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Alice
September 19, 2024
Love this roaster, the capabilities are endless. It’s a big step up from the behmor, with the ability to control your temperature and fan in ways you can’t with some others.
Also artisan is super helpful for monitoring roasts and making sure things are turning out nicely.
You don’t have to wait as long between roasts to do another, which is VERY helpful. If a bullet is out of your price range this is a good alternative.
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Saed Alnaimat
May 21, 2024
I love this roaster! It brings a new level of precision in coffee roasting. I’m coming from using a simple manual drum roaster with basic gas burner into using Hottop. Was definitely a huge transition. I’d say read a lot about coffee roasting (the manual that comes with Hottop isn’t bad!). Also watch a lot of videos on how to use Hottop with Artisan software (it’s a pain to learn all of that at once when there are no clear instructions provided). Also you will need to install a driver thing for the USB so it will recognize the hottop (took me forever to figure out that I need to do that step). However, once you figure that out you will start building your roast profile and make fine tuning and adjustments. You’ll love it! Good luck!
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Sherry Howell
May 19, 2024
So, I never thought I would have one of these, as I used the Gene Cafe for several years and it made good coffee.
The good:
Like one other person said in a different review, albeit for a different purpose, "I didn't know what I didn't know". Here's the thing, and it's just my opinion after roasting several batches in the hot top. It's all about consistency. I have not yet made a roast in the hot top that I couldn't have made in the gene cafe, however I am certain that I can make the same roast exactly the same every time. For repeatability there is no comparison. I have connected it to the MacBook, and I've used it in each of the settings it's capable of. Artisan is good, although it has a couple of glitches; yet I can use it to make sure I can repeat a roast exactly the same next time. Once I have it down, then I can just set it up on manual and use or not use artisan at that point. For making light roasts, there's no comparison. Getting the roast to stop exactly at the right time is a breeze on the hot top, where it was not so simple on the gene cafe. Sure, on the gene you could preheat the drum, and then carefully stop the roast and remove the drum and forego the gene cafe's cooling cycle to manually cool it in a colander, and you would get it pretty close. Far cheaper. Yet nowhere nearly as exact. Again, getting exactly the roast you want every time is what this hot top thing can excel at.
Is there anything bad?
The chaff catcher was far better on the gene cafe. I have a salad colander I use to separate the chaff now because although the hot top will catch a little, most is still in the coffee, especially on lighter roasts. On darker roasts it breaks down more, and most of it gets caught in the chaff catcher.
Back to back roasts are problematic. You really need to let the hot top cool off before doing another roast. If you try to rush it, it goes into a cooling mode, and it will cool it off for you, but I've found that it doesn't take a lot longer to just wait tbh.
If you have the money, get the hot top. It's a really good roaster. The chaff catcher, not so much, but if that's the only complaint, then I can live with it, and it's really a problem for me only because I like making light roasts so much. If you don't have 1800 to toss out, then get the gene cafe. It really does make good coffee, and while not being so exact, once you know what you're doing with it you can make great coffee with it as well.
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Michael
January 5, 2024
I purchased this right before x-mas 2023 and have roasted about 10 batches so far (05JAN24) of the samples that came with it. This little roaster is pretty cool. I have it linked up to artisan and control exclusively from a laptop. I would like to see a usb c connector verses the old usb connection. However that is just me being overly technical. I so far really enjoy this device and look forwards to roasting lots more.
