This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
I am a newbie started in May, I bought my wife a Z&D roaster for =
Mother's Day. Lately the talk has been about how inadequate the Z&D =
roaster performs. I have no real complaint about it. However, My wife's =
birthday is coming in January and I am considering upgrading to the =
iRoast. Although now I am starting to hear some complaints about the =
iRoast. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Otherwise I will have to =
buy my wife something silly like clothes.

Barry,
How about a nice Stainless Steel Dog Bowl and a Heatgun?  I would wait at least a year on the I-Roast after my experience with the Hearthware Precision.
 
Les
Barry Luterman  wrote:
I am a newbie started in May, I bought my wife a Z&D roaster for Mother's Day. Lately the talk has been about how inadequate the Z&D roaster performs. I have no real complaint about it. However, My wife's birthday is coming in January and I am considering upgrading to the iRoast. Although now I am starting to hear some complaints about the iRoast. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Otherwise I will have to buy my wife something silly like clothes.

Hi Barry,
I second Les' Dog Bowl/Heat Gun recommendation.  The combination truly is
outstanding.  I can't say enough about how much better my espressos taste
with the control I get from the combo.
Everyone here is amused at my obvious excitement when it's time to "Heat
Gun/Dog Bowl Roast" again.  Even my kids get into it.....we get cozy, sit
around the dog bowl and tell stories as we roast (with appropriate safety
precautions).  They love it...and so do I!
Mark
-------
If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first...Invent the
Universe
                                             -Dr. Carl E. Sagan
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Anti-Virus.

Of course, the answer is "it depends".  What is it she doesn't like about the Z&D roaster? 
I expected a little more from I-Roast than it delivers but I'm getting good roasts from it and it is a big improvement in most aspects from what I had previously (a popcorn popper).  I think I'd be happier with a Hot Top and sometimes wish I had gone that route, but of course it's about 3 times as expensive and takes up a lot more counter space which is a big issue in our house.
-David
---------

Don't know first hand about the Z&D but the I-roast is a wonderful roaster in 
my opinion.  Absolutely, wonderful.
Dave Echelbarger

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Barry,
imho, keep the Z&D - unless she wants to play with profiles & mods and =
such. If she does enjoy tinkering, all bets are off. :)
I've been using the Z&D for almost a year now with few complaints - I'll =
see if I can compare it to my other roasting method, unmodified poppers =
On the downside, you tend to "loose" some of the really bright notes on =
some beans, as opposed to using a popper. The amount of time for the =
roast is greater - 20 minutes on average vs 6 - 10 for the popper. =
Upsides, #1 no smoke (almost). #2 nice volume of pre_roasted bean mass =
(upwards of 140gr). #3 - I can walk away from it to answer the phone, =
door, surf ...  And best #4 - I can roast all night without the =
thermostat kicking in or something melting down. e.g. no down time. 
yeah, yeah, yeah - others will tell me that I'm loosing flavors and the =
output is substandard, but nobody has poured out the results in front of =
me yet. 
So, keep the ZD, buy her a couple of sample packs of greens for her =
birthday, wrap them in a nice new sweater or robe and pin it closed with =
a bejeweled broach. 
Bob - lucky to have not so persnickity friends.

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
It's not a matter of what we don't like. It's recent posts knocking the =
Z&D. We haven't tried roasts by any other roaster or method. To add to =
the dilemma. I am starting to see posts about iRoast problems i.e.. =
chaff collector etc.

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
Hi Barry,
 
I might have made one of those posts you saw on the chaff collector.  Most
of the problems are due to trying to optimizing the I-Roast...e.g., trying
to get certain roast profiles independent of chaff levels.  The fact is that
the I-Roast makes very good roasts straight out of the box with very little
hassle.  For example, the best roast I've had so far was a Keynan using
Tom's profile with an unmodified chaff collector...ie the heat buildup due
to the chaff ended up making it a great roast, and my efforts to optimize it
were beyond what the machine was built for. Me, well, I'm still probably
going to keep experimenting to make it better (that last 10%), but for a
simple 3x per week roaster, the I-Roast and Tom's beans are a winning combo.
(FYI, I don't have any experience with the Z&D, so I can't offer help on the
comparison.)
 
