What is the best coffee roasting machine for a small coffee shop? Should I go with an automatic one or a manual one? I will be only roasting for my coffee shop usage.
You can check the answer of the people under the question at Quora “coffee roaster for small business“
I would say an automatic espresso machine is ideal and a regular coffee brewer is the most sufficient! It’s also boring! Pour overs and French presses are the other options for less coffee! Don’t let your coffee sit too long and always grind it right before brewing it!!
I have roasted coffee for my own home use and found it an interesting and rewarding pastime. I appreciate the difference between freshly roasted coffee and the commercial product.
I have no knowledge of commercial roasters (my West Bend popcorn popper did well enough for me), but I would suggest an automatic roaster. You are not doing it as a hobby, and time is money.
If you are going to go through the trouble of sourcing, buying, and roasting your own beans, why even consider an auto-roaster? Profiling a roast is how you “nail” the best roast for a particular bean. Autos, while adjustable, cannot do the job of a roaster with skill and experience. Learn to roast with a basic machine, then when you outgrow it (in either volume or features), you’ll easily be able to sell it and get a top-end unit to match your needs. Roasting is addicting, so prepare to get sucked in as you roast some of the best (and maybe even some of the worst) coffee you have ever had.
Most shops find that although they only plan to roast for the shop, others will ask for beans to sell in their stores, to get a custom blend for a restaurant, or to get your shop’s coffee via a subscription. Many shops find that their own shops generate more traffic when they sell some coffee outside of the shop.
You haven’t said how big your shop is—that is, how much coffee you actually go through in a day or week. Get too small a roaster and you will be running it every day for hours in order to keep up. A “small” roaster for a small shop would generally be a 2–3kg model (5–6 pounds) and would be run by the roastmaster 1–3 days per week, depending on sales. Most find a 5–7kg unit to be a better fit as you can always roast a smaller batch in a larger roaster, but you always have to run more roasts (more time) if you need more coffee out of a smaller roaster.
Find someone like U.S. Roasters, out of Oklahoma, to build you a roaster and give all the use and maintenance tips. Get the additional accessories so you can attach a computer to remember profiles and allow you to more easily reproduce them or tweak them for slightly different beans. It is almost like “auto,” but you are still in control and can take it fully manual any time. Spend time with a master roaster learning how to really roast. Keep a complete and up to date log of your roasts. Cup.cup.cup.
In house roasting sets your shop apart from others. Research it deeply and do it right. When you buy what you need and buy quality, you only cry once.
Unless you’re really into the hobby, the art & science of hand-roasting each batch of coffee beans (time consuming, and results vary) I’d suggest a good affordable profile roaster. The technology available to small shop owners is better and smaller and more advanced than it used to be, especially if you’re not roasting on a large scale, but want professional-grade results.
I highly recommend a Sonofresco roaster. Ideal for a small coffee shop.
Coffee Roasters – Lease or Buy Coffee Roasters Online
It depends very much on how much roasted beans you need per day. Look at the website of some manufacturers, e.g. Diedrich . I had one of theirs and it was good. Other than that I have no relation to that company. They have quite a range of roasters with various levels of capacity. Since you want to serve coffee as well not not be too much occupied with roasting, try to limit your roasting to twice a day or so. The incredible smell will expand well beyond your shop and attract coffee lovers.
The roasting process last only around 15 minutes, so I don’t think to invest into an automatic is really necessary.