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What Roaster do you use most often?
Hot Top Hot Top 15%[9 Votes]
Behmor 1600 Behmor 1600 15%[9 Votes]
Gene Cafe Gene Cafe 19%[12 Votes]
Fresh Roast Fresh Roast 8%[5 Votes]
Nesco Home Coffee Roaster Nesco Home Coffee Roaster 5%[3 Votes]
Hearthware I-Roast 2 Hearthware I-Roast 2 6%[4 Votes]
Heat Gun Heat Gun 3%[2 Votes]
Made my own Made my own 29%[18 Votes]
Total Votes : 62
 Print Thread
Need some help on which Roaster is best for you?
ginny
Ask our members to help out with their experience with individual roasters that are out on the market.

I received the note below from one of our members and thought it may be a good idea to start a forum on buying your first, second or third plus roaster.

Thanks for the help all...

ginny

>>>
hi there -

i'm in the process of selecting a roaster for home use and came across your helpful review of the gene cafe. thanks for that...had a couple of questions:

1. you mention that the profiles you've developed are available through the "downloads" section, but when i click on the "Downloads" link, it says "No Download categories defined." am i doing something wrong? or is there another place to find them? answered need to login to download

2. i've narrowed down my roaster choices to the gene cafe, the behmor 1600, and the hot top. was wondering what you might suggest/recommend, based on the following info:

a. i'm new to roasting but plan to stick with it (just a personality trait);
b. i like to cook and so the prospect of learning roasting as an art seems natural/intersting;
c. i'll be roasting pretty much for my wife and i; she drinks a single large-ish cup of drip coffee per day (about 20 grams ground) and i drink a single double shot espresso drink per day. so our total consumption is about 40-ish grams per day. i'd read that it's best to roast maybe 4-5 days worth at a time, so i guess we're looking at around 160-200g batches.
d. ideally, i'd like to find a blend that can be used both for my espresso and my wife's drip coffee -- but this is not critical. i mention that only as it relates to roasting quantity and type.
e. we're definitely much more focused on and interested in the body of the coffee and aren't big fans of "brightness."
f. i really value finding a solution that gives me repeatable results.
g. we'd like a roaster that lets us focus on the roasting itself, rather than spending lots of time on maintenance, repair, cleaning, etc, etc.

thanks again!
kr<<<
Edited by ginny on 01/20/2010 1:12 PM
 
John Despres
Hmmm. Lots to think about here. Welcome!

I'm going to go with the what purpose built roaster to buy idea here. There are many things you can do to build one or assemble a few things and be roasting that afternoon. I'll leave that to others.

Do you want to jump right in or start out slowly? Breaking in gently might call for a Fresh Roast 8, a small roaster with an output of roughly 50 grams roasted coffee. That's a lot of roasting, though, to meet your demands.

For control, I recommend a Gene Cafe. Output is about 180-190 grams per batch with 227 grams (half pound) in.

One question to ask - is budget concern? Behmor, $300.00 - Gene Cafe $500.00 - HotTop, $720.00-$920.00. Starter Fresh Roast 8, $80.00.

Here's what I posted to another thread a couple weeks ago where a member asked for comparison between the Gene Cafe, Behmor and HotTop:

In the way of roasters, just about everyone here has built at least one. This is a place to get lots of help building your own design if you choose.

That said, there are a lot of Gene Cafe owners here. I think it may be the number one purpose built roaster here. I also own one.

Hmmm. Behmor or Gene Cafe? That's easy; Gene Cafe. The GC gives much more control than any roaster except perhaps a HotTop.

The GC allows full profiling with on the fly controls, raising or lowering temperature, adding time and ending the roast. There are two controls to learn - one is temp, the other is time.

The only drawback I see is cooling. It cools rather slowly, but you could learn the "art of the coast" and coast to you desired roast level or, just end the roast and cool externally.

The GC is a durable little machine and, as far as I'm concerned, it rocks.

I have not used a Behmor, but from what I've read, it's more of a set it and leave it roaster. It also appears the settings and controls are rather confusing.

In either case, you will get excellent customer support.

