Why I didn't choose Allio Bullet over the Mill City Roaster

[@Yardie_in_Tampa]

This video showed up and my feed and thought it would be fun to watch/listen, as I own the R1 and a BIG FAN of mill city roasters (i also roast on a Diedrich IR12 for really large batches). but i think there is a lot of mis-information being said about the R1 and I had to stop listening 1/2 way through. i get that you gave your reasons for picking the mill city roaster, but they're entirely two different types of roasters with different strengths and weaknesses. just like the Diedrich and Mill City are both gas drum roasters but have different strengths and weakness. The Aillio is very light and can be stored on shelf and carried to a vented area when needed. I do mostly light roast, so a stove top hood vent is all that's required (dark roast requires proper venting or a commercial range hood)). if you do 1kg light roast batch, the cooling tray doesn't require agitation and the suction of the cooling tray is sufficient for the the thermal mass of the beans (have to clean the chaff filter to maximize airflow through the cooling tray). I can cool 405 degree beans to 80 degree in just over 2 minutes. if you require a better cooling tray, then these guys make one. kzbin.info/www/bejne/r6XLYohja6Z_aZY. they make accessories for the R1 the R1 is electric, but it's induction, doesn't use a heating coil. the whole drum is the heat source. speaking of electric, it's 110v in the USA version. so it's doesn't run as efficient at the 220v world version, so the electronics run hotter (basic physics). speaking of electronics, it's very advanced (especially compared to the manual Diedrich i sometimes use). The R1 has several processors and an Infrared Bean thermometer reader in addition to a bean temp probe. completely controllable with their proprietary roast time software, that allows you to record, share and playback roast profiles for free. The large online community and cloud based system stores all your roasts and manages inventory. along with all logs including error logs for free tech support. I'm able to do back to back roast, but my workflow is interrupted due to small chaff collector, that's definitely a weakness, but it only takes a minutes to dump. the cloud based RoastTime software is free, not as good as Cropster Roast, but it's sufficient for my small business needs. it's light and transportable and not exactly commercial rated for heavy use, but most people use it for light commercial applications. from a small business POV, it's as close to plug and play roastery as anyone can get. With that being said, I'm looking to upgrade in the next year and Mill City Roasters is on my list, they make great roasters and you can't go wrong with them if you have the budget and space.

[@fannyskitchen]

Second that. Should have done better research, a lot of key points are wrong. I would add millcities are made in China FYI, it's stated on their website, although i understand the goal is for local service. As far as I know sweetmarias provide very good support for the ailio in the states. The ailio designer and founder is also very active on the facebook group and answers a lot of design related questions.

[@jamesl3403]

Yeah. What I get from this video is that she chose the mill city basically because it “looks like a big boy roaster” that could allow her to translate to an actual “big boy roaster” one day, which is silly since the inputs function the same way: application of heat, airflow and drum speed. Only thing that could be argued is the gas vs electric induction method. As for the cooling tray, there’s a guy in Taiwan that makes a fantastic one with moving arms. For $8k I’d much rather get two bullets, or pay the extra thousand or so to upgrade to a Diedrich (USA manufactured). As a side note I also trust Taiwanese manufacturing more than Chinese. The mill city roasters are all made in China (which I don’t think she mentions). But to each their own; if the look of the roaster is more important then more power to you.

[@cbrewer3180]

I couldn't say enough about the support from Aillio, and Sweet Marias, great support and Aillio is extremely responsive online. What Gary's saying I felt too. More research could have helped a ton. Love my Bullet!

[@amiscoffee]

I can't speak for Mill City, but I can speak for Aillio. I've contacted Aillio directly in Taiwan and they have no language barrier - absolutely zero. They were kind, responsive and provided great suggestions when it came to purchasing the Aillio. You can definitely roast on the Aillio without a computer.

[@dariusrh.8507]

So, I am an Aillio owner and I must say; I love this machine! I also love MCR and plan of purchasing one in the near future. These are 2 different beasts for sure and are near champions in their own seats. I will admit for someone "getting into it" or their 2nd roaster (as I), the Aillio was a no brainer.....from a cost standpoint. Easy to use and the support is fantastic. I will soon outgrow my Aillio but will keep it working side by side w/ my MCR machine. Roastworld....amazing. I consider this tool way better than cropster for my aillio. I have used cropster when roasting....honestly, dont care for it.

[@kensafranek2306]

This was one of my favorite videos you have made

[@hillary7261]

Thanks for the great video. You do not need software to roast with the Bullet. You can just use the roaster manually or with software.

