Which roaster???

[tisri]

I didn't buy the Hottop to save money on the beans. I reckon greens are normally around 25-33% cheaper than roasted beans (based on general impression, not a scientific study). Then you lose around 15-20% of the weight in the roasting process. For the Hottop to pay for itself I reckon I would have to roast several tonnes of coffee.

I bought the Hottop beacuse it means I can stock green beans and have whatever I want, fresh, whenever I want. I can experiment with roasting to different levels and I don't need to dedicate a drawer of my freezer to roasted beans. I have the coffee I want, prepared how I want, when I want.

I can also save by buying in much more considerable bulk than I could sensibly do when buying roasted beans, but that isn't saving me any money because it just means I stock more coffee. My wife gets bored of explaining to visitors what the numerous containers of green beans lining the kitchen cupboards are....

[Tonka]

Thanks for all your responses to my post everyone. I can see that this thread is developing into its own thing. I'm glad you all love your Hottops, and I have no beef with the suppliers.. i know they have to make a profit (that's the whole point of the exercise!) I just can't countenence spending a monkey on a coffee roaster. So I've just ordered an I-roast....
Hope it's better than my popcorn maker!!! Anyways, this has been my first post on this site and thankyou again for your thoughtful and enthusiastic advice!

[RobC]

Both the HT and I-R have their advantages and disadvantages and they could probably both be improved by learning from eachother (though this is unlikely to happen; RobC want to make the perfect roaster to go with that grinder you are working on? ).

It's funny you should mention that Dom, while my current grinder musing are leaning towards (pun intended) having the motor mounted at a 90 degree angle so the ground coffee chute drops the coffee with less resistance. This could cause problems with the beans entering the burrs correctly, although a spring loaded mechanism could help this. Just an idea floating round in the empty space where my brain should be at the moment but time allowing I will try a technical test sometime (tip a grinder at an angle!!)

On the roasting theme, I do wonder whether a 1 group gas machine could be modified to include a roasting drum making use of the gas used to heat the boiler. This could be a big space saver and be inexpensive to run. This could be a bit of a longer project and possibly even more ridiculous then my grinder musings!

Just don't hold your breath everyone!

Rob

[Gouezeri]

Tonka,
In case you hadn't already gathered, I also have an I-Roast and am busy trying out all sorts of profiles and tests with it, so if you have any problems, just post them here and we'll help as best we can.
RobC,
Changing the topic a little... (maybe we should start a new thread) you are thinking of placing the motor at a 90 degree angle, but what angle will the burrs be at? Having just thought about this for a bit, I think it would be possible for both motor and burrs to remain in a line as they are on most grinders, but instead of a chute, have a trap. Now I know people aren't going to like the comparison, but what about simply having a hole/trap similar to that you find in dosers? Using centrifugal force, the grounds are pushed outwards and then pushed round until they fall down the trap. The only disadvantage is that an horizontal chute is easy to get to for grounds that get stuck, where as a vertical trap/chute would be much harder to access... just some initial thoughts.
Dom

[RobC]

Dom,

Best method is to direct drive lower burrs from the motor and have upper burrs static - so yes my plan would involve the burrs also at an angle with obvious problems.

The trap idea is a good one, although thinking about it the main problem is the horizontal transfer chute from burrs to release that can hold quite a few grams of static ground coffee that can not be released. Maybe just sharply angling this chute instead of being horizontal could be the answer??

[zix]

I think you´re on to something there, RobC. It would be doable on many grinders. Perhaps it could be expanded both up and down, like a bell (or, for the audiophiles or pro audio people among us, like a tractrix horn - which better describes the shape I am thinking of).

[nickr]

I have to say, as one who has put up with roasting on popper for 2 years a HotTop will be my next coffee purchase. Hot air roasters by their very design are going to be short lived, and noisey. In the long term, the HotTop is the cheaper machine producing a better quality product.

Nick

[ivdp]

The difference between a popper and a dedicated coffee roaster is quite important.
More professional roaster are using hot air roasters for certain types of coffee. Also economical considerations are playing a part: large volumes through short roasting times.

Whether a drum roaster produces a better quality product than a hot air roaster is a debatable statement.

Ivo

[Steve]

I know I'd never use a hotair roaster for anything apart from sample roasting or personal use at home. I have worked with both (professional and home machine)and there’s no debate about the quality product produced. Drum is the only way to go if you want to achieve real quality.

But thats just my opinion.

steve