Good luck!
Craig  
From: homeroast-admin
[mailto:homeroast-admin] On Behalf Of Barry Luterman
Sent: Monday, August 02, 2004 3:59 PM
To: homeroast
Subject: Re: +Z&D vs iRoast
It's not a matter of what we don't like. It's recent posts knocking the Z&D.
We haven't tried roasts by any other roaster or method. To add to the
dilemma. I am starting to see posts about iRoast problems i.e.. chaff
collector etc.

I have had both machines and think that the iRoast is much better.  It's
much easier to clean.  The new chaff collector has improved it immensely.
I'm getting great roasts without all the mods, etc, etc.  As with all
roasters, it takes a little getting used to it to get the kind of roasts you
like, but I got rid of the Z&D and don't miss it at all.

That's what I wanted to hear. Thanks

I don't have an iRoast, but I do use a Z&D sometimes - got it cheap on
ebay.
I really like the Z&D for my SM Italian expresso blend.   I'd use it
more if it had a larger capacity.
My most used roaster is the Alp.  I usually use it about 3~4 times a
week.
Dave
<Snip>
Z&D. We haven't tried roasts by any other roaster or method. To add to
the dilemma. I am starting to see posts about iRoast problems i.e..
chaff collector etc.

I've had both-I did not like the Z&D at all and preferred the roasts I got
from my popper or FreshRoast Plus--to my taste, the Z&D produced a very flat
tasting brew and I found it difficult to get a roast dark enough to please
my wife without losing almost all of the particular bean's character. While
I had some problems finding a workable method for roasting decaf in the
IRoast, it's now producing the best (to my taster, anyway) results I've ever
had. OTOH, if you're enjoying your coffee now, why change? And I think it's
very possible that Hearthware may bring out a "Version 1.1" in the next year
or so that might respond to some of the issues the initial release of the
IRoast has. 
Bill
	From: homeroast-admin
[mailto:homeroast-admin] On Behalf Of Barry Luterman
	Sent: Monday, August 02, 2004 2:16 PM
	To: homeroast
	Subject: +Z&D vs iRoast
	
	I am a newbie started in May, I bought my wife a Z&D roaster for
Mother's Day. Lately the talk has been about how inadequate the Z&D roaster
performs. I have no real complaint about it. However, My wife's birthday is
coming in January and I am considering upgrading to the iRoast. Although now
I am starting to hear some complaints about the iRoast. Any suggestions
would be appreciated. Otherwise I will have to buy my wife something silly
like clothes.

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
So, was your gift to your wife anything like the Budgies I wanted that I =
gifted to my mother when I was a kid???  (Sorry, couldn't resist.  ;~D)
FWIW, I use a Z&D, as do at least a few others here.  If you haven't =
already, go to Sweet Maria's and read Tom's reviews of this roaster, and =
the list of beans he recommends for it.
The other thing that really helped me was to find a Roasting Buddy.  Bob =
has been my Roasting Buddy.  On the same evening, we each roast 2 =
batches of the same bean (to make a melange).  We each priority mail =
half of our melange to the other.  We then each compare both roasts and =
exchange cupping/brewing notes.
It has fun and informative.  We've tried different beans, experimented =
with technics, etc.  We've had some successes and some real failures, =
too.  But most of all, week by week, at least my confidence (and =
hopefully my ability) have improved.
Hang in there,
Jean  :~)

Good on you for turning your roasting into a fun family tradition that =
your children will probably remember the rest of their lives!  For the =
rest of their lives, simply smelling good coffee will probably take them =
back to those nights around the dog bowl. . . 
When my children were growing up, we used to have midnight picnics =
during meteor showers.  We would sit in the dark under the stars, talk, =
eat, tell stories, sleep a little, watch the sun rise and then leave for =
home.  We'd stop for breakfast on the way home and then fall into bed =
and sleep a good part of the day away.  
To this day, no matter where in the world they are, each of my kids can =
connect to their family and those good feelings by just looking at the =
moon or stars.
Enjoy your evenings with your kids,
Jean  :~)

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
So, was your gift to your wife anything like the Budgies I wanted that I =
gifted to my mother when I was a kid???  (Sorry, couldn't resist.  ;~D)
 Absolutely