Fresh Roast SR500 Roaster

by John on August 10, 2014

I have been "home" roasting for more than 10 years. I have never been disappointed by any product from Coffee Bean Corral. This includes the roasters. If you are considering home roasting, I strongly recommend this roaster. When you combine the fabulous information from the coffee bean matrix to your taste and you roast the coffee bean to your desired color. It's magic...

by Anonymous on December 17, 2016

I'm delighted, too, by the Fresh Roast 500, which has given great roasts without fail for more than two years. The first big plus is that the unit fits nicely under my stove's range hood, which in my case is 13 1/2" above the stove top. With the fan on high I can roast up to medium-dark color indoors year-round without smoking up the kitchen. I start each roast at low heat, running the fan at full speed for about 4-5 minutes until the beans are rolling about evenly on the air bed. Next I move the heat up to medium and slightly reduce the fan speed for another 4 minutes or so. At that point the beans are beginning to brown nicely. Then, I turn down the fan to listen for the first crack, which starts almost immediately, then throw the fan into cooling mode at the start of the second crack (or sooner or later when tweaking roasts) to see what other flavors I can draw out of the bean. To me, it's the ease of monitoring the roast by sight, aroma, and color that really makes this roaster a winner. In fact, even for someone looking to eventually move up to a larger roaster, I would recommend buying and keeping the Fresh Roast 500 as a sample roaster.

by Anonymous on August 19, 2018

After consulting with Coffee Bean Corral about my first home roaster I decided on the SR500. I couldn't be more pleased. This roaster has just enough control for me at this point and I having a blast learning how to find the "sweet spot" in roasting different coffees. CBC shipped immediately and it arrived in just a couple of days. Easy to use and easy to clean also. An excellent value and I couldn't be more pleased.

by Anonymous on November 17, 2018

Unfortunately the roaster is 110v, and I live in a country with 220v. Can't plug it in. Perhaps international sales of hardware should be stopped or adjusted to be compatible with international standards. The irony is that the roaster was made in China, which is a 220v country. The USA is one of a handful of countries in the world that still use antiquated standards and infra structure. What a pity, feel for you guys.