[WTB] Huky 500T or Bullet R1 Roaster

[Jrodanapolis]

Hello Coffee Forums,
I'm looking for my first roaster, and am pretty set on either a Huky, Commodore or Bullet. They all seem like they're hard to come by. I'd prefer to get a used Huky because of the price, but am open to either option. I'm considering a Quest, but would like a bit higher capacity.
I live in Denver and would be more than happy to pay for shipping.
Are there any of you out there that would like to upgrade from your Huky or Bullet and would like to sell it to me?!
Thank you,
Jared

EDIT: Forgot about Commodore. Seems like another great option in my price range ($1000-3000ish)

 

[dchooo]

What is your budget and purpose for roasting? Is it just for home use? How much coffee do you consume?

 

[Musicphan]

If you have never roasted before I would probably recommend a step back and get the Behmor. Solid little roaster / good capacity and easy for the beginner. As a second roaster, I would consider what you're looking at... I own a Quest but as you mentioned its capacity is limited (I use for a sample roaster). IMO the Huky at $2400 is way overpriced.... I'm not sure what has driven that price point. I know in the past they were much less expensive but you also had to supply your own heat supply. The Bullet seems to hit a sweet spot however I'm not a fan of having to have a PC to roast. Take a look at Ton's video via Sweet Maria's youtube channel

 

[Jrodanapolis]

What is your budget and purpose for roasting? Is it just for home use? How much coffee do you consume?

Hey dchooo,
My budget would be in line with the different options - $800ish for a Quest, $1300ish for a Huky or $2800ish for a Bullet. My purpose is mainly to supply coffee for my girlfriend and I (my dad and a few of my friends love good coffee too, so I'd love to supply them once I get it down a bit). I've been spoiled with a friend in the coffee business for awhile, but he recently quit and we no longer get great pricing, and our palates have officially been ruined. We've tried cheaper options, but just can't go back to grocery store crap. We both worked from home a few weeks ago and ended up in Sweet Bloom (right down the street from our place in Denver) where I had my first natural processed Ethiopian, and it's all been over since then. I never had much interest in roasting, but now I can't stop reading and gathering info on how to make the best roasts. I was thinking I'd start smaller, and was originally looking at a Behmor, but the engineer in me said to step it up a notch or two and have a bit more control, hence the Huky idea. The bullet just looks awesome, and we have a couple laptops I could easily make work with either one (Artisan or RoasTime). I used to be a home brewer, and gave that up awhile back, but miss having that to look forward to and to share with friends and family. I've cut back on the beer quite a bit, but my $$ spent on coffee has gone up proportionally, especially with the gf moving in.

We consume about a 12 oz bag a week between the two of us... which would probably go up a bit (maybe a lot) if I was roasting. I wouldn't mind a couple batches back to back, but it would be really nice if I could pump out a couple pounds in a 1-2 hour session to give some away to friends and family.

Our dream has been to sell beef (dad is retired and now a rancher) and produce at a farmers market during retirement, and I've been thinking it would be pretty awesome to be able to sell fresh coffee with those things as well. I'm not sure it will ever get to that point, but with my budget, I'd rather get something I can change levers on, perfect, and hopefully end up with better than what a Behmor could give me.

That might have been more than you asked for, but hopefully that helps.

Thanks for letting me soak up all of the knowledge here and I hope to be contributing soon.

 

[Jrodanapolis]

Thanks Musicphan,
I was originally thinking I'd get the Behmor, but I have a feeling that I'd be unsatisfied and need more control about 3 days after getting started. I have it in the budget to spend a bit more, but I might be putting the carriage before the horse. What I know about roasting is only what I've read over the past month or so (a bit obsessively, might I add...), but have zero experience actually roasting. I've seen a few Huky's go around $1300-1400 lately, and I'd be happy to pay that if they came with the IR heat source.
The required computer does sound like a pain, I hadn't thought of that... but I am an engineer for a computer company, so I have quite a few lying around
I've watched a few of the SM videos, but I'll try to find the one you're talking about to get a little more info on it.

