Question 1

what's the actual learning curve with the app control?

Accepted Answer

you can run preset profiles immediately without understanding roasting fundamentals, which gets you consistent results for basic sample evaluation. building and editing custom profiles requires more knowledge since you're manipulating time and temperature curves directly through the app. the interface shows bean and exhaust temp in real time, and you can share profiles between machines, which is useful if you're standardizing across multiple buying offices or lab stations. the fixed batch size removes one variable, so dialing in a new origin is faster than on manual sample roasters.

Question 2

how does fluid bed compare to drum for sample roasting?

Accepted Answer

fluid bed roasts faster and more evenly since every bean is suspended in hot air rather than tumbling against a hot surface. you get cleaner flavor separation, which is what you want when evaluating green coffee. the trade-off is that fluid bed doesn't replicate the thermal dynamics of a production drum roaster, so your sample roast won't taste identical to what comes off a probat or loring. for green buying and defect screening that's fine. for dialing in a production roast profile, the difference matters more.

Question 3

is the 50g or 100g model better for most sample work?

Accepted Answer

the 50g sample pro v3 matches standard cupping protocols (typically 8.25g dose per cup, so 50g yields about six cups) and is lighter for travel. the 100g pro 100 gives you more roasted coffee per batch, which is useful if you're doing larger cuppings, sending samples to multiple people, or want backup for re-cupping. both machines are the same footprint and construction, just different chamber height. if you're mostly evaluating at origin or doing single-table cuppings, the 50g is sufficient. larger labs or import offices often prefer the 100g.

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