Crazy question - does this thing have a PID or any sort of profile control, or is it a manual flame and air control?

The roaster is all manual. It does have gauges for gas, "bean mass" temperature, vent/damper, and existing hot air. The vendor gave me extra thermocouples, and I have yet to disassemble the machine to see where the tip of the thermocouple is located.

Mark, your new kitchen looks great from the pictures!

I have been reading Willem Boot's articles on roasting. For people who read Chinese and Japanese, these two books are also quite helpful on roasting:

Coffeeology, ISBN 978-986-758-661-2
Taguchi Mamoru No Coffee Taizen, ISBN 978-986-7863-41-6

I finally can experience first hand of what Willem Boot was referring to in his articles.

Henry, any updates on your progress with the Mini 500? I'm particularly curious what impressions you have coming from the Hottop B. Thanks...

The Mini500 has been a pleasure to use. I am frantically practicing for the home roaster competition. The beans from SW are here and I just finished roasting all four beans on Wednesday for the first time.

I have not used the HotTop since I installed the Mini. One thing I wish the Mini has is a more accurate damper control. On the HotTop B, the fan speed can be controlled in 10% increment. On the Mini, the damper controls the outflow of air. Although it is marked, it is still not as accurate as I would like, as the drum rotating speed and propane flame can change the air flow. Just a crazy thought, but I am contemplating installing a magnehelic gauge.

My taste buds and olfactory nerve are numb from all the tasting and blending from the past few hours, not to mention shaking hands and fast heart rate. My highest respect for Jim for judging the competition.

Henry

Good luck with the new roaster. It appears to be a really nicely designed unit and I'm sure you will get to know its features in short order. When you do please post your impressions vs. the capabilites of the HotTop.

Just as an FYI to all and I'm sure you know - the HotTop fan is regulated in 25% increments. Its the heating element that has 10% capabilities.

GC7, thank you for the correction. All the coffee is making me drunk.

chang00 wrote:My taste buds and olfactory nerve are numb from all the tasting and blending from the past few hours, not to mention shaking hands and fast heart rate. My highest respect for Jim for judging the competition.

Thanks. Spitting is a good idea when doing lot of brewed coffee tasting. With espresso, the caffeine levels don't appear to be as high, but taste bud overload is the big problem. Cream cheese and salteens are used at barista competition and works fairly well. Lots of water of course.

chang00,

Any chance you could record a full video of a roast in that new beast? I'm considering picking one up.

Thanks!

anything new on this roaster? I'm considering getting one as well. I've stopped roasting lately as it just takes too many roasts on my Hottop to make it through the week.

Chang00.. any chance you might be selling your hottop... I am also in SF.