[@giovannyt.6778]

Basically, just to save you time in seeing this video - personal aesthetic was the primary reason she picked the Mill City. Performance was not a key factor at all. Aillio Bullet provides the same performance with better features for 1/3 the price. Communication with the guys in Taiwan is second to none. She is Ill-informed. You do not NEED a computer to roast, the computer allows you to record profiles you work so hard to perfect and then replay those recorded profiles automatically. So you can have a category of different roast profiles ready to go whenever you need them. All the reasons why she picked Mill City are superficial. Looks like a "real big boy roaster"? It's heavier than aillio? Mill City is not the better option, just the more expensive one.

[@southpawmasonry]

The comment section is more informative and accurate than the actual video in this case.

[@JesemanuelRamirez]

I mean she did say she doesn’t have an Aillio Bullet to compare it to and she just went through her reasons why she didn’t pick one over the other. She mentioned a few that are very valid that squad her choice over to the Mill city over the Aillio; method of heating, customer service, additional attachments and equipment, looks... Looks might not be important to some people, but from a business standpoint, looks could make or break a sell. When you see the Mill City on a bench on a farmers market and see how it works. And have someone with an Aillio on the bench next to you. On first impressions (without going into all the possible what if’s) you might think the person with the bigger more expensive machine is going to give you a better bag of coffee because because the machine looks more like an industry standard tool for this operation, while the Aillio looks very nice, but in comparison it looks like a very expensive toy. Your experience with the Aillio might have been good for you, but your experience is your experience. Disqualifying her opinion on this is unproductive.

[@JesemanuelRamirez]

You say better features but what are these features?

[@JesemanuelRamirez]

“You don’t need a computer to roast” yeah and I don’t need a table saw tu cut wood. What’s your point?

[@giovannyt.6778]

@@JesemanuelRamirez after you roast a batch you like, you can save the profile thus allowing you the ability to repeat it at your leisure. The Bullet comes with proprietary software that allows you to even keep track of coffee inventory as you roast.

[@JesemanuelRamirez]

@12:41 so true! I have the same feeling when it come to coffee equipment. There’s a lot of expensive products that are just money sinks, they are super simple and most of the time no well made, but since posh coffee nerds must have it, they mark up the price. I’m an advocate that if it costs 500$+ it has to work perfectly. No kinks, no hassle, no problems.

[@SuperSomphon]

If I have the space and the budget, I would surely get the Mill City for sure. I think you made a good choice and one day I hope to own a Mill City. As you didn’t actually have Bullet, you missed some facts. As other mentioned, you don’t need software to run the Bullet. Most farmers and roasters on Bullet I know never even connect to a computer. They do full 1kg batch, some do 30kg per day on it. It use induction so heat application is instant, some feel its faster or as fast as gas. The down side for me are the controls are in steps, hard to fine tune the adjustments. Saying that once I learn to play with fan, power and drum speed, I can have better controls. The shaft collector needs to be clean more often as it will affect the roasts. Ambient temperature as well as the quality of the electricity plays a big part in roasting consistency. Looking back, I wish I have the space for a gas roaster.

[@3rd-Wave_Rebel]

Been owning and using my Bullet R1 V2 for 2 months on a weekly basis. It’s extremely user friendly and have roasted back to back like 5 pounds in one setting! Fortunately I have not encountered any errors messages and all my roasts have been coming out delicious! I was torn between light roast and medium roast but eventually I settle my roast profiles with medium-light roasts! Flavorful notes with chocolaty and fruity acidity!

[@BLKCITYCOFFEEROASTERS]

Ohh yummy! Thanks for sharing

[@skyt54]

I think I am going to get the MillCity roaster. Its a lot of money but I like it. The Allio looks like R2-D2's cousin that might walk away, plus having to remove the funnel is disgusting plus I do not like the big round control panel mounted smack on the front. I like the MillCity with the control knobs that I can turn with my hands. I like analog hands on controls. I have a Quest M3 drum roaster now and I made a base for it with a dump container with a rotating arm to move the coffee around with fans underneath to suck the heat away. Nice video, I like your description.

[@languageexperts9111]

This review is a bit biased but it doesn't seem like she is paid to do it. Briefly speaking, Ailio is often used as a sample roaster in roasteries and RnD labs with meticulous and detailed controls over the whole process while Mill City is just another good quality roaster like dozens of other counterparts in the same price range. These two machines should not be compared in the first place in a logical condition. As it goes with her case, she's free to choose but if you ask me, Ailio is able to be used for light commercial application with awesome result for 1/3 of the price and better CRM. You could buy lots of other expensive tools like humidity and density meters, refractometer, professional kettles and scales, different dosers, etc. (if u already lack them). Last but not least, Ailio profiles are fully repeatable (100% automatic) that's something you won't get in small batch roasters like yours. So you can charge and push a button and talk to your neighbor till the end of roast.

