****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
This roaster is a replacement for my previous non-programmable Hottop (KN-8828B) that I had been using for the last 6 years. The delivery service was satisfactory as usual with Amazon and Amazon partners. It arrived in one piece but did seem to take a few days longer to receive than other purchases shipped directly from Amazon. Not really an issue in my mind, and certainly not something that directly involves the roaster's performance. Also, I had to pay for shipping (yeah, I know I always pay for it in some manner) which is a bummer. That just takes that psychological satisfaction level down a peg when normally purchases over $25 from Amazon ship for "free". My previous roaster served me very well. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to start home roasting coffee, and would rate that model KN-8828B, (newer non-programmable model is the KN-8828B-2K) 4+ stars. It is simple to use, quiet, and will yield about 6.5 ounces of roasted coffee per roast ( I like darker roasts, so you lose a little more moisture/weight from the bean than with light roasts). I detract a star for the plastic construction that failed (namely, the base and almost all of the internal plastic screw mounts that became brittle and broke, and the control panel input actuators on the inside of the control panel). I probably did over 700 roasts in that 6 year period, so that machine cost about a $1.30 per roast, plus the filter replacements. All the other components seemed fine, and I've ordered the replacement parts to get the old roaster up and running again. The non-programmable model was very easy to use, and allowed for complete control over the roast inputs (cooling fan, temperature, and to an extent time) throughout the roast cycle. The P model does not. It requires you to input a roast profile into 8 segments, and then you are pretty much constrained to those settings during the roast. You can change the heat settings, but not the cooling fan or the roast times within the roasting segments. It is not too difficult to program, but it's just much more involved than I believe is necessary. I went with the P model as it was the only model Amazon offered, and they gave me a year to pay for it with no interest, which is nice rather than plunking down nearly $1200 (for me, just another psychological thing). If they had offered the B-2K model, I would have purchased it instead. If you're considering between the two models, do not think of the P model as a "better" unit. It's not. It's the same machine in all respects other than it let's you store 8 roast profiles at the expense of limiting your ability to change critical inputs during the roast. Maybe it's just because I was very used to the first model, which does also allow you to store three roast profiles without having to program each segment. It has more control panel images (just basic idiot lights, not fancy or high tech so there's no ooh-ahhh factor) that do not really add any value to the roast as compared to the non-prog model. Home coffee roasting is all about developing your coffee to your preferred roast style (taste). That is a factor of roast time and temperature, and will normally require you to be able to adjust the roaster settings to compensate for differences in the type of bean, outside temperature and humidity (I roast outside). Despite the constraints, I've managed to produce some good roasts at the expense of losing a few while learning how to deal with the programming issues. So what you are paying for in the P model is over $400.00 of computer circuit board and a few extra wires that do not improve the coffee roast or the roasting experience. Overall, construction Is pretty much like my old roaster, it's just more expensive and without the same level of control.
