned to roast on the now defunt Hearthware Gourmet, which was a simple and forgiving roaster to use. The Freshroast is not forgiving. It took several over- and under-roasted batches before I was able to find the "sweet-spot" of how much coffee to use and how long to roast for. Of course, this varies by bean.
If you're willing to watch, listen and smell, you can make one awesome cup of coffee.
Buying Experience
I have a unique experience in that www.Burmancoffee.com is owned and run by my father and brother. I'm the one who's not currently a coffee and food professional.