 

[Musicphan]

Jared - hopefully, you tried the Ethiopian Gesha Sweet Bloom had over the summer - spectacular! SB and Huck are my two favorite roasters in your hood... Koan one of the owners of Huck is a super nice guy!

I mention the PC because as we all know... sometimes PCs crap out/have issues, etc. Although I track everything via Artisian I don't rely on them to operate my roasters. To me, that's a bit of a downfall. And at the price point, they are asking for the Bullet I think it's overpriced. Your getting close to the price point of some of the imported Buckeye Roasters. I noticed the 'new' price of $2350 for the Huky and I find that crazy considering it is a mixture of parts & pieces (or once was... I haven't looked at them deeply in a long time). I personally opted for the Quest and added thermocouples - love the compact nature of the entire unit. I've put a TON of roasts on the thing... it needs a good cleaning but keeps on ticking. The Huky typically is used with a gas-burning element which gives you a bit more control over the electric versions. Honestly, on these smaller roasters, I think electric is fine but everyone has opinions on that. I certainly wouldn't want a commercial electric roaster but you are heating up a LOT more mass. The other smaller hobbies roaster to look at is the HotTop... IMO they are nice little units and have nice control.

But all that being said, I would still probably recommend the Behmor AB Plus at $400... while it's not uber difficult to roast, the biggest thing you will need to learn is how to taste coffee and develop your tasting skills. IMO that is more important & challenging than anything. If you can't taste what you roast is the $4K roaster really going to matter. And quite frankly, the Behmor's can be flipped for $300 all day long.

 

[Jrodanapolis]

Are you talking about "Chaka?!" That was exactly what I had during my recent visit... and then went back for a full bag of it this morning! As I mentioned in my reply to dchooo... this was the coffee that flipped my world upside down. I hadn't ever had anything like it before but from that day forward, I've started a new obsession. I used to have the Huck "coffee club" jar, which was also awesome. When my last coffee club jar ran out of refills, I decided I'd make it down to Sweet Bloom because I had heard such great things. Luckily for me, I'm right in the middle of the two. Awesome you know about those two! I haven't had the opportunity to meet Koan yet, but would love to sometime. I've spent a looooot of money there and for awhile it was my go-to gift for a friend or my dad when I was feeling like I had to share something exceptional. Very different than the Chaka, but Huck's Las Brisas was a staple in our house for a couple of months.

I agree that the Bullet seems overpriced. It is a bit expensive, especially for a first roaster, but it seems like a great "all in one" vs. the parts and pieces Huky, like you mentioned. I don't think I'd be too picky about electric vs. gas, like you said, for something this small, but the thought of gas and tinkering with all of the things that come with it seems fun to me.

There's a Quest on CoffeeGeek for $950 with no mods, which I was thinking might be a good compromise between the Bohmor and the Huky. Still get the control and can track my roasts, but as you said, it's compact, all in one, and I don't have to worry about gas.

Good point on the Behmor - I'd be able to flip it for not much less than I bought it for if I did go that route. I think I'll keep watching for something used, whether it's a Behmor, Quest, Huky or mayyyybe a Bullet, and if this hobby turns out to be more of a long term thing, I can always upgrade. But I do agree that I need to learn to taste coffee, which I haven't done a lot of past the "this is good/this is not as good" point.