[@TitleTownTalk]

I Called MCR at 4pm on a Friday. The receptionist directed me to Steve. And I spoke to him for over 30 minutes about the 1kg roaster. A no BS guy. It will be my next roaster.

[@BLKCITYCOFFEEROASTERS]

Yep 👍🏽 tells it straight

[@LumberjackRoasters]

What about the Artisan 3-e roaster did you ever consider that machine?

[@AdnanAlsannaa]

I think if I was living in the states I would lean more towards getting a mill city roaster. I think for me, the price is a bit too steep for 1KG. Also Bullet can run with no computer you just won't have all the features the software offers. I think the cooling tray is definitely an important feature. For me, I see myself getting the bullet and then a year or two later feeling like I need an upgrade and I think I'm fine with that. I think the biggest plus for the Bullet is that its weight and size. I think for its size, it wouldn't be hard for me to move it around, but a mill city roaster, it would be a bit of a hassle. Though I am wary of the smoke, I think I will be roasting mostly outside. We'll see how that goes. As always, love your vids!

[@hillary7261]

The Bullet is a great roaster. You can easily roast inside a small apartment using the Hakko FA-430 smoke suppression unit. There is a Hakko USA website that ships quickly. The cooling tray works great and for larger batches you just stir the beans a little with a spoon if you need more airflow. The Bullet community is also very helpful and other roasters have purchased a larger cooling tray that has a cooling arm if desired. Sweet Marias is a great USA distributer and they are always quick to communicate with any questions. If you can not afford Mill City, the Bullet will not disappoint. I know a few roasters that have built a business with the bullet.

[@chuckisler6]

I like the way you talked about dreaming and exercising that muscle.

[@abduesa6080]

Hi there, i too leave in California ( santa clara county) and having trouble imagining placing the one kg in the garage and not be able to disturb the neighbors with noise and smell. How did you manage to get away with it? Did you have a scent killer? I have called mill city all they said was place it in your back yard and that isn’t something i could do. Any help will be greatly appreciated Thanks

[@Iceman-xe7jo]

BC Roasters is where I am going to buy. Built here in the USA and the guy that owns it is from my home state in Ohio. They are at-least half the cost of MC. To each their own but MC is all about marketing.

[@easymeal7075]

I've had the bullet for 4 years and it has I miss you as one of them they built keep getting loose and the door also loose the beans will keep pushing on the door that causes the beans to stuck in between the door and the drum then the drum will stop rolling.

[@stephenhammond3656]

Hi There - Thanks for making all these clips and posting them, I've really enjoyed following your journey so far and have actually learnt quite a bit myself. So, I have a question for you :) - Considering what you know now......if you could go all the way back to day 1 with your roasting, which machine would you choose if you had to start all of this again?? Obviously not the 1kg machine as that would be very difficult to learn from. Which machine machines would you recommend to complete newbies who want to start roasting from home, but like you, also have a vision / dream to scale up and roast larger volumes once you have mastered the basics. I'm looking forward to hearing what you have to say. Keep up the great work!!

[@dorthe9573]

Thanks for the video. Did you consider Diedrich ?

[@BLKCITYCOFFEEROASTERS]

I did not.

[@minedbojo]

Did you have to get electrical done to be able to support 220v/ 15 amp? Or do they have a 110v option?

[@BLKCITYCOFFEEROASTERS]

You’ll need a power converter to get more power.

[@minedbojo]

@@BLKCITYCOFFEEROASTERS Does the converter affect the performance of the roaster?

[@BLKCITYCOFFEEROASTERS]

Oh no.

[@joshg9143]

Thx for video, what are plans for hottop?

[@BLKCITYCOFFEEROASTERS]

Sold it!

[@kldproject720]

This is cool. Great video

[@mirusso]

1000% Aillio bullet. Smokes Mill city on all fronts.

[@daviddefreitas7599]

Cost doesnt make your roaster better, I think technologically Aillio roaster is superior in the way it heats the drum. plus, it is very efficient and no crap gas to deal with.

[@Ernestjm2]

What did you do with your hottop? Can I buy it from you? lol

[@BLKCITYCOFFEEROASTERS]

Sold it

[@falven]

Allio Bullet has a cooling tray....

[@Stevesbe]

A cooling system is the easiest thing to make

[@Bluelightcheaphotel]

$8000????? Yikes

[@mohammedk89]

totally disagree, to much inaccurate info there about R1

[@mutosanrc1933]

you are defenitly not qualified to judge. You only know things about one machine. And with a 7000.- machine you would have your own shop to sell coffe or a coffee restaurant. The allio still fits in to be private use.