# Sample Roasters, What's your preference?



## Crownandcanvas (Sep 16, 2020)

I'm sure it has, so apologise if this thread has been started before, just curious to see what experience and pro's/cons people are finding with various sample roasters out there?

I'm currently tinkering with the idea of getting our own sample roaster, mainly so we can minimise waste when it comes to dialing in roast profiles, and for the usual experimenting and tinkering that comes with being able to roast say 100g at a time rather than bigger batches.

I've used the Quest sample roaster before which has always been an interesting experience, and I've looked at other various models but starting to get lost with choice, the most common Im seeing in roasterys at the moment being the Ikawa Pro, but the price tag is pretty high for what we're going to be using it for at the moment.

I've looked at the Ikawa home version but not done a great deal of research into it yet, Im happy to roast 'manually' rather than fully automated, aslong as I can record the data and record roast curves be it on paper or through an app, so It can help translate/transfer that data and apply into bigger batches.

Just curious to see what peoples thoughts and experiences are, any discussion and guidance would be awesome!


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## Three Hills Coffee Co (Feb 22, 2021)

I'm sort of in the same boat as you, right now I am putting 250g samples through the little 1kg roaster we started off with years ago which can be done with a lot of bodging but it is clearly not ideal.

Totally agree with the Ikawa being rather expensive and in any case its a hot air roaster rather than a drum and I'd rather use the same method as a production batch would go through.

I'm tempted to get one of those new ones bella barista are selling for £700 odd quid just to see what they are like, the other option is a proper sample roaster from one of the big companies and you can actually get those for sensible money second hand too (although they don't come up too often).

Sorry this is of absolutely no help but if/when I actually get something I'll share what I find out.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Three Hills Coffee Co said:


> I'm tempted to get one of those new ones bella barista are selling for £700 odd quid just to see what they are like, the other option is a proper sample roaster from one of the big companies and you can actually get those for sensible money second hand too (although they don't come up too often).
> 
> Sorry this is of absolutely no help but if/when I actually get something I'll share what I find out.


 The one that BB sell is probably closest to the drum roaster and a good option for roasting those little samples you get from the importers. It can be used to generate the basic of a profile for further refinement on the larger roaster....and will definitely indicate the best range to pull a 20 s interval sample set for cupping.


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## Coffee by the Casuals (Sep 15, 2020)

I have seen it said, by those with much more roasting experience than we have, that you can't take a sample roaster's data/behaviour and directly transpose it onto your "proper" roaster.

I can't argue with anybody taking either side of that coin.


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## Crownandcanvas (Sep 16, 2020)

Coffee by the Casuals said:


> I have seen it said, by those with much more roasting experience than we have, that you can't take a sample roaster's data/behaviour and directly transpose it onto your "proper" roaster.
> 
> I can't argue with anybody taking either side of that coin.


 I'd agree and say from my experience thats mostly true, even for example going from a smaller drum to a bigger drum roaster, the profiles will still vary slightly.

I'm not hoping or expecting to be able to copy and paste profiles over, just to get a better understanding of the coffees were working with, experiment more and develop more knowledge while the key point being creating as minimal waste as possible. It would be nice to do say 5 sample roasts of a single coffee, with varying drop temps, heat application, airflow adjustments etc, run a cupping table, measure results and approach a newer coffee that way ... without potentially wasting excess coffee from larger batches to fill 5/10 cupping bowls. That way I'd (hopefully haha) get a better feel for whats going to be the best approach when it comes to dropping that first larger batch.


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## Benjamin8732 (Aug 6, 2020)

What about the Kaffelogic Nano 7e, I don't have any experience with it, but understand that some roasters in NZ and Australia are using it as a sample roaster.

Kaffelogic are now taking pre-orders on their website for the CE certified version.


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## Dartmoor Coffee (Feb 4, 2020)

I asked Falcon Coffee about sample roasters couple days ago since been pondering them myself and they pointed me towards the Ikawa.


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## RDC8 (Dec 6, 2016)

A company out of New Zealand - Kaffelogic - has produced a small roaster which might suit you. There was a bit of a thread on here a while back. @Beeroclock has one so might be able to give you some more insight.

My bad - replied before I saw the post from @Benjamin8732. I need to remember to read twice and post once!


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