Now the question I'll ask is, how do you want to roast? The GC can be as hands on as you like and truly is the best roaster to learn how to roast coffee. The Behmor has pre-programmed settings and seems to be a bit more like a point and shoot automatic camera rather than a fully manual SLR.

Here is Eddie Dove's blog http://southcoast...gspot.com/ Poke around here, there's lots to read and learn.

Here is Eddie's review of the Gene Cafe
http://docs.googl...48jp5pc5q3

Eddie is a monster roaster and a good friend to me and many others here. With his help, I managed to get the GC under control. Unfortunately, Eddie has not published a review of the Behmor even though he owns one. We've discussed both, and his preference is the Gene Cafe, I'm quite certain.

You can also get roasting profiles at his site for the GC. I will also be happy to provide profiles as my roasting process is a bit different than Eddie's. Neither is correct or wrong and both work for various reasons.

Buy a Gene Cafe. You won't be disappointed.

That thread is: http://forum.home...post_18710

Ask all the questions you lie. We're here to help!

I hope this helps.

John
Respect the bean.
John Despres
Fresh Roast 8, Gene Cafe, JYTT 1k, Quest M3, Mazzer Mini, Technivorm, various size presses and many more brewers.
 
John Despres
Oh, I want to add, that once you start roasting all the single origins, many of which are great as espresso, you may set the blending idea aside... Some of those Yemen out there are awesome espresso beans!

Just sending a little heads up...Grin

John
Respect the bean.
John Despres
Fresh Roast 8, Gene Cafe, JYTT 1k, Quest M3, Mazzer Mini, Technivorm, various size presses and many more brewers.
 
ginny
Anyone seen or know much about the Quest MP# Roaster.

I have seen pictures and specs but no price?

ginny
 
John Despres
Here's a video...

It's foreign, but I can't ID the language.

Looks to take a long time to get to 1st. 20 minutes, maybe? Seems long to me, but with the two unidentified controls, maybe that was the roaster's choice.

It's a very sharp looking machine, though. I'd like to know more about it.
-Capacity
-Controls
-Voltage
-Accessories

Here's the link to the video in case I can't embed it properly...
http://www.youtub...AocGUH4ivc

John
Edited by John Despres on 01/20/2010 3:27 PM
Respect the bean.
John Despres
Fresh Roast 8, Gene Cafe, JYTT 1k, Quest M3, Mazzer Mini, Technivorm, various size presses and many more brewers.
 
John Despres
Ginny, where did you see specs?
Respect the bean.
John Despres
Fresh Roast 8, Gene Cafe, JYTT 1k, Quest M3, Mazzer Mini, Technivorm, various size presses and many more brewers.
 
John Despres
Here's more...
http://www.home-b...11763.html
Respect the bean.
John Despres
Fresh Roast 8, Gene Cafe, JYTT 1k, Quest M3, Mazzer Mini, Technivorm, various size presses and many more brewers.
 
cloudcover
hello -

the original question came from me and i wanted to add some follow-up info/comments/questions:

since i asked the original question, i've been doing more research and thinking about it more and am now leaning towards the hot top. price isn't a big factor for me (i know i'll forget about the price difference a few months in, anyway!) and i haven't really come across anything suggesting that the gene cafe or behmor would be better for us (given our needs for small batches) than the hot top.

but i could be wrong and so if folks thing that the gene cafe or behmor would be better than the hot top for someone who wants control, i'd love to get that feedback. from what i've read, though, it seems like the main reasons people choose the gene cafe or behmor over the hot top are price or capacity, and neither are big factors for us.

the only other machine that seems intriguing is the quest mp3, which alas isn't available through a u.s. distributor but is available directly from the manufacturer in taiwan. it seems that some folks think that it's the best option out there, but i don't have a good sense for whether it is better enough than the hot top to warrant either (1) waiting for it to be distributed through the u.s. (i'm not in a huge rush), or (2) buying something simple like the behmor and using it until the quest is distributed locally.

here's a thread on the quest m3 from the coffeegeek forum:
http://coffeegeek...ast/434167

thanks,
cc

p.s. for what it's worth, i'd love to see a poll for what people think is the best roaster if price isn't a big factor; and another to see what people think is best when price is taken into account. :)

[Mod edit made link clickable]
Edited by Koffee Kosmo on 01/21/2010 11:26 PM
 
cloudcover

Quote

ginny wrote:
Anyone seen or know much about the Quest MP# Roaster.

