Tonerei, I echo GT’s comments, worlds apart. Arguably a large drum roaster gets deeper into the bean than a stream of hot air does, the roasts take a few days more to mature but stay good for longer too without the emerging oils.
I can’t really add to the BTC thread per se here, for my taste any of the pre-roasted brands are stale and disappointing and I’ve yet to drink from a BTC that gives the quality I’m lucky enough (and dedicated enough) to drink. I do understand the convenience though for normal people (95% of the population) that happily live with one or a pod machine rather than a nerd such as myself.
When I first got into quality coffee some 20 years ago I regretted it within a year or two in the sense that I couldn’t go back, I had spoiled nearly all experiences of buying a coffee out, using a cheap consumer machine or buying roasted beans. I spent a few years taking an aeropress and ground home-roasted beans when I travelled. these days I take a 1zpresso K-Max and whole beans with me, I even take my own to Colombia each time which probably sounds like madness to most people. But in Colombia coffee is really an export crop so other than the coffee fincas you can stay at where the baristas who provide the presentations are knowledgeable enthusiasts, most of the country drinks pretty poor quality in my experience.
I have to say though on my last trip it was a bucket list holiday staying at not only a coffee finca and seeing everything from picking beans off geisha bushes and other varietals but also visiting a cocoa finca, roasting our own chocolate and having dinner with savoury and sweet chocolate featuring in the courses.
