My thoughts on my Ikawa home roaster.

[@erharddinges8855]

Great, you are a very good teacher, your findings will stay true forl long periods! I am thankful for all your work!

[@JonFairhurst]

Nice demo of the Ikawa. I recently received the Kaffelogic Nano 7. It’s workflow is simpler - just put in the beans and hit “play”. It’s software offers pro-style features. I’m really happy with it. Maybe the thing that would distinguish the two would be temperature accuracy and the quality of its feedback loop. In other words, as the coffee takes in or puts out heat, how well does the roaster stay on the target profile curve. Without having the machines side by side with the same bean, it’s hard to know how they compare. So far, I’m learning. I’ve had some roasts shut down during development, if the temperature starts to run away, but I haven’t had any bad, un drinkable roasts. I also have yet to dial in a truly exceptional roast, but that’s on me, not the machine. Happy roasting!

[@greentape7817]

Thank you, very informative! I have been learning the ikawa pro at work, so its neat to see the home version to compare. First of all, the tape handle thing is genius, Im doing that first thing tomorrow morning. Where I did put tape on mine already was to differentiate the two buttons, a few times I accidentally started to roast a batch a second time, so now one of them is labled *whoosh*. I can see the value-added aspect of being able to manipulate the profiles if you are working for a company, but honestly, the idea of the limited parameters is kind of appealing. Sample evaluative roasting is kinda removed from *trying to be maximally delicious* roasting, so if you are trying to dial in on the perfect thing, the ikawa probably is not the machine to dial in on anyway, so the savings off the purchase price sound pretty worth it for someone starting out and not using it super frequently. I do prefer the 50g format, because sometimes those samples arrive tiny. (Also, a to-go paper espresso cup fits perfectly into the 50g glass jar, which is great for workflow, it whooshes straight into the already labeled paper cup, no mix-ups.) I dont know how extensive the profile library is for the home vs pro, but even for the pro, every time I look for a particular origin-process combo, I feel like I never quite find the right one. Super helpful video, as always! Thank you!

[@BLKCITYCOFFEEROASTERS]

Yes exactly! Thanks for the insight too!

[@prawn5148]

this helps me a lot in my situation. thx for this indept video!

[@Fluterra]

Even the Pro is a toy. How do you customize roasting profiles based on 1st crack? I don’t think you can do that with IKAWA.

[@meandmyRC99]

Nice job!

[@LeonsHarmonica]

Been enjoyin your vids lately. I've been really wanting an Ikawa!

[@BLKCITYCOFFEEROASTERS]

Thanks!

[@cordovaii]

I purchased this one originally. Works great, but returned it. As a coffee roaster and using it professionally as a roaster. I would lose the warranty. As this home roaster Isn’t made for back to back roasts. Pro has a lot more features. Used for samples and so I only need the 50 versus 100. Plus you save a lot of money over the 100. Overall nice and customer support was great. Even met the team in Boston at the Expo.

[@BLKCITYCOFFEEROASTERS]

Yea I agree. Pros should use the pro.

[@nissanguy16]

Not sure if it has changed, but this is from the website today: “Freshly roast up to 100g of coffee beans at a time-roughly enough for 5-7 cups. Need more? Load in another round of beans, hit Go, and the Roaster will do it all over again, back-to-back.” But yea, for any type of commercial setup, that’s not warrantied per their site. Just didn’t know if they changed it recently to be able to run a few batches back to back.

[@LivingTheLifeRetired]

Nice. Question though, given this is the home version and there is no access to changing the profiles unless you buy a subscription, what are you hoping to achieve by using this sample roaster? I’d understand if perhaps you could modify the profiles to see what flavor notes you could get from the bean but with the standard home version you are really limited on the profiles.

[@BLKCITYCOFFEEROASTERS]

Yea you’re right. My goal with this is simply to roast samples at the lightest possible to see what the green has to offer. Is it worth the price? How many levels does it have. Of course this is all based on my own capability to roast it well.

[@kensafranek2306]

I learn so much from your videos,,thanks so much

[@BLKCITYCOFFEEROASTERS]

Yay!

[@jg7265]

What are maintenance for ikawa? and hottop vs ikawa?

[@BLKCITYCOFFEEROASTERS]

Very minimal so far. Just dusting it off and wiping containers every now and again.

[@kensafranek2306]

Why wait 45 min after grinding .?

[@BLKCITYCOFFEEROASTERS]

I heard rao does that when he’s in a rush and just wants to cup without waiting a full day.

[@jerryhubbard4461]

I have a thought. $1,100 for a roaster that does only 100 g. Not my money. Damn joke.

[@darshilshah6290]

Look at the amount you will save when you buy green coffee. I am pretty sure that amount will be covered up in less than a year

[@jerryhubbard4461]

@@darshilshah6290 I have a FreshRoast SR800. It will roast 250 grams but I only roast 226 grams at the time. I would like to upgrade my roasting amount but the cost of most roasters are just out of my range at this time. But 100 grams is a joke. I would be roasting damn near every day. You have to allow the coffee to rest after roasting at least two days. The one you have here is for those that just don't know. Thanks anyway. JH Coffee Lab, Irmo South Carolina USA

[@darshilshah6290]

@@jerryhubbard4461 oh ok I will look into it can you suggest me a roaster ? I like this smart roaster although it is only capable of 100 grams that's a downside

[@jerryhubbard4461]

@@darshilshah6290 Unless you have a ton of money to spend, try the FreshRoast SR800 and get the extension tube to go with it. The Fresh Roast in my opinion is a great roaster for personal use. You can do a half pound of beans at the time. You can also roast more than once per day as long as you give the machine time to cool completely. You have to control your own profile when using the FreshRoast. It took me about three roastings to get figure it out. It comes with a roast profile to get you started. A whole lot cheaper that most roasters. Maybe one day I will dive into the big boy roasting. Maybe not. I also built my own drum roaster that works damn good. Just not as easy to work as the FreshRoast.