Fresh Roast SR800 Roaster

I am new to roasting. I called for advice before the purchase and Stephen was extremely helpful. Their videos are also excellent. I've used the SR 800 a few times now. I am definitely getting the hang of how to adjust the settings as the roasting progresses. I did get the extension tube and am very happy with that addition. This has brought my coffee appreciation to a whole new level.

I am very glad I purchased my first roaster ever (and first unroasted coffee beans ever) from Coffee Bean Corral. I was pleasantly surprised to receive a phone call from them when my order was about to ship. They do this, apparently, for anyone purchasing a roaster from them to see if there are any questions. I was also sent an email with links to their "roast-along" video and some other resources. Not only did I receive the SR-800 roaster, but I also got a large set of bean samples (probably about 3 lbs I think?), the roasting notebook, stickers, and a few bags with valves. The care they evidently have for the products they sell is rare in today's market. I'll be purchasing all of my unroasted beans from them going forward.

I roasted with a hand crank stove top pop corn popper for 4 years before I bought the SR 800. It's so much easier using this roaster and the controls are pretty simple to learn and use, not sure why I waited so long to get one. Within 2-3 roasts I had the system down on fan and heat strength to get the roast I like. I can run the roaster under my stovetop vent fan and get no smoke smell in the house at all. Really happy with this roaster and well worth the money!

This is my first roaster and so far I love it. There’s plenty of YouTube content out there to help figure out all of the variables and I’m really digging the results. Highly recommended!

Bought mine at Christmas 2023 and love this model. It took about 3 roasts for me to catch on to the basics. I had never roasted coffee before and I am now very comfortable.

This is a neat little unit. I got the extension tube, and I recommend it - the smaller diameter gives higher velocity in a smaller area, so you can use a lower heat setting and a lower fan setting for a given temperature. I'm stepping up from a ceramic roaster over an open flame, so I'm still a novice - but It's a big improvement. You do need to keep a close eye on things. It can change temperature and airflow fairly quickly (they're interdependent) but as you approach second crack you can maintain a fairly high temperature even on the lowest setting - depending on your fan setting.

So far I love it. It is definitely a step up from my hot air one. The only thing I don’t care for is that towards the end of the roast the chaff collector will rise up a little and let some out. It would be nice to have some sort of latch to keep it down

Works great! This is not a roaster to set and walk away from. I start with 215 grams of beans fan setting 9 heat setting at 3. Timer at max. at 1 minute turn fan to 8 a minute later turn fan to 7 heat still at 3. Temp is 320, a minute later same settings temp is at 330/335. At 3 1/2 minutes in turn heat to 4. Temp is 360/365. At 5 minutes turn the heat to 5 fan to 6. temp at 380-385. At 5 1/2 minutes in turn heat to 6, fan still at 6 temp is 400/405. At 7 minutes turn heat up to 7, fan still at 6. Temp is 420/425. At 7 1/2 minutes settings the same temp temp 430/435. At 8 1/2 minutes turn fan down to 5, heat still at 7. Temp 440/445 consistent first crack. I like full city to full city plus. I leave the settings at fan 5 heat 7 . Temp tops out around 450. About 11 minutes in I like the color. I start the cool down, set fan to 6. The cool down is 3 minutes, I've roasted multiple batches with these settings and get a consistent roast.

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.

Been fun learning how and new taste in coffee.

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.

Exceeds my expectations. I can do a half pound of beans at a time. I was using the Nesco roaster and could only do 2 ounces at a time to maintain a good consistent roast. This new one blows it away. No more marathon roasting sessions.

Just broke in the SR800. Agree with others here, powerful fan and greater capacity but at the expense of the heater. Says it can handle 8 oz capacity but I really struggled with just 6 oz to get enough heat with an acceptable bean movement (max heat was 372F) and result was an uneven roast of Kenya with no audible FC. Kind of disappointing. I have an extension tube coming for the SR800 and hope that allows me to achieve high temperatures with better movement. Hope this was helpful. I will report again.

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!

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>

CBC gets 5 stars for putting together such a great package. The base unit seems very sturdy and well built. As with many reviews I've seen on the internet the weak link is the roasting chamber. Having used other roasters that had much beefier roasting chambers all I can say is just be careful when handling. After roasting for over 15 years I know what I like. I prefer a dark roast and was concerned about getting to 2nd crack. Not a problem I just use 6 oz. instead of 8 oz. I can get to second crack even faster than my last roaster. The base unit definitely gets 5 stars.

I believe this is a great entry-level, personal roster. Instructions are pretty simple and our roast are very consistent. The shipment was very quick period All in all comma we are very happy.

I finaly stepped up from my old Nesco roaster and iam sure loving it. the only regret would be not to have bought it sooner. It's a must have if you are a serious roaster. don't think too long about it. just get it before they sell out again.

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.

This is my first attempt into roasting, and so far, so good. They give you everything you need to get going, and then some...the gist card was a generous bonus. This roaster is very user-friendly and easy to use. Make sure there is plenty of ventilation and start having fun with the variety of beans that you get in the sample packs!

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.

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!

great machine and great company to work with.

I finally stepped up from a modified popper to the SR800 and am elated to be able to finely tune my roasts with the variable heat and fan speeds. It’s fast and accurate but still affords needs the pleasure of being interestingly involved in roasting process. I’m getting some better coffee in the cup than buying from commercial roasters. I joined a Face Book group that allows Fresh Roast users to compare notes, experiences, and suggestions. Very helpful! Thanks CBC, for the good machine at a good price, speedy delivery, and gift certificate.