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Richard
November 30, 2023
11/25/2022, purchased my Hottop KN-8828B-2K+; this week my roast session batch numbers started at #101. My very first roast was an auto roast and since then I’ve only done one other & only a few manual roasts; I bought the roaster wanting to learn Artisan. Initially did 8 practice roasts; after a few turned out fair to good I began tracking my roasts. At the time I bought my Hottop I purchased a single dose grinder & espresso cappuccino machine. I mostly use my HotTop for espresso beans I take into 2nd-K; the Artisan control of temp, duration, RoR is fantastic and you can see, hear & smell well enough to assist your roasting. Before my purchase I joined the Hottop Coffee Roaster Facebook group; it’s worth a look around; was previously a FreshRoast group member. I mostly studied members’ screenshot of Artisan roast profiles and roast notes. I learned more from trial & error (mistakes) than any video but they are initially helpful. I’m 72 & retired and I’ve given this hobby lots of time but my memory is shit; so a younger person can learn & remember it lots easier but there is lots more than you would think that one needs to learn to best utilize the machine & software. Also it helps if you’ve read a few books; on coffee roasting & on coffee farming & bean varieties round the world. Before my SR8 I roasted for years with a Motorize Kaldi, WhirleyPops & Korean ceramic Nuvo. My next roaster may be the Aillio Bullet, to further my skills and to roast larger batch sizes. With my SR800 I roast 215grams; my Hottop only 175 grams. I learnt roasting first at 160g & moved up to 175g and then 200g & 225g and returned to 175g for the most consistent results & it would become boring if roast Times were longer. The 175g size is one reason I continue roasting my favs with my SR800; I’m on my 4th & 5th units and my skill with it has improved with my acquired Hottop skills. I mostly roast medium to med-Dk to Dk; never been a light roast guy; though lots of roasters like roasting light with the Hottop. FYI, my fav espresso blends normally include 25% of: 1) Indo: Sumatra or Sulawesi using the Giling Basah, or wet hulling process. 2) Brazil: a natural process w/varieties Mundo Novo, Catuai, Bourbon, etc. 3) high elevation washed Central American, GUATMARGARITA, CRLAGLAD, CRELCON or others that nicely roast med-Dk+. 4) A single varietal like the Caturra, Maracatu, Bourbon, etc from a good region. It may sound simple but the different factors all mean a different Drop temp° & style of Drop (not dump) ascending, level, or descending & Turn Point data & period of heat soak, different lengths of Dry, Maillard, & first crack & second crack Finish to Drop (Dump). Controlling each stage is what makes roasting with the Hottop fun. I always load a background template to replicate or for reference. I always save my roast files & records the Roast Properties (Bean, Roast Notes, Cup’n Notes info) for roasts that cup VG to Ex & export & save their data. Final note, I get the routine maintenance / replacement parts from CBC.
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Adam Roush
September 12, 2023
Fantastic home roaster. I love the control this roaster gives you.
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Shane
August 2, 2023
I was fascinated by roasting ever since I got my Swissmar Bravi. It was a simple drum roaster that only let me adjust the time. But I wanted more. I wanted to master the art of roasting at home. That's when I discovered the Hot Top 2K+. It was perfect for me. It gave me the control I needed to experiment with different profiles and settings. And with the Artisan software, I could monitor and record every roast. It was also affordable and easy to use. Coffee bean Corral made my dream come true. They delivered it fast and followed up with a friendly call. I'm so grateful to them for their amazing service.
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Shane
July 29, 2023
I was fascinated by roasting ever since I got my Swissmar Bravi. It was a simple drum roaster that only let me adjust the time. But I wanted more. I wanted to master the art of roasting at home. That's when I discovered the Hot Top 2K+. It was perfect for me. It gave me the control I needed to experiment with different profiles and settings. And with the Artisan software, I could monitor and record every roast. It was also affordable and easy to use. Coffee bean Corral made my dream come true. They delivered it fast and followed up with a friendly call. I'm so grateful to them for their amazing service.
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Shane K Shier
July 29, 2023
I was fascinated by roasting ever since I got my Swissmar Bravi. It was a simple drum roaster that only let me adjust the time. But I wanted more. I wanted to master the art of roasting at home. That's when I discovered the Hot Top 2K+. It was perfect for me. It gave me the control I needed to experiment with different profiles and settings. And with the Artisan software, I could monitor and record every roast. It was also affordable and easy to use. Coffee bean Corral made my dream come true. They delivered it fast and followed up with a friendly call. I'm so grateful to them for their amazing service.
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GH
April 9, 2023
I bought the KN-8828B-2K from CBC last year thinking that it'd be all that I needed, but I didn't know what I didn't know. I was thinking about upgrading to this model a few weeks ago but discovered that I could buy an upgrade kit from Hottop for $600 that converts the -2K to a -2K+.
The tear down and installation isn't trivial but it was well worth it. I'm only giving this review to make the point that you can start out with the -2K model and for a little more than buying the -2K+ model you can upgrade, and have a bunch of spare parts too. Given the redundancy of some of the parts in the upgrade kit, it might even be possible to upgrade for less than the cost of the bundled package.
As for the -2K+ and Artisan software (which is free), it's as good as it gets for the home roaster who can't justify spending three or four times as much for an entry level, industrial grade, typically gas fueled roaster. You'll need a computer running at least Windows 7 in order to use Artisan, but you'll learn so much more and have far more control over the process when you do. I have no idea how much coffee I've roasted now, but 1/2lb every three days for the past 9 months is about right, and I'm still learning.
I would absolutely recommend this roaster (and Artisan) for anyone looking to produce consistently excellent coffee. The software has a learning curve, but the control over the process and final results are well worth the effort.