I have seen pictures and specs but no price?

ginny


in terms of price, on other forums it seems that people pay $850 for the machine, plus shipping from taiwan, etc, brings it to about $1000. i also saw somewhere that the manufacturer would sell 10 or more at $650 each. so i was figuring a "real" distributor could probably get them for like $450, in quantity, then even with a healthy markup to $650, still sell them at an attractive price.
 
John Despres
After a bit of searching myself, 150-300 gram capacity.

It has a trier.

The price I found to be what cloudcover found.

Sure is shiny...

John
Respect the bean.
John Despres
Fresh Roast 8, Gene Cafe, JYTT 1k, Quest M3, Mazzer Mini, Technivorm, various size presses and many more brewers.
 
ginny
Here ya go John

link and picture...

http://www.tradekey.com/product_view/id/865575.htm

Classic coffee roaster

Specification:

Dimension, in centimeters: 24Wx 33Hx 36D

Weight: 12kg

Batch Capacity: 150~300g( Approx. 8 OZ)

Roasting Time: 14~20 minutes

Thermometer: 0~300 degrees centigrade stainless traditional meter

Inner roller: 304 stainless steel roller with 3 sets of leaf, kickstand, and the center axes.

Roller motor: Industrial metal 6W gear down motor

Power control: Traditional frequency transistor circuit (not IC) instrument level VR

Hot wind control: Traditional frequency transistor ciucuit (not IC) instrument level VR

Heating source: Electrical heater

Heat wind motor: Industrial metal fan

Filter: Stainless net cup (easy to clean)

Bean Container: Stainless Steel

Voltage: 110/240
ginny attached the following image:
quest.gif

Edited by ginny on 01/20/2010 5:00 PM
 
bvwelch
If I had the money (I do not), I would seriously consider the Quest M3. Jim Schulman has some good info about his early experiences, over on HB. http://www.home-b...12502.html

-bill
Edited by bvwelch on 01/20/2010 8:58 PM
 
gene
Well, if we can get 10 Quests from Taiwan for $450 bucks sign me up for one. Now we need nine more of you to step up to the plate.

They have a Green Coffee Buying Club. We could start us up a roaster buying club here!

C'mon Mr Administrator lets have your definitive and final word!

Gosh, I'm afraid I'll miss my sweet little Gene Cafe if everyone gets serious. We have been thru a lot together these past 13 months.

My back hurts tonite I have roasted so much this PM. It could have been from climbing the ladder outside to listen for first crack from the exhaust sticking out the washer/dryer room window!

I appreciate John's suggestions. I told him in 4-6 days I'll be toasting him with a nice cup of Panama Cafe Ruiz Organic!

He is not responsible for the exhaust situation and my signalling method to Judy thru the window at first crack to turn the roast down.

gene
 
Koffee Kosmo

Quote

cloudcover wrote:

Quote

ginny wrote:
Anyone seen or know much about the Quest MP# Roaster.

I have seen pictures and specs but no price?

ginny


in terms of price, on other forums it seems that people pay $850 for the machine, plus shipping from taiwan, etc, brings it to about $1000. i also saw somewhere that the manufacturer would sell 10 or more at $650 each. so i was figuring a "real" distributor could probably get them for like $450, in quantity, then even with a healthy markup to $650, still sell them at an attractive price.




Unfortunately most off the shelf roasters have small volumes
So I built my own roaster and produced a kit of the same design

My next project will be one of RoasterRobs design hot air roasters

If your needs are small volumes the Gene Cafe is a good machine or for medium volumes to 1lb the Behmor 1600 is your best option

KK
I home roast and I like it. Designer of the KKTO
Roaster Build information
https://homeroast...ad_id=1142

https://docs.goog...lide=id.i0
Blog - http://koffeekosm...gspot.com/

Bezzera Strega, Mazzer Robur Grinder, Pullman Tamper Convex,
(KKTO) Turbo Oven Home Roaster.
 
bvwelch

Quote

Koffee Kosmo wrote:
If your needs are small volumes the Gene Cafe is a good machine
KK