I will, however, be tasting the crap out of the Chaka for the next week

 

[dchooo]

Hey dchooo,
My budget would be in line with the different options - $800ish for a Quest, $1300ish for a Huky or $2800ish for a Bullet. My purpose is mainly to supply coffee for my girlfriend and I (my dad and a few of my friends love good coffee too, so I'd love to supply them once I get it down a bit). I've been spoiled with a friend in the coffee business for awhile, but he recently quit and we no longer get great pricing, and our palates have officially been ruined. We've tried cheaper options, but just can't go back to grocery store crap. We both worked from home a few weeks ago and ended up in Sweet Bloom (right down the street from our place in Denver) where I had my first natural processed Ethiopian, and it's all been over since then. I never had much interest in roasting, but now I can't stop reading and gathering info on how to make the best roasts. I was thinking I'd start smaller, and was originally looking at a Behmor, but the engineer in me said to step it up a notch or two and have a bit more control, hence the Huky idea. The bullet just looks awesome, and we have a couple laptops I could easily make work with either one (Artisan or RoasTime). I used to be a home brewer, and gave that up awhile back, but miss having that to look forward to and to share with friends and family. I've cut back on the beer quite a bit, but my $$ spent on coffee has gone up proportionally, especially with the gf moving in.

We consume about a 12 oz bag a week between the two of us... which would probably go up a bit (maybe a lot) if I was roasting. I wouldn't mind a couple batches back to back, but it would be really nice if I could pump out a couple pounds in a 1-2 hour session to give some away to friends and family.

Our dream has been to sell beef (dad is retired and now a rancher) and produce at a farmers market during retirement, and I've been thinking it would be pretty awesome to be able to sell fresh coffee with those things as well. I'm not sure it will ever get to that point, but with my budget, I'd rather get something I can change levers on, perfect, and hopefully end up with better than what a Behmor could give me.

That might have been more than you asked for, but hopefully that helps.

Thanks for letting me soak up all of the knowledge here and I hope to be contributing soon.

That is fantastic!

In regards to making it into a small business, I don't think it will make sense to roast coffee for any commercial purposes; unless you have a crap ton of time laying around! It seems like your budget is pretty OPEN. Im guessing your just trying to find the right deal to come around.

If you are new to roasting, I would highly recommend that you try taking a class first. Usually they aren't too expensive and you can see if you will like it or not! (Roasters are not cheap.) Not only that, but the class should give you basic fundamental of what to look for and when starting to roast. I wouldn't spend more than like $150 per class, unless it's its like a hands on class where they actually walk you through the steps. In that case, I would recommend that you spend more money on a roaster and make tons of mistakes because that's how you learn.

If you're really set on getting a nice roasters, I don't recommend the quest. I started out on one and it was a fantastic roaster but jesus it was so finicky that I wasted so much time on it. You must understand that anything small is very susceptible to big changes and that HEAVILY influences temperature and taste in a smaller roaster. I must say that for home use, the Bullet R1 is the bees knees for the HOME ENTHUSIAST. It uses very sophisticated and advanced technology that it throws out the other electric roasters in the price range out the door. If you're looking to get an R1, get the V2.

When it comes to the Huky, get the 500T. I don't have much experience in it but have heard alot of good things about that roaster. It is a gas roaster so that must be nice because you can basically roast anywhere.

One last thing is don't forget to have a nice grinder to go with the roaster! What good is amazing coffee if all you have is a hario skerton hand grinder! You will grinding fooo dayzz! I have converted a kr804 ditting grinder into a somewhat single dose grinder and it works really well. Bought the dam thing for liike $280! I will send you some good deals so stay tuned brother.

Merry Christmas

 

[Jrodanapolis]

That is fantastic!

In regards to making it into a small business, I don't think it will make sense to roast coffee for any commercial purposes; unless you have a crap ton of time laying around! It seems like your budget is pretty OPEN. Im guessing your just trying to find the right deal to come around.

If you are new to roasting, I would highly recommend that you try taking a class first. Usually they aren't too expensive and you can see if you will like it or not! (Roasters are not cheap.) Not only that, but the class should give you basic fundamental of what to look for and when starting to roast. I wouldn't spend more than like $150 per class, unless it's its like a hands on class where they actually walk you through the steps. In that case, I would recommend that you spend more money on a roaster and make tons of mistakes because that's how you learn.

