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Coffee Bean Roaster Comments & Reviews

>TostaCaffé™ Owner - Commercial Coffee Roaster
>Peter Lindahl

>Stillwater Coffee Company, Sagle, ID

 

 

 

 With almost 8 years of experience in operating large 32 kilo gas fired coffee roasters for coffee shop franchises I figured I had plenty of experience to strike with my very own coffee roastery. Over the past ten years I’ve heard great things about a new startup company building halogen powered electric coffee roasters that could actually out perform gas powered coffee roasters. After speaking with the people at cafecoffees I placed my order for the 8 pound TostaCaffe coffee roaster, 1/2 HP electric turbine powered cool down pan, and the packaging silo. Receiving the TostaCaffe coffee roaster on a Monday I was roasting that same day, something that would have been impossible with any other coffee roaster on the market.

I installed the coffee roaster on my own within an hour of receiving it. The roast profiles are what I expected and have already roasted over 2,000 pounds of green beans by Mid December of 2007, a mere 2 months after receiving the TostaCaffe coffee roaster from cafecoffees. I’m very happy with the roasts I’ve achieved with this electric coffee roaster and would recommend any coffee roaster manufactured by cafecoffees.  

>Peter Lindahl
>Stillwater Coffee Company, Sagle, ID

                                                                                                  
>TostaCaffé™, Micro TostaCaffé™ & AeroRost II Owner - Commercial Coffee Roaster
>Frank Lanzkron-Tamarazo
>Chazzano Caffe Ebraica, Farmington Hills, MI

For the past two years, I have been roasting with the Micro TostaCaffe 4 lb. coffee bean roaster.   I can roast up to 4lbs. with excellent results. It comes with a puffer module that blows the smoke away from the beans and away from the house. A thermometer is easily used to determine the temperature of the beans.  In addition, I purchased a Data Acquisition Module which allows me to collect data about the roast on my laptop computer with either spreadsheet or graph capabilities. This last piece of equipment has allowed me to repeat favorite roasts more accurately. I prefer this roaster to other excellent roasters on the market because of the large capacity of the drum. It is easy to see the development of the roast both by hearing the cracks (1st and 2nd crack), by the color, and by the smell. Before I attempt to duplicate a favorite roast, I examine my meticulous notes.

Coffee roasting combines both science and art. Each roasting batch has different flavor potentials depending on the temperature- the speed at which it reaches that temperature and the duration of roast at that temperature. If the beans are roasted light, I am sometimes surprised at the complexity of the cup. If the beans are roasted towards full city, the beans now have a different flavor profile. The length of time that the beans degas (release CO2) changes the bouquet (smell of freshly roasted beans) and the aroma (the smell of the brewed coffee). Sometimes coffee beans are best if consumed within 3 days. Sometimes, I forget about a roast and let it sit in vacuum sealed bags for 1 week and I am surprised at how mature the coffee smells. By mature, I mean that the coffee has begun to develop new interesting flavor characteristics. Like wine, coffee can remind you of flavors as diverse as tobacco, flowers, fruit, leather, chocolate, caramel, medicinal (bad), or herbs. In fact, coffee has double the amount of flavor characteristics as wine: 1500 to 750.
 
the review above is a reprint of the Micro TostaCaffe review found at Frank's blog, for this complete review and other informative coffee equipment reviews by Frank Lanzkron-Tamarazo go to  http://www.chazzanocoffee.blogspot.com  A picture of his coffee roasting shop may be found at http://www.cafecoffees.com/franksroasters.html
 
 
 
 
Micro TostaCaffé™ & AeroRost II Owner - Commercial Coffee Roaster
>Magnus Gyllensten, Owner
>Bella Vita Coffee Roasters, Poulsbo, WA

Hello Don,

      I wanted to thank you so much for shipping our Micro TostaCaffe Coffee Roaster one day earlier than promised.   We have installed the new Micro TostaCaffe  and it works really well.  We did design our own cooling system with the  6HP shopvac and it cools just great (as you had suggested).  The misting of the beans beans during the cool down process works great too.  Now we have almost a smoke free roasting room. 

      Like many coffee shop owners, we got our start roasting coffee with a new AeroRost II coffee shop roaster manufactured by coffeeroasterforum.com, this roast was the perfect startup machine for our business and now with the MicroTostaCaffe coffee bean roaster we have a progressive production capability for our flourishing coffee business. 

