Fresh Roast SR800 Roaster

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 ..

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.

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!

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.

I have only had a chance to try it out once although I have had the SR500 for several years prior to this. It was easy to use. I love that I can do larger batches (twice as large as before). It was easy to use. The item arrived safely, timely and in good order.

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!

Very capable roaster. The capacity is very nice. There are some very useful modifications that can be purchased or made to make it even better.

My first roaster and it is fantastic. Simple with many manual adjusting options. I was worried about the amount of smoke that it may produce, but under a simple hood-range there was no visible smoke. The sampler pack was also great, with scrumptious coffee, that roasted to perfection. If you are looking for best beginner to expert roaster, this is it>

We are roasting so many beans with this bad boy, it’s great! Coffee Bean Corral is the best, before shipping this they called me to talk about the different options and make sure I was familiar with roasting. It was SO nice!

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

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.

great machine and great company to work with.

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.