Promoting coffee discussion.
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coffee-forum.com Promoting coffee discussion. |
> The Hearthware i-Roast roaster seems to be coming back shortly. Of the > several participants here that have one; does it do the job? Can it > efficiently and properly handle light and dark roasts? Would it be a > step up in quality over the Zach and Dani, of which I am mostly satisfied? > > Alan M Having been able to run both back to back yes. One of the stronger roasters in performance. |
> Alan M wrote: > > The Hearthware i-Roast roaster seems to be coming back shortly. Of the > > several participants here that have one; does it do the job? Can it > > efficiently and properly handle light and dark roasts? Would it be a > > step up in quality over the Zach and Dani, of which I am mostly satisfied? > > > > Alan M > > Having been able to run both back to back yes. One of the stronger > roasters in performance. I'm looking for a little getting started guidance/advice with the i-Roast that I won at the show. What do I need to know? Should I use preset curves or something else. Since I'm greener than the beans, tiny tot language please :-)) Oh, yes I'm basically deaf so listening for first and second crack above the roar of the industrial strength motor ain't gonna happen. Bob |
>I'm looking for a little getting started guidance/advice with the >i-Roast that I won at the show. What do I need to know? Should I use >preset curves or something else. Since I'm greener than the beans, >tiny tot language please :-)) Hi Bob, As you know - I've got one of these. If I were you, I'd skip the presets (they burned my beans badly but your roaster may be different - each one seems to be a bit different from the others). The settings that they used at the conference seemed to work quite well and you got that exact roaster. If I were you, I would try to get in touch with the folks who were at the show. I have their business cards so contact me off-list and I'll send you the info for the two guys who were there - the General Manager and the Director of Engineering. Or just call Hearthware in Gurnee, IL. Then use their settings as a start and go from there. Bob Yellin (change "com" to "net" for email) |
If you could give a quick, down and dirty, description of the profile which you find most useful I would be very appreciative. I am sure that I am not the only technologically challenged one in our community. HELP, and thanks in advance. Alan M Bob Yellin wrote: >>I'm looking for a little getting started guidance/advice with the >>i-Roast that I won at the show. What do I need to know? Should I use >>preset curves or something else. Since I'm greener than the beans, >>tiny tot language please :-)) > > > Hi Bob, > As you know - I've got one of these. If I were you, I'd skip the presets > (they burned my beans badly but your roaster may be different - each one > seems to be a bit different from the others). > > The settings that they used at the conference seemed to work quite well and > you got that exact roaster. If I were you, I would try to get in touch with > the folks who were at the show. I have their business cards so contact me > off-list and I'll send you the info for the two guys who were there - the > General Manager and the Director of Engineering. Or just call Hearthware in > Gurnee, IL. Then use their settings as a start and go from there. > > Bob Yellin > (change "com" to "net" for email) |
>If you could give a quick, down and dirty, description of the profile >which you find most useful I would be very appreciative. I am sure that >I am not the only technologically challenged one in our community. >HELP, and thanks in advance. >Alan M Hi Alan, I've posted a data-logged roast for you (showing my I-Roast setup temperatures, the actual bean temperature measured by a thermocouple just into the top of the bean mass, and the I-Roast-measured temperature) for some Guat Antigua on alt.binaries.coffee. This particular roast turned out quite good but the next time I roasted it, I shut it down at a lighter point - just before second crack and liked it better. If you can't download the binary, let me know and I'll email it to you. I should emphasize that while communicating with other early owners of this roaster, nearly every roaster was different in terms of the difference between the programmed profile and the resulting I-Roast-measured temperature. Some roasters were unusable. There were instances where the difference between a manually programmed temperature and the I-Roast-measured temperature was nearly 100F. So keep in mind that although this setup works on my roaster, it may be different on yours. But you may be able to use it as a starting point. The presets gave awful results on my roaster so I abandoned them early on and played around with the manual programming until I came up with profiles such as the one I have posted. Hope this helps. If not let me know and I may be able to make other suggestions. Bob Yellin (change "com" to "net" for email) >Bob Yellin wrote: >>>I'm looking for a little getting started guidance/advice with the >>>i-Roast that I won at the show. What do I need to know? Should I use >>>preset curves or something else. Since I'm greener than the beans, >>>tiny tot language please :-)) >> >> >> Hi Bob, >> As you know - I've got one of these. If I were you, I'd skip the presets >> (they burned my beans badly but your roaster may be different - each one >> seems to be a bit different from the others). >> >> The settings that they used at the conference seemed to work quite well and >> you got that exact roaster. If I were you, I would try to get in touch with >> the folks who were at the show. I have their business cards so contact me >> off-list and I'll send you the info for the two guys who were there - the >> General Manager and the Director of Engineering. Or just call Hearthware in >> Gurnee, IL. Then use their settings as a start and go from there. >> >> Bob Yellin >> (change "com" to "net" for email) |
>. The presets gave awful results on my >roaster so I abandoned them early on and played around with the manual >programming until I came up with profiles such as the one I have posted. I missed your posting on your profiles. I would be interested in them. _ (_) Daniel Warren, RPh _______// Marion NY (________) Clinical Pharmacist \ / dwarren2@rochester.rr.com |
email to you at the address you show below Bob Yellin (change the "com" to "net" for email) > >I missed your posting on your profiles. I would be interested in them. > > > _ > (_) Daniel Warren, RPh > _______// Marion NY > (________) Clinical Pharmacist > \ / dwarren2@rochester.rr.com > |
