Fresh Roast SR800 Roaster

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.

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 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.

I recently purchase the SR800 with the Extender Tube from CBC and am thrilled by it’s performance! I did one 8 ounce run with cheap beans in order to ‘burn it in’ and every roast since has been perfectly inline with the settings I’ve chosen. I live at high altitude (8,000 Feet above sea level) in a cold climate (Kitchen at 60F) but it has easily accommodated my unusual requirements. I’m not into burnt beans, so I sit and watch the process carefully in order to switch to cooling the instant my bean reach a certain color that I refer to as second stage brown, but I can also tell when they’re done by scent alone. There is a slight bit of smoke (haze) in my kitchen when I’m done, but I perceive the scent it imparts as wonderful, so I’m NOT complaining about it! Unless you’re going for commercial volumes, the SR800 (WITH the extender tube) is DEFINITELY the way to go as far as my 50 years of experience with such things is concerned! Oh, and I be remiss if I didn’t mention the fully EXCELLENT grade of service CBC provides! I’m simply incredibly picky and hard to please, with the highest technical standards left around these days, but they were all over me like flies on poop as I worked out my process, and actually FAR exceeded my expectations!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

Operates much easier than the 500. Still run a temperature probe through a hole in middle that I drilled out to monitor the temperature but I do like the machine

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.

Great roaster. I started roasting with a popcorn popper to see if I'd enjoy roasting my own. Really enjoy it and need a step up to automate things a bit. The Fresh Roast SR800 is great for my needs. However, I HIGHLY recommend buying the extension tube as well. The beans have more space to rotate and jump and from what I've read and seen in videos you roast at lower power levels. I never use power any anything more than 2 or 1 the fan any higher than 6 or 7. Great machine and purchase IMHO.

I picked up this roaster a couple of weeks ago and have used it four times. It is quite easy to use. Since I'm new to home roasting coffee I can't compare it to other roasting machines or methods. I'm planning to add the extension chamber soon.

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.

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.

1st time roaster. After seeing many videos and reviews (and not wanting to spend thousands) I determined the SR800 was the one for me. CBC got it to me quickly, and followed up to make sure I was satisfied, and to offer tips on roasting. Disclaimer: I also purchased the extension tube, which gave me a little more flexibility (and slightly more product) in the process. Did my 1st roast last night. Easy to use. It's important to have a game plan going in, because it gets a little hectic in the heat of battle. Even with a plan, you do have to pay attention to time, temperature, 1st crack time, etc, and make tweaks along the way. My wife took notes so I could document what I did do to either adjust or copy for my next batch, based on how the brew tastes. Again, would highly getting the extension tube. All in all, a fun experience, and am looking forward to a long career of coffee roasting with it.

I had to wait a few months to get this roaster, it was sold out nationwide. It was worth the wait. CBC promptly notified me when it restocked, and had it to me in a couple of days. They also threw in 2 sample packs of beans (5 lbs), a roasting log, some valved coffee bags, and packed it all nestled into a full size burlap coffee bag used as packing material. How sweet is that? Now, the roaster. Although I have roasted for a while, I am still learning the capabilities of this roaster. You can control most everything. Temperature, bean movement, and time. My first roast turned out pretty good. A little too quick I think. I'm getting it dialed in now. You can control dry time, first crack, and development stages. So many variables. I love this machine, as well as Coffee Bean Corral. Great customer service, products, and prices. I've never received a bad bean from these folks. I highly recommend them.

Really nice roaster. It's my first, and I found it really easy to use and clean (watched a couple of youtube videos). It was shipped quickly and packed very well.

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

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.

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.