from Hacker News

Hive Roaster Handheld Smoke Incinerating Coffee Roaster

by p4bl0 on 2/24/25, 7:34 AM with 6 comments

• by SamBam on 2/26/25, 2:19 AM

  Neat, although I had to go watch the video to understand how the thing worked, and even then they only showed it working at the very end of the video. I found that odd.

  A single photo of the roaster over a gas stove on the main page would have made everything clearer. I feel like the creators have used this so much that they just assume it's obvious to everyone.

• by daveguy on 2/26/25, 7:04 PM

  I'm curious as to whether this would really make better coffee. Is fresh roasted from green beans a better cup? Is their regular roaster worth getting vs the digital one? Do green coffee beans last longer? Where do you get green coffee beans?

  Does anyone have firsthand experience with this product that is not associated with the company?

  So far what I've learned from the faq, unrelated to my original questions:

  A gas heater source is preferred but not required (particularly single burner camp stoves work well).

  Apparently smoke production (release, capture, generation?) is one of the most important variables. (Which is something this addresses?)

  So far that's what I got. The rest of the faq seems more concerned about taxes and shipping. If someone (or an employee) with personal experience can answer the first questions, it would be appreciated. My wife enjoys her coffee and her birthday is coming up soon. :)

• by Dig1t on 2/26/25, 2:05 AM

  >All items proudly made by hand in USA

  >Now available in London England!

  lol this is a little confusing.

  This is really cool though, it's great to see stuff like this which is made in the USA. I would love to see what their manufacturing setup looks like.

• by jumarm on 2/26/25, 1:41 AM

  This is somewhat unrelated but in the two weeks in London Labour and Wait (where this coffee roaster is available in-p) is one of the best shops for high quality home goods and tactile experiences. I spent a ton of time in the Shoreditch location.

  I haven't found a true analogue in SF but the closest experience-wise is Bernal Cutlery on Valencia.

• by kcplate on 2/26/25, 4:10 AM

  Now just need to wait for the James Hoffman video to tell me how irritating he finds it and how awful the coffee it roasts is.