by HughF » Sun Nov 16, 2003 6:55 pm
The person given an I-Roast to review said "many roasts" had been done during testing but described only four.
I often do three HWP roasts in just one evening!
The I-Roast could still be very good, notwithstanding this review...
Personally, I wanted a roaster able to deliver a slower roast than the HWP to get a bit more body and less acidity for espresso blends BUT with no need for (less repeatable) dial-twiddling until near the end of the roast. (I may also want to roast fast for cafetiere use sometimes, depending on the single bean I'm roasting.)
I do not want to have to add large, heavy extra boxes such as variacs onto the roaster to achieve this - due to (many) pets everything will need to be put away after use.
Phil has put my mind at rest over smoke from the Hottop but it's still too expensive for me if there are any decent cheaper alternatives - even if they are not as good.
Nonetheless, I am beginning to think that Hottop fans may be backing a manufacturer with a better grasp of marketing than Hearthware which is something I wouldn't have dreamt of saying a day or two ago.
Cheers,
Hugh
Grinders : Macap MXK conical for espresso, Mahlkoenig Vario for Chemex, Macap MC6 (spare when our office was closed) for cafetiere, Zassenhaus Knee Mill for cafetiere when working away from home.
La Spaziale Vivaldi S1 espresso machine. HotTop KN8828P roaster. Chemex manual drip for most brewed coffee plus cafetieres and eSantos.