Fresh Roast (Home Roasting Supplies)
Sources: Home Roasting Supplies (website)
Fresh Roast is an American brand of fluid-bed home coffee roasters manufactured and sold by Home Roasting Supplies, based in Henefer, Utah. The brand is a household name in the US home-roasting market: affordable, simple to use, and widely sold through Amazon and the manufacturer’s direct store. (source: Home Roasting Supplies (website))
Company History
Founded in 1995 by Tim Skaling, who originally modified a hot-air popcorn popper after noticing that fresh-roasted coffee from his commercial-roaster brother on the east coast lost quality during shipping to the west coast. The first Fresh Roast machines evolved from that popcorn-popper origin. Tim’s son Sam Skaling took over in the mid-2000s and has served as CEO since; he scaled the brand onto Amazon and grew it into the dominant home-roaster brand in the North American market. (source: Home Roasting Supplies (website))
Headquarters / Repair: Henefer, UT 84033 (450 East Canyon Rd / PO Box 417) Contact: support@homeroastingsupplies.com · 435-400-0209
Technology
All Fresh Roast machines use fluid-bed (hot air) roasting: hot air flows upward through the bean mass, keeping beans suspended and agitated, with heat transfer almost entirely by convection. This aligns with Fluid-Bed Roaster physics — very fast roast times (typically under 12 minutes), minimal chaff contact, and low bean-surface burning risk.
Controls (current SR generation): one-knob digital interface with:
- 9 heat levels
- 9 fan levels
- Adjustable timer
- Real-time temperature display (turn knob clockwise to read current chamber temp)
- Transparent glass roasting chamber for visual monitoring
- Built-in chaff basket
Key operational principles:
- Start with high fan speed (green beans are heavy; high airflow is needed to circulate them); lower fan as roast progresses as beans lighten
- Lower fan speed raises chamber temperature; higher fan speed lowers it
- Target roast time: under 18 minutes
- Supply voltage is critical: 120V minimum; extension cords cause voltage drop below 115V and prevent the machine reaching temperature
- Ambient temperature below 55°F (13°C) significantly impacts heater output
- Factory default settings are designed to be changed by the user
- Not computer-controlled: no Artisan, Cropster, or profiling software integration
EXT Tube (optional accessory): a glass extension that fits between the roasting chamber and top cap, increasing chamber volume and improving airflow — allows more consistent bean circulation, especially for larger batches.
Current SR generation (released May 2019): improved control board, heater, and chamber design over earlier models.
Current Models
| Model | Max Capacity | Min Capacity | Price (new) | Price (refurb) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SR540 | 120 g / 4 oz | — | $239 | ~$179 |
| SR800 | 226 g / 8 oz (wet-processed) · 170 g / 6 oz (dry-processed) | 113 g / 4 oz | $334 | ~$239 |
(source: Home Roasting Supplies (website)) — Prices are as listed on the manufacturer’s product pages; blog posts cite different prices and should not be trusted over product pages. The site runs periodic promotions.
SR800 notes: the dry-processed capacity limit (170 g) exists because natural/honey-processed beans produce more chaff, which can overflow the basket at higher loads. The EXT Tube allows the SR800 to roast larger batches with better consistency. A one-year base unit warranty covers the roaster; 6 months covers the glass chamber, chaff basket, top cap, and accessories. Warranty is void outside North America.
SR540 vs SR800: Both share the same 9-level heat/fan control system and real-time temperature display. The SR800 adds a heavier-duty fan and heater for more consistent performance at its larger capacity. The SR540 is recommended for beginners or 1–2 person use; the SR800 suits frequent roasters or those who want larger batch sizes.
Discontinued / Legacy Models
- SR300: original entry model; very old; limited repair support
- SR500: discontinued; Home Roasting Supplies currently unable to repair (parts shortage)
- SR700: discontinued; currently unable to repair (parts shortage)
- Early SR chamber models (pre-2019): older glass chamber that can be modified to fit the current SR8/SR+8 bases; preceded the current digital control generation
Positioning Relative to Other Roasters
The Fresh Roast SR540 and SR800 are firmly in the consumer/home tier. They are not suitable for professional sample roasting — they lack profiling software integration, data logging, and the thermal precision of specialty sample roasters. A comparison across price points:
| Machine | Capacity | Price | Software | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fresh Roast SR540 | 120 g | $239 | None | Consumer |
| Fresh Roast SR800 | 226 g | $334 | None | Consumer |
| Behmor Jake | 1 kg | ~$500? | Artisan (USB) + bean thermocouple | Prosumer |
| Kaffelogic Nano 7 | 120 g (200 g with BOOST) | $1,087 | Kaffelogic Studio | Specialty sample |
| IKAWA Pro100x | 100 g | ~$1,500+ | IKAWA app + Cropster integration | Specialty sample |
The Fresh Roast sits below the Behmor Jake in the specialty stack — the Jake adds Artisan USB compatibility and a bean mass thermocouple for direct temperature readings, which Fresh Roast machines lack entirely.
Relevance to Kaiserblick
Fresh Roast machines are the most widely sold home-roasting hardware in North America, making them relevant market context for Kaiserblick’s green coffee customers: people buying green coffee to roast at home are often using an SR540 or SR800. Understanding the limitations of these machines (manual controls, 120V North American only, no software) helps frame what home roasters need versus what a professional sample roaster like a Kaffelogic or ROEST provides.
For Roxanne Fredericksen’s sample roasting programme at Kaiserblick, the Fresh Roast machines are not appropriate — see Sample Roasters for professional alternatives.