This thread is for the posting of basic information/reviews of roasters and is intended to be used as a starting point for those looking at acquiring a new machine.

For ease of reading posts should be made using the following format:

Machine Name:
Price Range:
Features (Capacity, programable etc):
Notes:

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Unless you have some additional information about a machine that has already been covered please do not make an additional post.

Please use the regular forum for any discussion or questions.

For further information on a particular machine use the search button at the top of the page, or alternatively use your favorite search engine and add the string site:coffeesnobs.com.au to limit the returns to only this site.


Java "Data! We must have more data!!" phile

Machine Name: Gene Cafe

Price Range: Circa $780
Features

Batch size of 300g and easily viewable roast. Complete control of roast profile via rotary knobs for temp. (max 250 deg. C) and time (max 30 min.). Off axis rotation leads to really even roast and excellent chaff removal. No filters to replace.

Notes:
Back to back roasts possible after completion of roast and cooling cycle can be aborted to use fan style coller if desired. Roaster then cools to about 70 deg. C before allowing another roast. This roaster makes more noise than the hottop, however the chaff catcher tends to amplify cracks and they are generally easy to hear.

Available via GoBarista, Talk Coffee and The Coffee Barun.

Machine Name: Hottop KN-8828B

Price Range: circa $1200

Features:
* Fully programmable with 3 roast memory locations
* More manual controller than the P
* Batch size of 300g (250g 'optimal' as with the Gene Cafe)
* Roast time between 8 and 25 minutes with a maximum temperature of 222 degrees C
* Very quiet roasting process meaning cracks are extremely easy to hear
* Low smoke roasting process due to replacable smoke particle filters, but these add about 50c per roast
* Large fan-forced cooling tray with agitator arm which cools beans from 200C to room temperature in about four minutes

Detail:
The B controller differs from the P in that it is a very manual controller. This means that the adjustments to roast parameters are performed by the user during the roast, rather than being pre-defined before the roast as you do with the P. The B controller has a colour segmented LED display control panel and 3 memory locations. Before you start the roast, you enter a total roast time and target temperature and start the roast. As this is a manual controller, these are simply 'auto-eject points' rather than 'target time and temperature' - that is, if the roast time or roast temperature reaches either of the points you set, it will be ejected. Of course you can adjust these up or down as required during the roast. Once the roast is underway you then manually control the heater power and fan speed to build a profile as you go. Once the roast has finished you can save the program you just created, however there's no way to edit it at all other than performing another roast and making the adjustments as you go once again. Initially it has a steeper learning curve than the P controller as you have to learn the thermodynamics of the roaster, i.e. how long it takes for a control panel change to show up in the drum. As a result it's easy to stall the first few B roasts while learning this (unless you have some sample programs to refer to), however once you get the hang of it it's the more flexible of the two controllers because you can adjust all parameters at any point in the roast.

While it may not look as fancy as the P controller, it's undoubtedly the most flexible Hottop controller and notably cheaper. The main disadvantage is that you can't erase a program completely and start with an empty program or edit the program upfront. This means if you roast with an existing program (as you often would want to otherwise what's the point in having them) you sometimes have to do battle with the pre-programmed adjustments coming in before you want them, e.g. if you decided you wanted the fan to come on later you'd have to wait for it to automatically turn up and then turn it back down.

Notes applicable to all Hottops:  
The drum is cooled / heated to 75 degrees C before the start of each roast so the roast always starts at the same temperature. This normally takes about seven to eight minutes from the finish of a roast - five minutes for bean cooling and another couple of minutes to drop the temperature below 75C. These times are approximate if you pull out the rear filter and open the chaff tray a bit during cooling, otherwise it takes about double that. The temperature sensor sits in the roasting chamber, so temperature readouts on the control panel bear a very close correlation to the actual bean temperature. While it's a relatively new controller to the market (released July 2007) , there is no indication of roast memory at this point - and since the controller adjusts heater power to match the requested profile it's unlikely to occur although the real test will come with time. Doesn't deal with chaff particularly well - the finished roast normally has some fragments, and some of what comes off the beans during the roast sits on ledges inside the unit rather than making it to the chaff tray. Build quality generally very good and no recurrent history of problems.

At time of writing, available from Pullman Espresso Accessories via www.thingscoffee.com.au