Hottop Roaster Review - the new Digital KN8828D

[Andy]

This is an independent hardware review by Grant Watt a Western Australian
CoffeeSnob member (wattgn) and long-term home roaster who was not paid for the review by Hottop or by CoffeeSnobs and has attempted to be as honest, impartial and non-bias as possible to provide an accurate review.    
-- Andy Freeman.


... and I should add, a great review too!  

HOTTOP REVIEW HERE

[Javaphile]

Re: Hottop Digital Roaster - KN8828D review.

Nice review indeed!

Java "Gotta love a good review" phile

[joe]

Re: Hottop Digital Roaster - KN8828D review.

Great review!
10 roasts down the track and Im still happy with my KN8828.
Early days I know.....

[stratford]

Re: Hottop Digital Roaster - KN8828D review.

Now if we could just come up with a simple fix for the filter replacements.....Randys permanent metal one is an option, but I am not sure if this would affect the temperature profile...

[garglebutt]

Re: Hottop Digital Roaster - KN8828D review.

Im not sure how much impact it will have to temperature as the fan appears to primarily be used to draw air in through the side vents to cool the motor rotating the drum for most of the roast.

It is only when the chute opens to drop the beans into the cooling tray that smoke is drawn through the back fan. Id be more concerned about the impact of the lifetime of the fan but it is a standard computer fan so fairly easily and cheaply replaced.

In fact if you wanted to reduce the noise of the HOTTOP further it may be as easy as using a better quality computer fan.

Cheers

[garglebutt]

Re: Hottop Digital Roaster - KN8828D review.

A couple of thoughts after reading the review.

I have found all the bits loose bits other than the chaff tray have no problems going through the dishwasher which makes cleanup very easy. I only do this after a dozen or so roasts as a lot of the discolouration is cosmetic.

The chaff tray does need a bit of attention as I noticed after a couple of rather chaffy roasts that the tray wouldnt go back in all the way. A closer examination showed a bunch of chaff stuck at the back of the drum which is a big fire hazard.

[stratford]

Re: Hottop Digital Roaster - KN8828D review.

Wired,

I notice that my fan actually blows smoke out at various times during the sequence..., but as you say, it is an easily replaceable computer fan.

[AlMac]

Re: Hottop Digital Roaster - KN8828D review.

Grant, I thought it would helpful to have your thoughts (in the review) on how the Hottop roasts compare with your popcorn popper roasts.

Id be interested in anyones thoughts on roast relativities in this regard.

[stratford]

Re: Hottop Digital Roaster - KN8828D review.

I found the main difference with the HT, was that you can roast by sight, sound and smell.... With the Cafe Rosto, you couldnt hear first or second crack, and the colour change was hard to pick up.

With the HT, the roasting experience is as complex or simple as you want, notwithstanding the fact that you have no temperature control....

The results though, are pretty much the same, whichever way you roast, though the HT, with its gradual temperature increase profile maybe mutes some of the brightness you get with a more rapid process....

[wattgn]

Re: Hottop Digital Roaster - KN8828D review.

Alec,

We did a comparison of ONE roast in the cafe day we had here in Perth (that you missed :-[). The popper roast actually came out better on the Ugandan bean.

It is interesting to compare drum versus popper roasts but we didnt really have enough roasts to get a good idea. The consensus, reading on the internet, is that they are different but one is not necessarily better than the other. The drum probably works better on the more subtle beans like the Brazils.

Overall, I think it is a case of adapting the roasting style to suit the bean and the method you use.

I personally like drum roasters as they are very quiet and I like the idea of a nice slow gradual temperature profile which the drum roaster give. An average roast from memory is about 19 minutes.

Grant

[AlMac]

Re: Hottop Digital Roaster - KN8828D review.

Thanks Grant.

Review is excellent. I think you should include a version of it on the CoffeeGeek consumer reviews for the Hottop - it would be a valuable resource.

[JohnKiwi]

Re: Hottop Digital Roaster - KN8828D review.

Grant Watt says in his review: "... the Hottop is now available to customers here in
Australia from their Queensland warehouse." Does anybody have a telephone number or e-mail address of this Queensland warehouse? Please help me!

[Andy]

Re: Hottop Digital Roaster - KN8828D review.

Hi JohnKiwi,

Drop a line to this email address (the hottop factory) and Im sure you will get an answer pretty quickly.

hottop@ms12.hinet.net

Dont forget to let them know you found it through CoffeeSnobs!

Andy.

[JohnKiwi]

Re: Hottop Roaster Review - the new Digital KN8828

I received my hottop from the fabric within four working days!  ;D  The feedback and cooperation from their side were excellent (they even sent me four free filters with the hottop!).  I mentioned your name (Coffee Snobs) to them, i think that was the reason .  Already did three roasts with the hottop and what a pleasure.  I used my Hearthware Precision Coffee Roaster for the past one and a half year but the time that it took to roast beans was hours to get a decent quantity together.  Are there any other Kiwis interested???

[wattgn]

Re: Hottop Roaster Review - the new Digital KN8828

Dear John:

I found them a pleasure to deal with also, very helpful.  If you do have any problems you will get the parts probably much more quickly than with most companies.  They intend to send them I believe UPS and will get any part to you in seven days (maximum) whether from Australia or Taiwan (free under warranty of course).

The only problem is that they are pretty reliable so you probably wont need their service backup.  I mean they must break down occasionally, especially as they get older, but I havent heard of it happening yet.

The extra filters is a great bonus although they do seem to last a while anyway.

Im up to a dozen or so roasts on mine and it is trucking along very nicely.  

It is modelled on the design of a commercial roaster with the cooling tray and all that.  A clinically efficient design and QUIET.

People baulk at the price but I think you get a lot of machine for your dollar.

All the best,
Grant