Brief Roaster Comparison

Someone had asked about three different coffee roasters as their next possible purchase. I had written a comparison in an attempt to be helpful and my friend Vicki suggested that it would make a good post for the blog. It is below.

The Gene Cafe (~$500) used to be my primary roaster and I very much enjoyed the roasts including the brightness that could be achieved. Just shy of 225 pounds of coffee were roasted in that Gene Cafe and it was a great tool for learning to roast given the amount of control one has with that roaster. One does have to learn to anticipate when to initiate the cooling cycle to account for roast coast. Initiating the immediate stop and cooling externally is also an option with the Gene Cafe and rather easy to execute. If your Gene Cafe has had time to dry out, you may want to check the fuse located in the back next to the power cord; internal parts are available and the Gene Cafe is fairly simple to take apart and reassemble. The Gene Cafe still takes up residence here, but its roasting duties have been replaced by an RK Drum and the roasts are quite excellent when the operator is paying attention.

The Hottop is an excellent roaster, has about the same capacity as the Gene Cafe (1/2 pound +), a much better cooling method and a reputation for durability. The models B and P will also give you a great amount of control over the roast with the ability to save and repeat roasting profiles, but they are on the higher end of the scale when it comes to price (~$730 and ~930 respectively). Another benefit to these roasters is that they have historically allowed for an upgrade path without having to replace the entire roaster. The resulting roasts of the Hottop are very much as one would expect from a drum. One can still obtain bright roasts if desired, especially with profile control, but it is different and very enjoyable. Parts are readily available and the Hottop does require some periodic filter replacements

The Behmor can also handily roast the same capacity as the Gene Cafe and the Hottop, but it also has the ability to roast up to full pound. The interface provides for a bit more automation and the ability to repeat profiles, but at a much lower price point than either the Gene Cafe or Hottop (~$300). Cooling with the Behmor is similar to that of the Gene Cafe in that you must anticipate desired roast level and allow for a bit of roast coast; other things can be done to expedite the cooling cycle. Visibility is somewhat obscured, but the beans are still visible and there are some modifications one can perform without voiding the warranty to allow for greater visibility. For a small fee ~$20.00, an optional fine mesh drum is available for roasting the smaller types of beans. The flavor characteristics are those of a drum roaster and some roasts produced by the Behmor have been quite similar to those of the RK Drum with careful consideration during setup of the roasting profile and assisting the cooling.

The drum roasters seem to excel at developing the deeper, darker flavors (chocolates, caramels, currents, raisin, plum, tobacco, etc.) whereas the air roasters seem to accentuate the brighter notes (lemon, orange, tangerine, cherry, etc.) Absolutely both types of roasters can develop both "sets" of the aforementioned flavors and more, especially with excellent profile control, but differently.

I hope this is helpful ...