Fresh Roast SR800 Roaster

The SR800 is a very solid roaster. Very easy to use and control. A YouTube video shortened the learning curve. This is head and shoulders above playing with roasting using an air popcorn popper.

As a novice roaster, I went with this as it's a fairly simple device. I got the extension tube, which allows a lower fan and power setting (smaller area to blow the heat through, you see). With a background in laboratory work, I'd prefer more sensors, but at this price I'm not going to argue. I've roasted several batches and I find it pretty straightforward to get really good results. I've been keeping the inlet temperature in the 420F range until the beans are browning and then run it up to 470-490F through first crack. I find it fairly easy to hear the cracking, but again, you don't need nearly as much fan to keep the beans bouncing. Coffee Bean Corral was great to do business with and included some cool packing material.

This is my 2nd SR800. My first lasted 5 years before the fan gave out a few weeks ago. I use it weekly to roast 8oz of coffee with the extension tube. I noticed that these newer (2024) Fresh Roast SR800 have updated the chaff collector and the base seems to be a bit smaller in stature. I'm now 3 roasts in, and notice the fan seems to be a bit more powerful. Similar roasting time. Did I look for other roasting options? Yes, I've done the Behmor and it died in 3 years (zap zap fire on the circuit board). but came back to the SR800 because it was available from my fav shops, it could easily handle ½ lb and didn't cost 500+. I have the extension tube and customized chaff collector for better airflow.

Got my SR 800 promptly and well packaged. Have made two roastings so far and boy-howdy. Been getting my beans from CBC for years, and it's always been a pleasure, especially working with the ever cheerful Michelle. Strongest recommendation.

I'm new to coffee roasting, started with my air popper, which roasted the beans very unevenly. Liked having freshly roasted coffee, so decided to invest in the Fresh Roast SR800. I agree with other reviews, even though directions say you can use 8 oz of green beans, there's not enough air to toss the beans. At a lesser amount of beans, the roasting process was easy and consistent. Maybe in the future, I'll invest in the tube extender. For now, the roaster is perfect for our needs. I also appreciated the sample bags of coffee to try. CBC is a truly customer oriented company with a great variety of products.

I installed the extension tube on the 800. It works well and my second roast was on the money. I’ve roast 4 8 or 9 oz batches. What I like is getting the second crack roast done in less than 15 minutes including cooling. What I struggle with is hearing the crack. I cans see the beans color and smell the wonderful aromas. I would like to roast larger batches and I’ll try to get 10 or a little more. We’ll see. I can watch the temperature better than my previous roasters. I’m going by smell, color, temp, and time. It works. My coffee is better too, even though I can’t hear the cracking. Cy

Excellent customer support Good roaster get extension chamber

Bought it, and I loved making my own roasts. After dropping it, it continued to roast, but soon after, the electronics smoked. I received 10 out of 10 repair service and customer service from Fresh Roast employee, Sam Skaling. I'm very pleased with my SR800 that I use in my apartment on the 3rd floor. I am able to roast with the balcony door open, a fan, and temporarily removing the living room smoke detector. Sam Skaling took my calls and provided customer service that made me feel like I stepped back into the 50's with someone of my grandfather's integrity and honor.

The Fresh Roast SR800 was just what I was looking for in a roaster. It is very simple to use and adjusting my roast to the right settings to get the most out of the coffee bean is great . I just got this Father’s Day and I have roasted close to 7lbs and I’m not disappointed at all ..

A very nice upgrade from a popcorn popper. It took me 2 attempts to get the roast down right. A wealth of online resources are available with helpful guidance to get the right roasting conditions. The instructions provided are very limited. A single control button controls fan speed. heat and time. The temp sensor measures the inlet air temp not the bean temp. I recommend place in probe to measure bean temp. The chaff collector is efficient but some chaff escapes the collector. The SR800 is designed for 8oz of green beans, but 6oz allows for better heat management.

I have roasted Costa Rica La Minita and it was great. Stopped at start of 2nd crack. For my first roast I was so happy it came out so good. The SR800 is a fine little roaster. I have roasted some Guatemala la Flor del cafe Antigua and it is a very good coffee. This roaster is fun to work with. I had a 20-amp electrical outlet installed so I can make sure my power will be constant. Just tried some Ethiopian and it is so sweet and fruity, amazing. You can't get better coffee without roasting it yourself.

I’ve had my sr500 for 10 years with no issues. Some say they can’t get their beans to roast past light brown…My experiences/solution is to be sure to use a good power source and not use extension cords. I use a dedicated 20amp plug. Also, don’t roast in low temperatures. I’ve noticed the best roasting is when the house or outdoor temperature is above 65 F.

