Roaster recommendation? - Page 2

#11: Post by **hankua** » September 29th, 2016, 9:25 am

I like your idea of a Gene or a Quest. The Quest would be my personal choice and would keep an eye out for a used machine. Another one that might suit you is the stainless camp stove roaster; not sure if he is still building them.

Stainless steel manual roaster

September 29th, 2016, 11:34 am

In my own opinion, neither the Gene nor the Behmor offer a sufficient level of user control over profiles. Given your interests and your budget, I'd suggest looking into a Quest or a Huky, the pros and cons of which you can read about in great depth on these forums. There are also some newer options coming onto the market -- these may be more of a gamble as you won't have as deep a base of users online to guide you as you learn to use the roaster, but they also offer a few intriguing options at their price points. You can find HB threads about each of these if you search:

Kaldi Wide Roaster (300g, stove-top design): https://www.amazon.com/KALDI-Motorize-I ... 028&sr=1-1

Mercury Roaster (300g, electric): http://www.cloudbean-tech.com/

#13: Post by **kschendel** » September 29th, 2016, 9:56 pm

If you want to take a smaller step, maybe get a Freshroast SR500. It's an air roaster, but you can fiddle with the heat levels, fan setting, and cycle the heat manually if you want to slow down a particular phase. It's no Hottop, but it's $170 instead of $1000. I get fairly good results out of mine.

Even if you decide to jump up to a much more expensive drum roaster anyway, having the SR500 around will give you a decent alternative, small-batch roaster without wasting a ton of money.

September 29th, 2016, 11:03 pm

sounds good. is it durable? will do one or 2 batches every week.
will the quality of the coffee be much different from that produced by a Hottop, Huky or Quest?

September 29th, 2016, 11:06 pm

[creative nickname] wrote:In my own opinion, neither the Gene nor the Behmor offer a sufficient level of user control over profiles. Given your interests and your budget, I'd suggest looking into a Quest or a Huky,

The Huky seems powerful; but it seems that dealing with gas is more complicated? do I need to bu a Proban tank and burner? is that economic? how many batches would a standard tank produce?

September 29th, 2016, 11:08 pm

ajarmeh104 wrote:The Huky seems powerful; but it seems that dealing with gas is more complicated? do I need to buy a Propane tank and burner? is that economic? how many batches would a standard tank (grill type) produce?

September 30th, 2016, 10:54 am

Since your budget is around 1k, I would think very hard about 2 options:

Quest M3
HotTop

And then decide, if you want more convenience, go with the HotTop, if you want more control and a little better long-term longevity: go Quest.

I went with a used Quest, but there's no option for an automatic roast profile if I get lazy one week. It's always manual. For me, I enjoy it and wouldn't have gotten the HotTop.

September 30th, 2016, 2:32 pm

Roasting as little as you are planning to, a standard 20 pound propane tank should last you at least a year.

September 30th, 2016, 6:45 pm

Great. Thanks for the info

September 30th, 2016, 6:50 pm

EspressoForge wrote:Since your budget is around 1k, I would think very hard about 2 options:

Quest M3

HotTop
And then decide, if you want more convenience, go with the HotTop, if you want more control and a little better long-term longevity: go Quest.

I went with a used Quest, but there's no option for an automatic roast profile if I get lazy one week. It's always manual. For me, I enjoy it and wouldn't have gotten the HotTop.

Thanks for the advise.
But here is the million dollar question: will the better control of the quest result in extra flavor or quality in the cup over the Hottop????
I am not looking to do any Mods(unless if I have to) and not looking to become a professional roast master. All I want is to enjoy a good cup of fresh coffee.... will the Hottop serve me better?