Looks like this may be the end of the line for Hearthware’s i-Roast2 home roaster. The item has been out of stock for many months, since fall 2009. At first , US distributor Hearthware, said they had rejected an entire shipment for quality control reasons and a replacement shipment was expected earlier this year. That projected delivery time passed with no roasters arriving and the date was moved back a couple of more months. We have periodically checked in asking for an update. Yesterday, when we checked once more, we received this reply:
“Unfortunately our i-Roast2 is still on back order. We are expecting a shipment of replacement parts and maybe a small shipment of roasters sometime in August. We will not receive replenishment after that. We will be forced to discontinue the i-Roast2 after stock runs out. We are working on the next version of our roaster. The release date has not been set. I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this shortage has caused you.”
If it turns out to be true that some small amount of roasters does arrive in August, and if it makes sense at that time, we will secure some. Otherwise, we will keep our eyes peeled for a new and hopefully improved model up the road. The i-Roast2 was itself a breakthrough roaster in some ways as it offered programming of up to 10 profiles, each with up to 5 roast stages. The hot air roaster had more power and airflow than its competitors, and except for the smoke it generated (which could be vented out a window) it was a useful roaster, particularly for those who prefer dark roasts.
For the moment, Fresh Roast’s new SR500 and SR300 models are the nearest competitors. They too have been out of stock for a short while, but gladly we can report a shipment is now on the road heading our way, and, we should be shipping within a few days.