No doubt you are correct, but I was impressed that Jim S., who has been using a modified P1 for many years, noticed some tastes from a drum machine that he wasn't able to duplicate in his P1, which in turn lead him to the Quest M3 as a drum sample roaster. This in turn, has me wanting a drum sample roaster. :-)

http://www.home-b...12502.html

-bill
Edited by bvwelch on 01/22/2010 7:27 AM
 
Koffee Kosmo

Quote

bvwelch
01/22/2010 06:27

No doubt you are correct, but I was impressed that Jim S., who has been using a modified P1 for many years, noticed some tastes from a drum machine that he wasn't able to duplicate in his P1, which in turn lead him to the Quest M3 as a drum sample roaster. This in turn, has me wanting a drum sample roaster. :-)

http://www.home-b...12502.html

-bill


My KKTO is a Hybrid
It produces similar roasts to drum roasted beans
With complexity akin to an air roaster and earthiness of a drum

This is the latest 850 gr batch of Sumatra Manheling Mystic

KK
Koffee Kosmo attached the following image:
img_2230.jpg

I home roast and I like it. Designer of the KKTO
Roaster Build information
https://homeroast...ad_id=1142

https://docs.goog...lide=id.i0
Blog - http://koffeekosm...gspot.com/

Bezzera Strega, Mazzer Robur Grinder, Pullman Tamper Convex,
(KKTO) Turbo Oven Home Roaster.
 
mldavis2
Let me jump in here and muddy up the water a bit. John is obviously a Gene fan (no pun intended), but we've completely ignored comment on the Hottop, which would be my next serious consideration. How about hearing from a Hottop user regarding control of the roast and durability? I see a lot of Gene owners having problems with heating elements.

The Behmor, Gene and Hottop all work on about 1/2 lb. of beans and all are very highly regarded by their respective owners with very few exceptions. That would, however, be expected from someone who did the math, made the choice and now is honing in on their desired level of control. That doesn't work very well when trying to actually compare one machine to another. I'm currently using an iRoast2 very successfully but planning on adding one of the above three. No hurry, and not too much concern for cost, although I don't want to waste money, either.
I love home roast!

iRoast2
Capresso Infinity
CCD, French press, Aeropress, TechniVorm
 
ginny
Hi mldavis2:

voicing in on the Hot Top, have had two, I sold and upgraded my analog
machine and bought the KN8820B digital.

I have used and sold an original Hot Top, Gene Cafe, Fresh Roast original, Roasto Crappo all it did was toss chaff around the room and my heat gun
burn gun!!

I know use a Hot Top second generation as well as my #33 RK Drum for the
large roasts or when I hit the local Farmers Market.

I loved my first Hot Top machine and actually would have kept it were it not for the fact that I wanted the new model for more control.

The Hot Top is a "WORKHORSE" period...


do I have more control? yes with the fan and heat. does it produce a better roast then my original Hot Top, no.

I doubt very much if anyone could tell the difference in a roast between the analog and digital Hot Top. The roaster (read person) is Queen or King!!

I know the degree of roast I like; I aim for that when roasting. I do tend to walk away at times and (with the newer Hot Top have missed the second beep around 360) the roaster has very nicely dumped my beans, half roasted!!!

Hate that!! each bean is so different that you do need to stay by your machine.

I love my Hot Top because I can see the beans, clearly not like the Gene Cafe, though well enough to "decide" if that is what I want...

between sight and smell I roast. I love to roast.

I most likely need to change the rear filter more then I do, the top filter I clean all of the time as well as dumping the chaff, shop vacing out the drum after each roast, this includes tipping the machine up on it's side to make sure the odd beans/chaff are out of the drum and do not forget to remove the glass part as well. Lots of hidden chaff can fry this baby...

keep it clean, keep it running forever. remove the rear fan panel, clean the fan blades and vac out that area too.

Do I need a new machine to roast with? NO. Do I like to try out what the world has to offer yes!! Do I want to play with the new Quest MP3 sure...

The last consideration is ease of use...

plug it in, hit the on button and roast away. No shaking, tipping or turning
needed; no moisture build up on glass so you cannot see the beans.
I could go on but this is a workhorse of a machine.