Thanks again,

Magnus Gyllensten
 
 
TostaCaffé™ & AeroRost II Owner - Commercial Coffee Roaster
>Jim Pittelli
>Jim Pittelli Specialty Coffees, Pompano Beach, FL
 

      We coffee roasters love high quality equipment that works as advertised.  But if the equipment is also good looking, there's a higher probability we'll buy it.  Based on these criteria, the TostaCaffe 8 lb. roaster is a winner.                              

      I first purchased the Micro TostaCaffe coffee roaster in October of 2004.  After several months of back to back roasts ( 3 1/2 lbs. in an average of 30 minutes per roast cycle) it was time to upgrade.  I discovered in a telephone conversation in early May, 2005 that cafe coffees was introducing a larger roaster that produced 8 lbs. per batch and cafe coffees had already shipped a couple units.  After a 5 day wait the unit was shipped and I had the roaster up and running within 60 minutes of receiving the roaster shipment.  More than anything, the thing that made it easy to get up and running was that the TostaCaffe' is all electric with no expensive gas hookups or setup codes to worry about.  The roaster has delivered very even roasts and the exhaust system works well.  I'm still running the Micro TostaCaffe along with the larger TostaCaffe' 8 lb. coffee roaster and will be needing another TostaCaffe' in about 4 weeks.

thanks, Jim Pittelli

>Micro TostaCaffe' Coffee Roaster Owner - Roasting for Family and Friends
>Bob Littrell, Springfield, IL
I have to tell you the Micro TostaCaffe’ is a beautiful piece of machinery. I ordered my roaster just before Christmas of 2005 and it arrived well packaged in the first week of December with plenty of time to get familiar with it to roast plenty of coffee for Christmas festivities.

Although the Micro TostaCaffe’ includes a digital temperature gauge for measuring bean temperature, I roast primarily by sound of 1st and 2nd crack and aroma of the roasting coffee beans. My coffee of preference is Sulawesi Torajaland which I find perfect for drum roasting and works especially well with the Micro TostaCaffe coffee roaster. I usually roast 2 1/2 pounds of green beans and watch the roast progress through the various stages using the Micro TostaCaffe’ observation window. The internal halogen heating system provides a fast reacting heat source which I can shut down at the end of the roast cycle and also doubles as a source of illumination for viewing the beans during the roast cycle. In closing, without a doubt the Micro TostaCaffe’ is a modern technical masterpiece.

Bob Littrell, Springfield, Il
      
Micro TostaCaffe Owner - Home Roaster
>Andrew Koyoumjian, New York, New York
     I love the Micro TostaCaffe !!  I have roasted many batches of coffee using it.  It is easy and fun to use!  Roasting time is usually about 20 minutes, quicker if I am roasting a second or third batch at one time as it builds up residual heat and doesn't need time to warm-up.  Back to back roasting is no problem. What a pleasure not to have to wait for a cool-down and
re-heat cycle. Your idea is great!  Roasters which are capable of doing 1-2 lb batches sell for much more, albeit, they are commercial roasters, for my home use this was the perfect economical solution. It has held up well and is easy to clean.  

     The addition of oven mitts with it was a really nice touch too. I can keep a close watch on the color of the beans through the front glass and remove them at just the right time. After roasting I remove the drum using the mitts and pour the hot beans into a metal kitchen
colander.  There is nothing like a fresh cup of coffee and using your design makes that easy and fun.  I have taken some fresh roasted coffee into work and ground it there to make a pot of coffee that is out of this world.  It has become quite popular and has every one talking about home roasting coffee.  I have told friends and associates about the Micro TostaCaffe and encourage anyone to buy it as it is easy and fun and really does work! 

    Thanks again for your ingenuity and design in creating a way for me to roast coffee at my own home.  We'll raise a cup you and your idea!
                                                
Sincerely, Andrew Koyoumjian
                                  
Micro TostaCaffe:  Home and Business
>Owner, Robert Ogden
>Shadow Hills, CA  91040
I use the Micro TostaCaffe Coffee Bean Roaster for both home and business.  I started with the Fresh Roast Plus 8 just for myself, then for my customers ( I sell water, HVAC, hydraulic, and oil filters).  I started giving my customers 1/2 pound bags of roasted beans, well the Fresh Roast 8 at that point was too small and I found the Micro TostaCaffe Coffee Bean Roaster on the internet. The AeroRost II makes things easier and faster for roasting green beans than the Fresh Roast 8.

