Now ya gots me thinkin'! Hmmm... Christmas is coming... And as far as Sweet Maria's being the premiere site not only for information, but high quality beans, as well, I couldn't agree more.
Just checked Sweet Maria's - cost is now $369.. Sure, it comes with an 8lb sample set, a $40 value, but still too much for me at this time. What's the going black market rate for candied herring ? Nah. Couldn't do it. Baby penguin tears...can't bear the thought.
$369 is a lot of money, no doubt. BUT, if you factor in the savings of roasting your own coffee. Example, 5lb of green Columbian - $25. Where are you going to get 5lb of roasted coffee for $5/lb. AND roasted exactly how you want it. Fresh, not sitting on the shelf for who knows how long? Also I have used it at least 500 times...so far. The investment does make one pause, but it most definitely pays for itself. Not trying to talk anyone into purchasing a $369 machine, just saying that for me, it has been really worth it.
My lovely bride ordered this for me for Valentine's day. I cannot wait to start experimenting. Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
I thought this was the one you had mentioned. This one is coming already drilled with the thermometer, and included the lined coffee bags, roast log, tips book, and 3 pounds of green coffee beans to experiment with. I'm already pondering how to make some infused coffee roasts. I don't want to add syrups because I don't want the added sugar.
Hot Top roaster here. Lstely I've been roasting Ethiopia Yukiro Cooperative, to a FC. Beans and equipment from Sweet Maria's. About 15 years ago, my sister spend some time in Syria, and brought back some green coffee beans. My Dad didn't know what to do with them, so did some research on the internet, and found Sweet Maria's. We've been staunch home roasters ever since. I would always bug him to roast me some coffee whenever we visited, then he finally got me a iRoast 2 roaster for Christmas. That lasted probably 10 years, and quit last summer. Then I made the big jump to the Hot Top, and love using it.
My whirly-pop kit and coffee arrived today. Roasting to ensue shortly. Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
The Hot Top is a real beast... Love that you can eject the roasted beans immediately. Wish it held more.
Well, the first roast was bordering on an espresso roast. The second was what I would call a solid light-medium roast that I cannot wait to try tomorrow. Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk