The Bottom Line
Pros
- Easy to use
- Small and convenient
Cons
- A little loud
Description
- Manufactured by Hearthware Home Products
- Roasts up to 1 cup of beans at a time
- Ten programmable roasting functions
- Roast and cool beans in only 20 minutes
- Approximately $199
Guide Review - i-Roast 2 Home Coffee Roaster
We all know that buying whole beans is the best way to have your coffee fresh. All you need is a grinder. Well, the next step in ultimate coffee freshness is to not only grind your own, but also roast the beans yourself.The i-Roast 2 is a handy little counter-top coffee bean roaster that worked great for me on my first attempt to roast my own beans. It doesn't roast a large amount of coffee, but then again you only want enough that can be used right away.
Though you can use the digital controls to roast your beans precisely to your personal preference, there are 2 simple pre-set roasts for easy use. One for a lighter roast, and one for a darker roast.
All you need to do, is add 1/2 to 1 cup of unroasted (green) coffee beans into the canister and snap the lid on. Choose your roast settings and let it do it's thing. It's a little loud, and there is definitely alot of hot air vented out the top. I didn't find much smoke at all. None, really. The roasting cycle was about 12 minutes, and then the beans continue to spin and cool. They were at room temperature when the cycle was complete.
I ground the beans and brewed myself a cup right away. I think I might be hooked on home roasting. The coffee had excellent flavour and was much bolder than what I usually have. The i-Roast made it much easier than I would have thought to roast my own beans.