Finding the right-sized commercial coffee roaster is a balancing act that every business must get right before committing to a high-priced piece of gear. In this article, we will take a more detailed look at the pros and cons of common roaster sizes, including:
Sizes that come with necessary add-ons
The safest option for an expanding business
The ideal machine for those roasting in a current cafe or wholesale space
Should you make the cautionary undertaking of a smaller option or plan for potential growth with something much bigger? Lets dive in.
Commercial Coffee Roaster Sizes: An Overview of Options
Let's take a closer look at each of the roaster machine sizes to consider and what and who they are best suited for.
Sample Roaster
Capacity: 50500 grams
The smallest of the roasting options, the sample roaster is usually preferred by home enthusiasts developing their own bean selections to brew and commercial companies developing new coffee roast profiles in a smaller batch that produces less waste during the initial trial-and-error phase.
The usual 50500-gram capacity is helpful for professional roasters to experiment with recipes and test out blends before putting them through a larger machine. It is in no way a piece of equipment to be roasting bags and bags of single origins on. If you want more information about coffee bean mixer machine, go to our site, Coffee Pro Direct.
Small Batch Roaster
Capacity: 1.3 kg (2.6 lb)
This machine range is traditionally perfect for coffee shops looking to roast for their own brew bars or other small roastery ventures. Roasting at capacity can produce around 2030 kg (4050 lb) of beans over an 89-hour workday, depending on how long it takes the coffee to cool between cycles.
Like most high-powered equipment, there is always room to learn and adapt. Small batch machines give those at the helm experience with more cycles than larger builds, but this can also lead to more inconsistencies across roast profiles.
Many cafes begin their in-house roasting journey at this range, but it is important to consider all the other costs that come into play, such as ventilation, proper training, and permitted environmental adjustments to the building.
The Bellwether machine is the best choice around this range (and above), as it plugs straight into the wall and provides delicious coffee from day one with no need for special venting or permits. And thanks to the automated, hands-off roasting technology, cafes and growing roasting companies can get the same output and efficiency they might expect from a larger 6kg roaster.
Small Commercial Roaster
Capacity: 515 kg (1130 lb)
Moving up the scale, a small commercial roasting machine can accommodate batch sizes between 5 and 15 kg (11 and 30 lb). With a well-organized schedule of 1117 minute roasting cycles, you can create around 34 batches per hour, or 150350 kg (330770 lb) over a sensible shift. Thats a lot of beans with plenty of wiggle room!
This is a great roaster size for ambitious roasters who have more than a handful of wholesale clients and are ready to make the investment into larger batch sizes to meet demand.
This machine might not be the smallest one to start with, but it is a solid investment if approached with knowledge and an intention for growth. Roasters who have moved on to larger machines usually keep these machines to develop their single origin, special editions, as well as test smaller batches before going industrial.
As we noted, technology-enabled roasters mean you can get the output and efficiency of larger machines at a smaller size. For example, the Bellwether Roaster, a high-tech alternative to the traditional gas roaster, can yield 6 lbs per roast with 3 cycles per hour, producing around an 18 lb roast capacity result in that timemore than enough coffee to supply 13 cafes and a roaster of wholesale clients.
Medium Commercial Roaster
Capacity: 1530 kg (3066 lb)
Equipment with the intention of roasting 15‑30 kg (30‑66 lb) of coffee is classified as a medium machine, but it is actually quite larger than most cafes and roasters need. They can produce around 740 kg (1,630 lb) of volume per day.
Roasters like these on the size scale are where an adequate amount of space is required and permits need to be considered. Youll need to plan not only the space for the roaster but also necessities like storage space for all the greens before roasting. You will likely have to adjust the building around it for proper ventilation and environmental noise.
These machines are excellent choices for wholesalers and online e-commerce businesses that have already gained a serious following of caffeine drinkers. It is an unlikely choice for those starting off, but a better pairing for businesses looking to move up the weekly production ladder from kilograms to tons.
Large, Extra Large, and Beyond
Capacity: 3070 kg (66154 lb) and beyond
The larger the roasting machine, the more volume it demands and satisfies. 30 kg to around 70 kg machines are categorized as large roasters. Extra-large will produce over 70 kg in a single batch.
Both of these sizes also come with a plethora of extra commitments. These are the impressive builds that require a large amount of space, ventilation, ample gas connections, maintenance, and a team of experienced staff.
You might even need to specifically construct a dedicated roasting facility for these metal monsters. However, the large versions alone can produce well over a whopping one ton of coffee beans a day!
Large and extra-large roasters are a huge financial commitment (and investment) and are best reserved for companies with a large national or international consumer base. If youve spotted a brand on more than a few hundred street corners, you can expect them to have a fleet of these machines under their (coffee) belt.