I have been roasting coffee at home for about 1 1/2 years on and off. I started with a cast iron skillet then switched to a popcorn popper. I decided that we like the home roasted coffee enough that it was time to move forward and buy a roaster. I have had it for about 3 weeks now and have roasted several bags of coffee. We love it, takes some practice to get your roast the way you want, the beans are roasted evenly which is huge compared to the other methods I have used. CBC called me the same day I placed my order to cover any questions and to explain the warranty, my shipment was here in less then a week. I also purchased the extension tube which makes roasting easier. Overall I am very happy with both the service from CBC and the Roaster. Looking forward to many great cups of coffee.

So, I've now officially given up on roasting my own beans. Dropped the plastic lid of this new unit and it broke. I couldn't get the beans to roast beyond a very pale blonde. I used to have a Nescafe roaster. It was a lot easier to use. Stick a fork in me.

Quickly “graduated” from a popcorn popper. Four roasts in, this was a great purchase. First two as supplied; 3rd and 4th with extension tube. Nice control. I think this will meet my needs for some time.

My SR800 arrived when promised by Coffee Bean Corral. I followed the recommended settings and my first roast turned out perfect. The craft roaster that I have been ordering from is going to be very disappointed since I can now roast my own at half the price. Roasting the two sample packs should come close to saving enough to pay for the roaster.

I ordered the SR800 and was promised it would ship when they arrive on 5/11/21. They shipped it precisely on May 11 and I received it a few days later. It was exactly as I expected and I roasted my first batch the next day. I love the way it works and am thoroughly pleased with Coffee Bean Corral.

The Fresh Roast SR800 is my first roaster (beyond a cast iron skillet). It’s incredibly easy to use and I’m blown away by the quality of the roast. However, what was most impressive was the customer service from CBC. I don’t believe I’ve ever had such excellent support from a company. Catherine called to make sure everything was perfect and to answer any questions I had before they shipped the order. She patiently answered all of my questions and it was clear that rather than just fulfilling an order, they wanted to build a relationship for all my coffee needs in the future. Can’t wait to order from CBC again!

Roasting for about 18 months with a pan over a stove top. Roasted with my new SR800 yesterday and was impressed with the evenness of the roast. Machine was simple to get a good roast out of. There is so much control and little adjustments you can make to produce suburb results. I look forward to experimenting with this machine. Let's hope it last now.

I meant to do 5 stars and clicked 4...oops! We love this roaster SO much! Also the Coffee Bean Corral folk are fantastic and will answer any questions you may have. I only wish the roaster was bigger but honestly, I think we drink an absurd amount of coffee anyway so it’s still perfect :)

Still getting the hang of it but seems to work great. Fast, compact, fairly easy to use. Great starter roaster for sure.

Just moved up from popcorn popper to the SR800! Very easy to setup and learn, first batch was a perfect roast, good for anyone looking to roast 1/2 pound batch size.

Needed a machine to replace my old (12yr old) one that could give me a good dark roast. This one does a good job, plus handles a larger load.

Just over two weeks in with this one and I'm loving it! I started roasting coffee when I worked at a small local coffee shop that got a 1lb fluid air bed roaster. After I moved on to other jobs with more regular schedules I started using a bread machine/heat gun to roast for a little while but it was hard to achieve consistency and it was annoying having to roast outside, especially during Southern summers! Finally decided to try a Fresh Roast, and settled on the SR800 without much trouble. Ordered it on Monday and Thursday it arrived around 7pm. 7:30pm I was wrapping up my first roast! I'd watched a couple of videos to learn how to use it, but so much of what I learned all those years ago came right back and I've been able to achieve the roast levels I'm looking for every time. Did set off the smoke detectors one time so... If you're going for Full City roasts make sure to keep that stove hood on high or roast someplace more open-air than your kitchen! Also can't complain one bit about the 5 half pound samples of beans and the $15 gift certificate they include with this machine. I mean, that's like getting a $30 discount over the list price of the roaster. Best deal I've seen around! Is the roaster perfect? No, of course not. I'd love if it had a dedicated temperature display so you don't have to swap back and forth between the fan/power setting an the temperature view. Also don't get a whole lot of bean movement with larger roasts if you drop the fan speed down any. There is a third party making aftermarket roast chambers for this which are tall and narrow--allowing for larger batches and reportedly giving better bean movement with the airflow this unit puts out. Do you need it to make some great roasts? Nope. I'm quite happy with what I've achieved so far with this.