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Matt
April 3, 2023
This thing is great to learn on. Artisan is absolutely clutch. You can control the roaster from your laptop, no need to use the manual knobs.
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Jose Duenez
November 16, 2022
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Larry Bodine
December 29, 2021
I previously had a Gene Cafe for 10+ years. I wanted to move to a roaster that had more controls for roasting. I'm still a novice with the Hottop, but I really like it so far. I can now hear the first and second crack of the beans that I was unable to do with the Gene Cafe because of the hot air blower noise. I haven't yet used the Artisan software for further control of the roasting process, but have been experimenting with the time and temperature on the Hottop. I'm very pleased and would recommend this roaster to anyone roasting their own coffee beans. I really like the fact that you can go with the automatic roasting cycles, like I'm still doing, but can move up up advanced control with the Artisan software when you want.
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Jim Wildrick jr
February 27, 2021
I have been using the Hottop for almost two years now.The expense of the machine is well worth it.You can manually roast or hook up your laptop to control roasting cycle.The roasts are even throughout.It is a very easy machine to clean and parts readily available through Hottops web site.Your maximum roast batch will be 250 grams (9 ounces).Total time on auto for this eighteen minutes including cool down.It's a great roaster doesn't weigh much and takes up little space.Well worth the cost.You will ABSOLUTELY love the coffee this machine roasts.
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Todd
January 24, 2021
This is my third roaster and my 7th roast on the Hottop. It’s my first drum roaster so my experience is limited. As far as quality goes, I’m very impressed with the “fit and finish” of the machine. Past user reviews give me no reason to doubt longevity.
Functionally, it’s as simple or as complicated as you want to make it. I started out using the “auto” mode and was very pleased with the coffee that it roasted. It also allows you to roast manually or program a roast using alarms on the software. It’s a slick application and a very nice link with the dual thermocouples. I enjoy the data aspect of the roast, so the Artisan software hookup was a requirement for me.
Had I known that I would become addicted to roasting coffee, I should have started out with the Hottop. However, there are numerous great options for getting started in this hobby.
Cleaning will be the biggest downside that I see. This unit gets smoky, and I suspect that the roasting chamber will need a good scrubbing after several roasts. Cleaning between roasts is easy in my opinion.
Also be aware that you must let the unit cool down between batches....no back to back batches.
Happy Roasting!!
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Diana Eberharter
June 3, 2020
I've used it twice and I love it. I live in an apartment temporarily and I own a gene. Can't use it because it sits off the fire alarm. This one puts out very little smoke until the very end, which gets sucks out the stove fan and no fire alarm going off. So far i have only used the auto setting and excited about learning more settings. Would recommend to anyone wanting to get into coffee roasting.
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DaveCx
January 2, 2020
I still consider myself a novice although I have completed about 100 roasts on my old Behmore and a whirly popeer. The reason I went to the Hottop was for more consistent roasts, more control of the variables, and the for the datalogging capability via the Artisan software. So far after 10 roasts, I am thoroughly satisfied with my purchase.
The Hoptop is fair-priced everywhere with their vendors at around $1600. I bought it from Coffee Bean Corral because of the excellent customer service, fast turnaround time on orders and the fact that they answered my questions very quickly. Getting their coffee samples also helped with my learning curve as well.
So far, what I like about the K2+ are:
• Easy setup. There was a minimal amount of assembly to do (put on the heat grills and mount the cooling tray) and you are ready to go.
• Documentation is some of the best I have ever seen for a consumer appliance. I say this as a former tech writer and editor.
• Good user interface (controls and display). Aside from being able to control this from my laptop,
• Good control over the process.
• Consistent results
• Sturdy construction
• Easy to clean and maintain.
Cons:
• Smoke ventilates from multiple openings. Unless you rig a big hood with a powerful fan, it will set off the smoke detector in your kitchen.
• Its limited to roughly a 1/2lb (250 grams) capacity. For me this is not a problem. On my older roaster I tried full 1lb roasts and had very inconsistent roasts
• Because the heating element is electric, heat changes will have a lag time. But with experience, this becomes a mote point.
Is the K2+ for everyone? If you are serious about coffee roasting and want to perfect your craft, then I believe this is the machine for you. It will allow you to do more with your roasts than lower priced roasters and is well supported by the manufacture and the user community. Although there is a lot to be said for gas roasters, not everyone has natural gas or propane available. There are also safety concerns as well. The next up is getting a sampling roaster. This is really overkill for the home roaster unless you are planning to do this as a career.
Happy roasting!
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