Am I happy with my Hot Top? You bet! It's in my will to pass onto a coffee fiend friend since I know it will last that long.

Please consider this a down and dirty off the cuff review of the Hot Top.

More later.

thanks for the question mldavis,

ginny

GrinGrin
Edited by ginny on 01/25/2010 6:28 PM
 
mldavis2
Great reply, ginny, thank you! I assume you mean the KN-8828B and not "KN-8820B"? I'd also like to hear why you passed over the 8828"P" model - price and/or control?
I love home roast!

iRoast2
Capresso Infinity
CCD, French press, Aeropress, TechniVorm
 
nufsaid
to be a good investor you have to learn how to do your own DD. (due diligence) to learn how to roast coffee and really enjoy it, don't just buy a ready made roaster, build one after doing your own DD. I have built 9 roasters so far and wouldn't consider a ready made until I need a commercial size/ which is probably never. to have wood warm you twice chop your own. It warms you when you chop it and then when you burn. Roasting can give you so much more pleasure if you don't look for easy answers
 
Jimbo
Hey all,

Been out wandering in the weeds (sort-to-speak) and have been neglecting the board. (Dang job.)

Still roasting as often as possible.

Just did an inventory of my beans, and I'm happy to report that I have 12 varieties on hand in varying amounts. (Shameless gloat ...)

Anyway, about the poll. I have a Hottop that I am very happy with, so if money were truly not an issue I would be investing in a 2 lb Sonofresco.
Will definitely get my hands on a 1 lb propane model as soon as I have the extra cash.
 
seedlings
Oh, a Sonofresco on the counter next to the Kitchenaid Mixer would be dreamy.

CHAD
Roaster: CoffeeAir II 2# DIY air roaster
Grinder: Vintage Grindmaster 500
Brewers: Vintage Cory DCU DCL, Aeropress, Press, Osaka Titanium pourover
 
Randy G
I will add my $.02 here. First, the disclaimer: as most of you probably already know, I work as an independent contractor for Hottop- I created the entire USA website as well as the entire users/owners manual. And just to clarify further, I do not make any money from Hottop sales, nor do I personally sell new Hottops (although I do work the Hottop booth at the SCAA shows). With that out of the way-

The Hottop is, indeed, a workhorse. I have completely disassembled the various models many times, for cleaning as well as photographic purposes. So I probably know this machine, inside out (literally) about as well as all but two or three people in the US. While I am no master roaster by any stretch of the imagination, I can say that the KN-8828B model is my favorite roaster. I flatter myself by saying that a part of its development was spurred on by me, but I pushed for manual control since the very first Hottop roaster came into the US. The ability to manually control the roast through the entire process is as good as one is likely to find in an electric roaster made for home use.

If there are any specific questions about this roaster, please feel free to ask, either here or by E-Mail as I am glad to assist.


Life's too short to drink bad coffee.
 
John Despres

Quote

ginny wrote:
Anyone seen or know much about the Quest MP# Roaster.

I have seen pictures and specs but no price?

ginny


Looks like there's one at Sweet Maria's undergoing some tests...ThumbsUp

http://www.flickr...323460634/

John
Respect the bean.
John Despres
Fresh Roast 8, Gene Cafe, JYTT 1k, Quest M3, Mazzer Mini, Technivorm, various size presses and many more brewers.
 
John Despres
Randy,

I enjoyed reading your reviews of the Gene Cafe as well as the HotTop. I opted for the Gene Cafe 2 1/2 years ago because of the price difference. Your review of it is spot on! I agree the two failings is the internal cooling and the inability to measure bean mass temperature. The cooling is easy to overcome with an external colander/shop vac setup, but the bean mass temp issue is truly the only drawback to this roaster.

There's certainly enough information available from the roaster. The visible beans and the Environmental Temperature combined with external knowledge, ie: what temp 1st crack occurs at and the temp beans yellow at makes this a pretty remarkable machine. I've put about 400 pounds through mine and it keeps on truckin'.

John
Respect the bean.
John Despres
Fresh Roast 8, Gene Cafe, JYTT 1k, Quest M3, Mazzer Mini, Technivorm, various size presses and many more brewers.
 
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