Fresh Roast SR540 Roaster

I picked up a new SR540 a few weeks ago after I dropped my SR500 roast chamber on the tile floor when I needed to roast. I strung out the beans I had left till the replacement chamber could arrive. This was not a good time so I figured I needed a “Back up” roaster! After contemplating a more expensive drum roaster and evaluating my satisfaction with the SR500 I thought I’d just order another one but they are discontinued so I decided to spring for the new SR540 and take my time fiddling with the new controls and roast profiles. I like simple. After unboxing the new SR540 I hand washed the roast chamber in the kitchen sink ,stainless steel so not as rigid as cast/enamel, the slippery chamber fell out of my hand and dropped maybe 10"-12” to the sink and broke into numerous pieces. It landed on the glass handle which I guess generates a pressure point where it attaches to the glass chamber side. So, I ordered a new chamber for my brand new SR540! Bummer! Another $35.00 and hadn’t even got to use it yet. After the new 540 chamber arrived I was very careful washing it this time. 1.) You will need to run your new 540 through at least 3 cycles of about 6-7 minutes on it’s hottest (9) setting to burn in the coils so it doesn’t impart the hot electrical smell into your beans. I also left the fan on high (9) for the first two runs then ran it at fan (6) to get more temperature for a really good burn in. You will need to give it the obligatory minimum 30min. rest between cycles to maintain your warranty. I did one more burn in "roast" with some old beans for good measure. 2.) I broke another 540 roast chamber by making sure the bottom metal pice of the chamber was screwed on tightly to the glass. Again, the crack started at where the glass handle attaches to the chamber side. (WARNING: Be gentle when handling these new style roast chambers. Do not put much side load pressure on the handle!) I would recommend that the manufacturer redesign the handle so it attaches to the sides at two points top AND bottom! 3.) On to roasting. I live at sea level on the gulf coast. I measure out my beans to 120g and have only roasted African, Central American and Caribbean beans so far. I like Full City, Full City+ just at start of 2nd crack. I tried a few different settings of fan speed and temperature and found it difficult to get high enough temperature on anything less than the highest temperature setting of (9) for what I consider a reasonable roast time. I live in an old house so maybe my voltage isn't what it should be? I was a little concerned the new SR540 controls were going to make things more complicated but I found you can keep it simple by just leaving the temp setting at it’s highest (9) and adjust fan speed to control temperature. Easy as pie! The time setting will be remembered on the machine so I just set mine at 10 minutes and it's always there when I plug it back in. I start at fan 9, temp 9. I’m experimenting but am achieving very satisfactory results with this profile so far. Fan/Temp/Time 9/9/2min 8/9/1.5min 1st crack 7/9/1.5min 1st crack ends in here 6/9/1.5 – 2.0 depending on bean. 1st couple snaps of 2nd crack. When you hit the cool button you need to go back and adjust the fan speed back to 9! I think this should have been automatic unless my machine is broke. All in all I like the SR540 accept for the fragile nature of the new roast chamber and having to reset fan speed in cool mode. I like the new timer as it can be set and remembered even after unplugging. The agitation of the beans had me concerned at first as movement seemed limited but I get a fairly even roast if you ease the fan down slowly.

Bought this a few months ago; I had just started roasting coffee and was using a popper, and decided that was just a stupid way of roasting! I love this roaster. It is easy to use, and roasts consistently. There are warnings all over the internet regarding the top being heavy, the roast chamber just sitting kind of precariously, etc., but if you are careful, you should be ok! The only problem I have with this roaster is I bought it to roast beans for myself, but now everyone wants me to roast for them and is buying me beans…I should have gotten the 800! 😁

OMG! It's just amazing how easy it is. I just love it.

This is my first roaster so I have nothing to compare to but I am very happy. It arrived very quickly and works great. I appreciate the roasting log, coffee sample kit and gift certificate that came in the packet. I already re-ordered more coffee.

The SR540 is a welcome and big improvement to the SR500 I've used for the past 5 years. I like the larger bean canister. And the new heat/fan adjustment ability is like rocket science compared to my old popcorn popper roaster.

Have had the SR540 for about two years now. Makes great beans; I found some really good single-source Nicaraguan beans to make beans that are just shy of espresso roast; call it dark french roast. Produces quite a bit of smoke so best used outdoors. It's also sensitive to the external air temperature - needs to be set a bit hotter for cold weather. I use mine in the garage as it's insulated and closer to house temperature, then after roasting open the garage door and a window to dissipate the smoke. I think some of the other reviews that indicate they can't get it hot enough are using an extension cord; the instructions specifically say don't do that due to amperage loss - plug directly into a dedicated outlet. This thing will roast beans as black as anybody could possibly want them! I did have a mechanical problem with mine a few months ago; I was tweaking the settings so much during roasting that the control knob started becoming inaccurate, going the wrong direction on the setting or jumping several digits and becoming very difficult to get to the numbers I wanted. I contacted the manufacturer and they immediately sent me a new control board no questions asked. Would definitely buy again!

Well designed, well made, easy to use, but almost impossible to get to 450 deg F. I'd like to thank Jasmine for giving me a pound of seasoning beans instead of the log and bags.

After my old roasstarted burning the beans, I ordered this one. It's definitely different. My first two batches were very light. It's fun experimenting with it. I appreciate the free gifts. I've started using the notebook and pen. Thank you!

My husband loves the coffee we bought him for Father's Day, it's exactly what he wanted.

I started with a popper a year ago. I upgraded for Christmas this year to the SR540. I will say it has been like night and day. I now control the temp and roast time with what seems like scientific precision! The cooling feature is great as well, I was using a homemade cooling box with computer fan. One machine now, it is awesome. One slight negative is the 30 min wait time between roasts. It takes 2 roasts to fill the small valve bags, so an hour per roasting event. My routine so far: 140g Beans- 2mins @ 9/9/20 to dry the beans. Drop down to 4/9 or 5/9 to raise temp to approx 400° until first crack. Will go to 3/9 to raise to 405-410° until second crack. For most of my beans, I am hitting a rolling second at 10-11 mins. I don't do dark so need to try that I suppose. I love the fact time/temp is now a controllable parameter.

It is not making my roast as dark as I like it. My older model FB 101 300P did a nice dark roast at 6-7 minutes. Even at 15 minutes this one is just a medium roast.

Was really enjoy this SR540 for the first year when suddenly out of nowhere the controls stopped working about15 months into it. (3 months past the warranty). The numbers when turning the knob to set do not graduate in order in fact they are sporadically all over the place. I'm still using it as I was finally able to get a setting of 9,9,&13 mins which works ok for.my Guatamalan beans but is not the setting I prefer. I've been debating on whether to get another or move to a different machine.

SAM The 540 Roaster was delivered within a few days. Very quick service. I was roasting coffee within hours. After several batches, I got the hang of it. Very easy to use and I was able to make some great coffee. Really beats the popcorn roaster I was using. I selected the Central America free coffee pack and found the coffee I've roasted so far is really tasty. For the money, I think it's worth it.

Great roaster!

Takes FOREVER to roast. My original older unit roast 4 times faster, literally!!