Since there are recent topics on various Chinese coffee roasters, here is another one. No, the HB does not stand for Home-Barista, but the initials of the brothers who started this company. From coffee forum communications and previous postings, they are hobbyists turned coffee roaster manufacturer. Their 2kg roaster has been a success in China and other southeast Asian countries, and subsequently they introduced the smaller 600g gas roaster recently. The unit weighs about 47 kg, similar in size and weight to the Mini 500 (44 kg). They are also a distributor of Diedrich roasters and SweetMarias coffee beans in China and have an excellent reputation in Chinese coffee forums. Again, the RMB5000 listing is the typical deposit for such a merchandise in China, and not the actual purchase price.

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z ... aobao_shop

Here are some pictures of the 2kg shop roaster, just for interest.

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z ... 5049260533

This is awesome! Looks like high build quality for a Chinese roaster! It has some great looking features that I've been paying close attention to, it still has the easier to clean cyclone, high roast capacity, good layout of controls and a small footprint. The cooling tray looks better built. Thick rolled lip, decent looking auger. It will be neat to learn more about it.

chang00 wrote:Again, the RMB5000 listing is the typical deposit for such a merchandise in China, and not the actual purchase price.

So you have to contact the seller to determine true price? Is there a rough rule of thumb in terms of relationship between deposit and full price?

I just heard back from the guys who are making this roaster. It was no easy task, by any means. I'll run down some basics gathered from the reply I just received. This roaster seems pretty cool, but there seems to be some significant hurdles one must clear if they choose to get one. Here's a basic list.

1) 220V only. It would need a converter for 110V folk

2) The makers have to use translation software, which can be a challenge. They don't speak, read or write English at all. Not insurmountable by any means, just another hurdle.

3) Lead time is 2 months to build. Delivery would likely be around Christmas if ordered now.

4) They've never exported them to the US or from what I gather, outside of Asia, so a buyer would have to be prepared to do some significant groundwork. Hank and Henry have been extremely helpful shedding light on this task, they've posted on how it can be done.

5) No customization options, color, etc.

6) Cost not including shipping, handling, import duties, customs, etc is currently $2530 based on todays exchange rate.

7) The trier's bowl is the size of my Quest's. Not the biggest issue in the world, some people don't mind. I'd much prefer something larger however.