IRoast2 40011 5-2/7-Ounce Coffee-Bean Roaster, Black
by IBC - Hearthware, INC
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List Price: Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of IRoast2 40011 5-2/7-Ounce Coffee-Bean Roaster, Black
Customer Review: Not built to last
Summary: 2 Stars
I liked this unit at first, even though it is horribly noisy. But after just over a year, it began to stop midway through the roasting process. If you aren't around when that happens, because there is no cool-down cycle, you could have a roaster fire. I watch mine like a hawk, and unplug it and restart it after it stops until I finally get my beans roasted, then I manually start the cool-down cycle. For $180 this machine should last more than a year. This is the second brand of roaster I have tried; I had two Fresh Roast units that also gave out after just one year. I am done with home roasting - as soon as I finish off my last bag of green beans, I am throwing this piece of junk away.Customer Review: Nothing Beats Fresh Roasted Coffee!!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm having a wonderful time with the i-roast 2. The day it arrived I was up and roasting in less than an 30 minutes and experimenting with my own settings the next day. I always thought buying whole roasted beans was the best way to insure a fresh coffee experience, but roasting your own beans takes freshness to a higher level! I appreciate the ease of use and the positive experience I am having with the i-roast 2.Customer Review: Perfect for a couple of coffee lovers
Summary: 5 Stars
Home roasting is one of the most rewarding activities I've gotten into, and the i-Roast is one of the funnest "toys" I've bought in a long time, though this sophisticated appliance is in no way a toy; I call it that because it's so much fun to use.The i-Roast roasts about 5 - 6 oz. of green coffee beans at a time. This is a perfect amount for a couple of coffee drinkers who, like me, want to brew their coffee (we make espresso) using fresh roasted beans (within the last 12 - 36 hours) and ground just prior to brewing.
The i-Roast lets you adjust the roasting cycle (11 - 15 min.) to get exactly the roast you like though you would probably be perfectly happy with the medium-dark roast already programmed into it. Honestly, you wouldn't have to mess with the roasting cycle at all, unless you start to feel more curious, adventurous, or are finicky about the subtle taste differences obtained.
Minor negative feature: typically, fluid (air-driven) coffee roasters are inevitably louder while in operation than are the drum-type roasters. Even so, the i-Roast is far less noisy than our blender, which would drive me nuts if I had to run it for 15 minutes. Maybe it's just so much fun to smell that unspeakably attractive aroma (roasting coffee) and to study the beans as they slowly change from yellow-green to dark brown that I haven't paid much attention to the sound of the motor.
A little LED window displays some useful information while the i-Roast is underway (e.g. it tells you what stage of the roasting cycle it's in), but I've found that it's a little hard to read the LED without bending down close by. It would've been nicer if they'd made that a backlit display, but they didn't and it's truly a minor thing.
Roasting coffee beans inevitably generates some smoke, so at some point in your roasting cycle all your household smoke alarms will go off if you try to do this indoors. Handily, the i-Roast comes with a nifty little gizmo that lets you attach one of those aluminum dryer vents to its exhaust (in the lid). This makes it easy to direct the smoke to an open window or to your range exhaust vent.
Customer Review: Perfect for a newbie or more experienced roaster
Summary: 5 Stars
The IR2 delivers what it promises. This roaster has a decent, though somewhat small capacity, which is great when one is roasting with just one coffee drinker in the house. Though, roasting more is a cinch. This roaster allows one to get to know the bean and set the cycles to roast it just right. It may take a few roasts of a type of bean to hit the sweet spot, usually you have to dial in to hit it, this roaster makes that easy. It comes with two presets, which I don't use. But, you can set and store up to 10 of your own presets, which can be up to five (5) cycles each, at any of the roaster's temperatures.
Some might say that a beginning roaster will outgrow the roaster and need to move to a Behmor or another higher end roaster, or a less expensive hot gun/bread machine roaster. But, with the presets, plus the flexibility of the machine, I believe that one can get great use from the IR2 and really learn about the different beans and the roasts they like.
The company is great with service issues, which is always nice. Cleaning the machine is some work, but well worth it and part of any home roasters roasting method - or it should be.
I say if you are begging, get this roaster and learn what coffee really tastes like. As my friends say, it now tastes as good as it smells. Amen on that!
Customer Review: Problems with customer service/repair departments
Summary: 1 Stars
I had a previous model of the iRoast and was happy with it, but after 6 years, it finally quit roasting. I bought the i-Roast2 roaster from Amazon in April. It worked very well until September, when I started having problems reading the numbers on the screen (time remaining to roast). Numbers were only visible from an angle, not directly facing the screen. I sent at least three e-mails requesting directions for obtaining an RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization) number. I finally received a reply by sending an e-mail to Janet in the customer service department, who forwarded a message to Maria. Her reply gave me instructions for sending the information and a fax number to use. The fax machine at the number given does not answer. Attempts to call always give the message that I am number 24 in line. This number does not seem to change. Bottom line: The coffee roaster is a good one, but instructions for use are not user-friendly, and service from the so-called service department is completely lacking. You might want to try an alternate brand.