if there is any real difference between the very early ones and the ones that will be shipping to the "mass" market? _ (_) Daniel Warren, RPh _______// Marion NY (________) Clinical Pharmacist \ / dwarren2@rochester.rr.com |
>if there is any real difference between the very early ones and the ones that >will be shipping to the "mass" market? I received mine in early December as well. The main difference is that the ones to be shipped soon will have a new, improved chaff collector to allow for better circulation. Owners of the older model can get a free upgrade. Bob Yellin |
>>When did you get your I-Roast. I got mine in early December, I was wondering > >>if there is any real difference between the very early ones and the ones that >>will be shipping to the "mass" market? > >I received mine in early December as well. The main difference is that the >ones to be shipped soon will have a new, improved chaff collector to allow >for better circulation. Owners of the older model can get a free upgrade. They've emailed me with that info. That was several months ago. Still waiting, Did you see the attachment for a vent that they show in the faq? I emailed them and asked if that was optional or included in the new units. _ (_) Daniel Warren, RPh _______// Marion NY (________) Clinical Pharmacist \ / dwarren2@rochester.rr.com |
>>>When did you get your I-Roast. I got mine in early December, I was wondering >> >>>if there is any real difference between the very early ones and the ones that >>>will be shipping to the "mass" market? >> >>I received mine in early December as well. The main difference is that the >>ones to be shipped soon will have a new, improved chaff collector to allow >>for better circulation. Owners of the older model can get a free upgrade. > >They've emailed me with that info. That was several months ago. Still >waiting, Did you see the attachment for a vent that they show in the faq? I >emailed them and asked if that was optional or included in the new units. > > > _ > (_) Daniel Warren, RPh > _______// Marion NY > (________) Clinical Pharmacist > \ / dwarren2@rochester.rr.com > |
I-roast side by side and chose I roast hands down, to him Zach tasted more baked. Hot Top came out on top, with the Iroast second, according to him. |
was much disappointment and fear that Quality Control issues would kill it. Now it seems that has totally passed. Is this due only to the roasts people saw at SCAA in Atlanta, or is the cumulative evidence that the I Roast problems have been pretty much Ironed out? best, myron |
>was much disappointment and fear that Quality Control issues would >kill it. >Now it seems that has totally passed. >Is this due only to the roasts people saw at SCAA in Atlanta, or is >the cumulative evidence that the I Roast problems have been pretty >much Ironed out? >best, myron No - not all the problems will have been addressed by the next batch. The biggest one - the poor air circulation through the beans caused by the old chaff collector has been addressed ("solved" remains to be seen) by a newly designed one. One chaff collector problem in the earlier version - the fact that it sometimes lifts up from the top of the roast chamber during the roast, was still in evidence at the conference but the resulting roast looked even and the cup tasted good. However the Hearthware folks relate to the I-Roast as a "work in progress". Unchanged for the time being are the pre-programmed profiles. There are two programmed into the firmware. Although the next generation will have the same programs, Hearthware is aware that further work may need to be done and they may consider changing them in the future. And the problem with temperature calibration - the sometimes very large differences between the set temperature and the actual temperature and inconsistencies from one machine to another may still be present. It remains to be seen whether or not they've calibrated the new units any better than the earlier ones. Bob Y |
> One chaff collector problem in the earlier version - the fact > that it sometimes lifts up from the top of the roast chamber during the > roast, was still in evidence at the conference ... I solved that problem by lowering the seal on the chaff collector so that the fit on the roast chamber is tighter. Turn the chaff collector upside down and carefully remove the rubber seal. Now exposed are 4 small (#1) Phillips screws that secure the seal mounting plate. Remove the screws and then the mounting plate. Place small washers on top of the mounting posts, replace and secure the metal plate. Insert the rubber seal. Done. The chaff collector on my unit came loose every time - making a mess. I used to secure it with Gaffer tape (like duct tape except the adhesive stays on the tape when you remove it) and that worked. With the fix above, I've had no problems at all and no longer need the Gaffer tape. Tony V. |
>> One chaff collector problem in the earlier version - the fact >> that it sometimes lifts up from the top of the roast chamber during the >> roast, was still in evidence at the conference ... > >I solved that problem by lowering the seal on the chaff collector so >that the fit on the roast chamber is tighter. > >Turn the chaff collector upside down and carefully remove the rubber >seal. Now exposed are 4 small (#1) Phillips screws that secure the seal >mounting plate. Remove the screws and then the mounting plate. Place >small washers on top of the mounting posts, replace and secure the metal >plate. Insert the rubber seal. Done. > >The chaff collector on my unit came loose every time - making a mess. I >used to secure it with Gaffer tape (like duct tape except the adhesive >stays on the tape when you remove it) and that worked. With the fix >above, I've had no problems at all and no longer need the Gaffer tape. > >Tony V. Good info! Thanks. Bob Y |
> Good info! Thanks. > Bob Y You're welcome. What gets me is that fixing a poorly fitting lid is not rocket science - neither is designing a good one in the first place. Hearthware has been working on the I-Roast for over a year and they still have lid problems. I wonder if their mechanical engineers all got their degrees at Internet U - where for $35, you too can be an enjuneer. Tony V. |
> >> Good info! Thanks. >> Bob Y > > > You're welcome. What gets me is that fixing a poorly fitting lid is not > rocket science - neither is designing a good one in the first place. > Hearthware has been working on the I-Roast for over a year and they > still have lid problems. I wonder if their mechanical engineers all got > their degrees at Internet U - where for $35, you too can be an enjuneer. Sound's like you've got the answers -- can't wait to see your entry into the home roaster market! Ben |