If you're really set on getting a nice roasters, I don't recommend the quest. I started out on one and it was a fantastic roaster but jesus it was so finicky that I wasted so much time on it. You must understand that anything small is very susceptible to big changes and that HEAVILY influences temperature and taste in a smaller roaster. I must say that for home use, the Bullet R1 is the bees knees for the HOME ENTHUSIAST. It uses very sophisticated and advanced technology that it throws out the other electric roasters in the price range out the door. If you're looking to get an R1, get the V2.

When it comes to the Huky, get the 500T. I don't have much experience in it but have heard alot of good things about that roaster. It is a gas roaster so that must be nice because you can basically roast anywhere.

One last thing is don't forget to have a nice grinder to go with the roaster! What good is amazing coffee if all you have is a hario skerton hand grinder! You will grinding fooo dayzz! I have converted a kr804 ditting grinder into a somewhat single dose grinder and it works really well. Bought the dam thing for liike $280! I will send you some good deals so stay tuned brother.

Merry Christmas

Thanks dchooo, you da man!

I have a cheap burr grinder... which is the next thing I need to upgrade. It's done the job for awhile, but I've been thinking about a Virtuoso or Encore only because I've heard great things about those for the price. I've been watching Craigslist, etc but haven't seen any ridiculous deals yet. There's a Mazzer Mini closeby for $350, but I know that's more of an espresso grinder. The Sette's look interesting... but same goes for those.

It seems like everything I've heard is spot on with what you have to say about the Quest. It might be a good step up from the Behmor in terms of learning heat/air, but if I could find a Huky 500T for $1300ish, I'd rather do that than a Quest shipped for $1000.

When I went into Sweet Bloom this morning, I looked at their class schedule, but they didn't have anything on roasting in the next month. I just looked at their website and they don't ever offer roasting classes, but they do have cupping classes for free. Unfortunately they're on Thursdays at noon, but I'll check some other places around town and see if I can find a roasting class.

Merry Christmas to you too and I'll be on the lookout for those deals! :wink:

 

[dchooo]

https://raleigh.craigslist.org/bfs/d/raleigh-used-huky-500t-500g-coffee/7034893676.html

Lemme know if you need anything shipped. I have a business acct with USPS and UPS and can get you discounted prices.

I will just need to know Shipping address and destination address. L x W x H and weight. Also, insurance, if you want any.

 

[Jrodanapolis]

https://raleigh.craigslist.org/bfs/d/raleigh-used-huky-500t-500g-coffee/7034893676.html

Lemme know if you need anything shipped. I have a business acct with USPS and UPS and can get you discounted prices.

I will just need to know Shipping address and destination address. L x W x H and weight. Also, insurance, if you want any.

Holy smokes - awesome find dchooo! I'm going to send this guy an email right now and see if he would be willing to go that route. Thank you so much! Just to confirm - are you local and would pick it up/ship it to me, or would I need to convince him to package/ship it and I could use your acct to get a discounted price?

Either way - you'll be compensated for your effort! Thank you again!

 

[dchooo]

nah. I'm in cali. Just work out the price and let the guy know that you're gonna need it shipped. (This is nice because all you need to negotiate is price. If shipping is out the equation, you save more doe.) As long as the guy is willing to package it nicely, I can handle it from there. Ill give you the prices. UPS will most likely be the cheapest for something that big. Just tell the guy that you will give him a label to just slap on the box and send to the nearest UPS (if we go with UPS) and that's it! (Make sure to get his address so I can input it on the shipping calculator)

No need to compensate me brother. Just pay the difference in shipping fees and we're all good!

FYI, shipping an EK43 from Florida to SoCal was $19, not insured. I think usually it would be like $75 or something like that. It was in the original box and I know that they can withstand the impact. Let me know brother.

Don

 

[Jrodanapolis]

You da man. I'll keep you posted - haven't gotten an email back from him yet but I sent him and email saying I was very interested, so hopefully he gets back to me this weekend sometime.

Have a good weekend and thanks again for all of the help :coffee-bean: