For coffee roasters...

[Eric]

Story on Slashdot about self roasting: http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/02/19/1916217

Good/Bad information from the comments?

[stogies&hoagies]

I couldn't access the actual comments without logging on, which I didn't do.

My first reaction is why? It seems quite a bit complex and costly compared to a Freshroast8 which I can buy for $80. plus shipping and get 4 pounds of beans to boot.
I can start roasting with 15 min. of delivery.
I'm not a computer geek, so there is no appeal to go through the learning curve needed to set this up.
The one advantage I can see is the "very repeatable roasts". It does take a constant vigil to roast the same beans to the same degree everytime. And a longer roast time is actually better as far as taste goes. The thing is, I like roasting beans to different degrees as I find the best roast for my tastes, but sometimes I deliberately vary the length of roast and mix them together. This way I get the advantage of the difference in the varying lengths of roast time which brings out different flavor profiles for the same beans.

[Mad Dawg]

I had the same first reaction - why on earth would you even bother with all that crap? I started out with an Original Poppery ("Mark I"), and I still roast with one. I use my senses to interpret the sights, sounds, and smells of the roast to control the final result. It's an interactive process and I like it that way.

Hooking up thermocouples and computers and writing code to control everything with soulless, micrometric precision just seems way too geekazoidal to me, but hey, whatever floats your boat. There's room enough in this hobby for everyone, even those with "The Knack". ;)

[Bum Fudge]

I've used a Poppery I, II and also a Proctor Silex Popcorn Pumper (my favorite). The only mod I've made is a crude metal heat shroud to recirculate some hot air on those really cold days. I've tried my Turkey Fryer thermometer and my Sears digital multimeter with thermocouple and they work well, but I find that I don't even bother with them much anymore and just go by sight, smell and sound and get really good results. It also helps to have a little roasting experience with the current beans becuase they all do roast and progress a little differently.