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"<p>The following is my interpretation of what I think is going on with Ikawa. I have to say, the information on their website is somewhat obscure, so the following is a mix of what they say, what I infer from it, and a bit of third-party info picked up elsewhere, like posts on Reddit.</p>\n\n<ul><li>First Ikawa released in 2012. It was a 50g sample roaster, aimed very directly at coffee professionals. And priced accordingly.</li>\n<li>More than a few coffee professionals pointed out that while 50g suited some purposes, it just wasn’t sufficient for other purposes, like a 5-bowl cupping. As a result, the 100g version was born.</li>\n<li>I <strong>think</strong> I have that the right way round, 50g first then 100g. But am not 100% sure.</li>\n<li>The 100g bit, as in Pro100, seems to refer to <strong>roasted</strong> weight. I assume the 50g does too. Somewhere in the specs, and on the <strong>two</strong> websites (one for Pro, one for much newer Home Roaster), there is a reference to 120g weight of green beans, to give 100g roasted. I assume, therefore, that it is an ‘about’ figure.</li>\n<li>The Pro series are <strong>much</strong> more expensive, The websites off a “Get a Quote” button, not a price, on the Pro. Reddit suggests about $4000 (presumably therefore around £4000) for the Pro100. I don’t know about Pro50.</li>\n<li>The “Home” designation refers to a model targeted much more at home users than coffee pro’s. Build quality is pretty much the same, but there are hardware omissions in the Home too, and indeed, App limitations. It seems, in part, to omit things they feel (probably wrongly) Home users like us lot won’t want, but my strong suspicion is that a bigger motivation is to castrate the Home to the point where coffee pro’s that might otherwisebuy the $4000 version settle for the “home” instead. That’s reinforced by the explicit statement that commercial use of the Home model invalidates the warranty. The Home is also physically slightly different, so it isn’t just an app change.</li>\n<li>The Pro versions have much more control, for instance over both inlet and exhaust vent air temps, and apparently, either by inference or sensor (not sure which) bean mass temp. The idea is to test/develop rost profiles on the Ikawa that can then be transferred to commercial roasters that do have bean mass temp probes.</li>\n<li>Moreover, the App for Home (a least v2) locks down control, too. You can certainly download profiles for Ikawa beans, and there are then 30 ways to tweak those. This appears to consist of 5 settings for before 1c, 3 for post 1c “development” times, and options for expresso and filter. Presumably, they therefore mean 15 variations for espresso, and 15 for filter.</li>\n<li>There is an “Advanced Editor” option in the app, that does give direct edit control over multiple spots on the temp curve. It appears you can set what temp you want and the Ikawa deals with how to achieve that. This, again, appears to be targetting the testing of profiles for commercial roasters because the mindset seems to be that the Ikawa is for simulating those big roasters, and so what matters isn’t how it’s done as the mechanics will be different, but rather, what happens to the actual beans. And if used in that way, it makes sense.</li>\n<li>HOWEVER …. on the “Home” roasters, certainly it seems on the V2 of the App, unlocking that direct curve editing option is a £30/month subscription option.  And that makes 100% sense <strong>if</strong> it is aimed at coffee professionals, to whom such a sub would be both a tax write-off and a business expense.  However, as an actual “Home” but enthusiast user, at who apparently the “Home” Ikawa is aimed, I have to say it p155es me off, right royally.</li>\n<li>What Ikawa are apparently saying is they expect <strong>home</strong> users to buy a machine at nearly £1000 to roast my damn beans at home, then pay £360/$360 (whichever) a year to be able to do the job how I want it done rather than by ‘presets’. Why? To protect their Pro series market.</li>\n<li>My question to Ikawa would be if they understand what enthusiasts are about? I say and hope they don’t. The only other interpretation is that they do understand, but made that numbskull decision anyway, which if true, shows utter contempt for us enthusiasts.</li>\n<li>MediumRoastSteam’s comment a few posts ago about sticking an Apple logo on it seems very apt. Yeah, they might get some home users that are well off enough to pose with a £1000 Home coffee roaster they don’t know (and don’t want to know) how to drive, but to offer enthusiasts light, medium-light, medium, medium dark and dark options for pre-1c, and to charge a fortune to direct edit the curve, is offensive.</li></ul>\n\n<p>What do I draw from all this? Firstly, the £1000 price tag doesn’t bother me in the least, as I said before, <strong>provided</strong> the device does what I need, provided it works for me. But not only a subscription, but a £30/month one, to be able to use it properly …. that winds me right the hell up, as is probably coming across pretty clearly by now.</p>\n\n<p>Ikawa’s publicly available information is very slick, very ‘glossy’, but very poorly presented. It is confusing about what you get, and even now after reading <strong>BOTH</strong> websites several times, I’m still not sure about some of the above, which is why I put that strong caveat in right at the get-go. My personal conclusion on the website is that it is a textbook example of presentation over content. It reeks of being developed by someone that knows the answers to the kinds of questions those reading it will be seeking, and doesn’t pay much attention to whether those that don’t know can work it out. It is an exercise in frustration trying to find out, with way to much glitzy photography, far too much scrolling, and a marked absence of hard info, with what there is being scattered all over. It’s like a treasure hunt, trying to piece it all together. I now feel a bit like a cross between a bloodhound and Miss Marple, with a portion of village idiot thrown in for good measure because I’m <strong>still</strong> not 100% sure of much of the above. On the other hand, if obfuscation was the objective, it’s a masterclass.</p>\n\n<p>Anyone seen my headache tablets?</p>\n\n<p>Oh, and guess what my current feeling is about buying one?  🤣</p>\n\n<p>Now, that Gene Cafe …. I think I need one Nomex glove, one good oven mitt. I have the latter already.  😀</p>\n\n<p>Also, that’ll cheer up my bank manager.</p>\n\n<p>PS. Sorry about the rant, guys and gals. But I feel better for unloading that.</p>"
<https://coffeetime.freeflarum.com/d/34-behmor-roaster/1>