Zach & Dani's Gourmet Coffee Roaster

I received a Zach and Dani's coffee roaster as a gift. It worked for about eighteen months and then quit. It started with the timer going out, which required me to unplug the appliance in order to get it to reset. However, after about a month and a half of that (18 mos. after I received the appliance), it just quit working. I phoned Zach and Dani's when the timer initially broke and asked them if they had any suggestions. However, the only suggestion they offered was "if it's under a year old, and you have the receipt, you may send it back for repair." When I explained to them that this was a gift and I therefore wouldn't have a receipt, as well as the fact that I it was just over a year old, I was told that they wouldn't be able to help me. When I offered to pay them to service the machine, I was told "no, we only service machines that are under warranty." If you're satisfied with a roaster that works well for a year and a half, then go ahead and spend the $149. However,if you're like me and think that a roaster should last more than a year and a half, don't waste your money. My mother's Zach and Dani's roaster broke in less than a year.

The coffee coming out of this thing is great. I've really put it through the hoops. It handled 13 batches one right after another without skipping a beet, this weekend. Normally I do a batch every three days and have had it since the begining of 2006. No problems here. I roast indoors, and the smell is minimal. I use 4oz of unroasted coffee per batch and it takes about 22-23 minutes. This just gets into second crack(some coffee it goes all the way through), and I use it for esspresso. I've had no problem getting darker. If you are having problems with it taking too long, just use less coffee. Use a scale, half an ounce makes a difference. 4.5 oz, does take forever.

I have had to have this roaster replaced 3 times now due to over heating and mechanical failures. My first batch made it about 17 minutes then the machine stopped. Z&D customer service was great but the second machine only made about 10 batches (over a couple of weeks) and failed in the same manner. When the 3rd one failed I tired of the personal relationship I was forming with the UPS man so being a handy sort I found the problem to be a thermal fuse that was over-heating. I replaced this part and things were fine until the spindle that drives the auger wore out. I've replaced this and that but I have finally grown weary of fixing this junk appliance. (4 fuses, a belt and spindle- enough is enough!) I have two other friends that have had similar experiences so it's not just my bad luck. I wish it worked better because the price is nice and it's simple to use when it works.

This is an economical indoor home coffee roaster for those interested in light and medium roasts. Its unique catalytic converter design offers hope to those in cold climates for whom roasting outside is not an option.

That said, there are drawbacks. The Z&D seems to use a low temperature design, thus making roasts take a long time relative to other roasters (thus making it difficult to roast very much in one sitting), and making it quite difficult to get to a darkness above City. In other words, if you prefer darker roasts or want to do roasting for an espresso machine, you probably want to look at the Fresh Roast Plus or the iRoast. Personally, I think the iRoast is the way to go.

This machine is a fine way to get into home roasting. I'll say up front that mine broke after about a month -- the heating fan went "pop" and stopped blowing the heated air through the roasting cylinder. But the Z&D rep was extremely helpful and they had it back to me in one week (door to door) working better than before. Perhaps a refurb replacement, but amazing turnaround nonetheless.
The coffee itself is quite satisfactory and consistent, and the long roast time does lend more control over the process, though you don't really have to fuss over it. It's relatively smoke-free too, fine for indoors, though not quite enough to avoid setting off my kitchen smoke detector; I run it near a stove hood vent to be on the safe side. Chaff removal is so-so. I recommend dumping the roasted beans into a slotted collander to sift out what the chaff collector doesn't catch, and to cool the beans more completely than the 5-minute cooling cycle does. It's also very easy to see the developing roast, and to add time -- or go immediately to "cool" -- if you wish.
I've had no problem achieving a wide range of roasts, including oily dark espresso, although the extensive review at Sweet Maria's -- praising the results with lighter roasts -- seems apt.
All in all an excellent choice for someone who likes the idea of DIY roasting but without guesswork.