The i-Roast 2 coffee roaster looks remarkably like a coffee maker.  The two main components are the roasting pot and the heating base.  The roasting pot is a glass container for holding the beans during the roasting process.  The heating element and controls are housed in the a base unit.

The hot air is forced up from the base unit into the roasting pot via the holes in the metal plate at the bottom of the pot.  The hot air not only roasts the beans, it mixes and circulates the beans to insure even roasting.

The cone shape metal piece (red arrow) inside the roasting pot helps to circulate the beans during roasting. The pot holds approximately five ounces (one cup) of green beans.  This is enough for about 24 cups of coffee.

The lid of the roasting pot serves two purposes: it keeps the beans in the pot during roasting, and lets the heated air escape.

The chaff, or skin, of the beans will separate during roasting. Chaff is like very thin tissue paper and will blow around.  The top of the lid in conjunction with the perforated metal cap acts trap for the chaff.

The perforated metal screen lets the air out while the chaff is collected in the rim (red arrow) of the filter assembly.

Fresh unroasted coffee beans have a greenish appearance.  We received two bags of beans with our unit.  There are tons of places both on the web and in specialty stores where one can get unroasted coffee.  We'll be doing an article on the different kinds at a later date.

The base of the unit, besides being the heating element, is also the main programming and control center.  The i-Roaster 2 has an LCD display. The roaster's time and temperature are programmable for each of the three roasting stages.  The unit can store up to ten different roasting curves.

There is also an external venting adaptor (for direct venting to the outside) and some misc accessories (measuring cup, cleaning brush).

We are eager to give this coffee roaster a try.  Fifteen minutes is a lot less time than we expected coffee roasting to take.  We'll see if the results are worth the effort.

When we got the EspressoPRO, we also upgraded our coffee grinder.  But what's the point of having a great brewer and grinder if the beans are second-rate?  We could go out and buy premium roasted beans, but why not roast our own???

We know nothing about roasting coffee.  So we wanted to get a unit that is simple to use, but allows us to fine-tune the roast once we have gained some experience.

The 4th generation i-Roast 2 seems to be just such a machine.

We'll take a closer look at this coffee roaster in this FirstLook report. We'll then roast some beans, make some espresso, and see if home roasting is any better than stuff we can get at our local coffee house.

Reviews:

1. FirstLook

2. FirstUse

Review Summary:

Initial Impression- Small

Usability- 15 minutes to roast

Durability- test in progress

Price- $200

Other Coffee Reviews:

1. Simple Human

2. Tassimo

3. Keurig

4. EspressoPRO

5. Burr Grinder