SR540 Automatic Coffee Bean Roaster | Roast Coffee At Home | Variable Heat Settings | Convection Fan Control | Digital Status Display | Speed Roasting System | The Freshest Roast On Earth

First of all, I'm not going to use fancy words like city roast that I have no idea what they mean. This will be a very pedestrian review.Can't believe we waited this long to roast our own coffee beans. We have never bought coffee that was better than what we have roasted so far with this machine. We set the temperature at 8, the fan at 9, and the time at 12 minutes. After three minutes we reduce the fan to 6. This makes for a very beautiful, oily bean and a smooth and very dark roast. We generally use the french press and not quite boiling water. We tried it with Mexican beans, which seem to be the best so far, although the Sumatra is also outstanding if we don't make it too dark. Trial and error, and honestly, should be done outside as it gets very smokey. After two minutes the smoke detectors go off. Going to buy another one as a backup in case this one ever fails, although it's quite robust and seems well made, and green coffee beans keep a long time, and we can buy in bulk and save money.UPDATE: Still love it. Have been roasting Dominican Honey-wash beans and the flavor is unbelievable. Have adjusted start time to 6 minutes (or until first crack) at fan of 9 and power at 7, then reduce to 6 and 4 for about 5 minutes, then back up to 6 and 7 to finish it off. This is with 6 scoops of beans (scooper that came with roaster). We also keep the lid off for a couple minutes as the beans dry a bit so they don't overheat at the bottom, then put the lid back on and just watch carefully. Caution, this will cause chaff to fly out, so do this outside. Reducing from 8 to 7 on initial power seems to reduce smoking and burning of beans, and we end up with a wonderful, oily, caramelized bean that brews so wonderfully it needs no creamer or sugar. Thinking of getting a 580 just to be able to roast more at a time. This is our first roaster, and I would give it 6 stars if I could.

I must say that I am very pleased with this roaster. I've roasted 3 batches of beans and the appliance is idiot-proof. No, I do not like that it has "China" marked on it, but everything comes from China nowdays. I bought the 3 year warranty insurance. This appliance does go up to a heating setting of 9. In that I have never done coffee roasting, I have used it at 6 and 7. And, the instructions say use a maximum of 4 scoops of green beans, I'm just using 2. The roaster does a very good job of catching the chaff in the upper basket. After just 3 batches, I am DONE with roasted, packaged coffee, this baby gives you superior taste from green beans. You will notice a significant increase in the taste and intensity of your brew, so a definite WOW factor. The price, well, I saw roasters as low as $75 on Amazon and after looking at the 2 choices at $150-ish, I went with this brand and I am satisfied, fully, with the purchase. The roaster is solidly built, it cranks out a lot heated air. I mentioned that I use 2 scoops and don't plan on using the maximum of 4 scoops, the reason is that I think the fan, set at the maximum, 9, handles 2 scoops perfectly, very even roasting. You will notice a difference in the roasting time between 6 and 7, my opinion is 6 is the best setting for heating. The cooling cycle works well, but you do want to wait for a few minutes before taking off the top of the roaster, the chaff lid, unless you use oven glove or a cloth, again, the roaster cranks out a lot of heat...

The roaster works well and it’s reliable for light and medium roast, it was difficult for me to get consistently a dark roast needed for my espresso.

Although I've been roasting coffee beans for over 10 years now good luck trying to achieve roasts that are consistently light or medium in a pot. The SR540 makes it easy to fine tune your roasts to get exactly what you want, introducing an entirely new flavor profile to your brews.My only complaints is that I wish the roasting chamber and chaff basket would lock. Also, instructions are lacking even on youtube.I don't believe cooking (or roasting) is an art. It has more to do with temperature and thankfully this machine has a menu where you can check the temp of your roasting chamber. The numbers you need to remember is 380, 400 and 450 for light, medium and dark. Controlling the fan speed has just as much to do with controlling temp as does the heat setting. That would have been very helpful information to know first time using this machine.Having the ability to make perfectly light and dark roasts has allowed me to mix both prior to grinding to create a lot of complexity to my every brew. Best enjoyed black. No off burnt flavors. And also no clouds of smoke. This machine will still set off nearby smoke detectors. Not sure if that can ever be avoided regardless of roasting method. I've been roasting outside for years so makes no difference to me but for others you might want to cover or disconnect nearby smoke detectors.They even thought to include a 3 minute cooling setting to your roasting chamber.You will get chaff in your beans, but not much. Most will be blown into the chaff basket. I keep a bag next to my roaster and after dumping the chaff basket in there I'll pick up the roasting chamber, stick it and my face partially into the bag and blow the two or three chaff skins in. Really just looking for an excuse to smell freshly roasted beans. Before when I was roasting out of a pot all the chaff went into my grinds.This roaster doesn't roast a lot at a time and it takes about 30 minutes to roast a weeks worth. I have 2 to 3 cups of expresso a day, each about 6oz. I enjoy roasting with it so not really a con for me.