Great machine, better than expected, 15-20 minutes and one pound of roasted green beans  incredible!

>Robert Ogden
>ogden @ email.com

               
Micro TostaCaffe Customer:  Coffee Shop                          
>Owner, Kelly O'Brien         
>Minneapolis, Minnesota

 >Awesome Coffee Bean Roaster....Already Roasted 10 Pounds!!!  

Micro TostaCaffe Customer:  Home Roaster                               
>Richard S. Suphan
>Fulton, NY  

You are welcome to reprint this review. You and your product deserve it. I have owned 2 Hearthware roasters but the motor burned out in one after 1 year and the second needed to have circuitry replaced twice for the heating element. I got tired of needing to call for replacement parts and moved to a Fresh Roast. That worked great for about 3 months and then the roasting became very unpredictable. Using the same green beans, the same amount and the same roasting time I could literally have anything from burnt beans to barely warm unroasted beans and anything in between.  I figured I'd stop throwing good money after bad and see what else was out there. 

There are a lot of Bravi (Alpenrost) out there but I read too many bad reviews to buy one. I also talked with a couple of people who sell beans as a full job and they both said to stay away from them. I'm not sure if you sell these too. I'm just passing along what I've read and been told. When I saw your Micro TostaCaffe, its design intrigued me. It read like a good product, your quick replies to my emails told me you were probably a good business person. I waited, got a good price on your auction and consequently own a great product.

>Have a great rest of the weekend.

>Rich     

Micro TostaCaffe Customer:  Home Roaster                  
>Richard S. Suphan
>Fulton, NY

Wanted to let you know that I have used the Micro TostaCaffe . This is a great machine. The flavor of the coffee is really brought out and is different from the faster roast that you get from other home roasting machines. I can roast as little as 4 oz and still get a good roast. A smaller amount I think would be hard to get a consistent roast. What a great machine.

>Rich

Micro TostaCaffe Customer:  Home Roaster
>Al Snyder
>Falls Church, VA

Don:  Happy New Year

I promised I'd write when i got a "perfect" batch.  Well, that came Monday night.  I roasted a half pound of Kona and this morning it tasted fabulous.  I'm really getting the hang of this.  It helps to have your advice as well as Kenneth David's "Home Coffee Roasting" book.  I think I figured out how to watch the temperature AND smell the smoke.  It seems like the smell is way more important than any other observation.  Davids writes about how the smell changes into something "sweet" and after a couple of roasts you really can detect the change and know when to stop the heat.  As for the temperature, i moved the thermometer up real high in the roasting cabinet which is probably why it registered a higher temperature.  My temperature gauge is well above the cabinet horizontal divider and turned so that the 400 F. mark is horizontal.  This gives me the visibility I want for the pointer in the 400 to 500 F. degree range.  It worked like a champ.  Next up is some of the tougher South Pacific beans i got for Christmas.  

Wishing you and your's a safe and prosperous new year. 

Al Snyder

 

>Micro TostaCaffe' & AeroRost II Owner - Roasting for Charities and Coffee Shop   
>Chuck Elgins, Des Moines, Texas, Coffee Roaster

I became a believer in cafe coffees innovation in designing and manufacturing coffee roasters when I purchased an AeroRost II in 2004. After roasting over 800 lbs. of green coffee beans in the AeroRost II I discovered latest creation, the Micro TostaCaffe' at CafeCoffee's website and purchased one at the end of April. I'm always looking for the latest in coffee roasting engineering and the Micro TostaCaffe' gives me exactly what I was looking for - high volume roasting with real time monitoring of the bean temperature throughout the roast cycle with the included bean temperature drum probe and temperature display with alarm.

The effective and efficient exhaust system was also an added bonus. The exhaust system controls allow me to roast more aggressively at higher temperatures. After roasting several 2 pound batches I was up and running 3 and 4 pound batches. Again, I applaud cafe coffees for this latest winner, the Micro TostaCaffe' Coffee Roaster.

>Sincerely,

>Chuck Elgins