What equipment is a MUST HAVE for starting a coffee roasting business?

[jaredgibson87]

So, I've been doing internet searches for the last couple of days about what equipment one would need when starting up a coffee roasting business. The coffee roaster is a no-brainer, but I'm not really finding much else on the subject; perhaps I'm not stroking Google the right way or I'm in fact too dumb to use a computer and/or run a business. I'm fairly certain I'd need an espresso machine and other brewing machines/contraptions (French press, drip machine, etc), a coffee grinder, a scale of some sort, and coffee bags and lables, as well as whatever ventilation the local authorities dictate. And a three-compartment sink, mop sink, hand washing sink, dishwasher, and such are probably required as well. But can the coffee roasters among us chime in on whatever equipment is required/needed/extremely useful?

 

[CoffeeJunky]

You have listed most of the items. It would be much easier to answer if you can ask specific question.
Also there are tons of thread regarding to this subject.

 

[topher]

How bout for starters...what kind of roasting business are you looking to start? Do you want only retail? Maybe just wholesale? Possibly both? What kind of volume do you think you are going to be doing? That is important on what equipment you will need ie. hand bagging or machine..Let us know and I am sure we can steer you in the right direction.

 

[PinkRose]

Jared,

We have lots of threads about starting a roasting business, and we have several people on this Forum who have done it recently.

Judging from your post, it seems like you're planning on starting a combination roastery and coffee shop. Is that what you're thinking about doing?

If I'm not mistaken, I recall that you mentioned recently that you were just getting started with home roasting. It's quite a jump to go from roasting at home (smoking up the house) and wanting to start your own roastery.

As we've mentioned, we have lots of threads about starting a roastery or cafe. Take some time and explore, and you'll learn a lot.

One of our members, (eldub) recently went through the whole process of opening up a roastery, with a lot of success - after a whole lot of work, money, time, and effort. You may want to explore some of his posts.

Rose

 

[Redswing]

Here's a list of stuff I bought, small side business style, just roasting:

6 lb roaster
decent scale
hand held heat sealer for...
12-16 oz bags, 5 lb bags, sample bags and...
labels for each
3 120lb bags of green beans to start(colombian decaf, washed guat, natural ethiopia)
rattleware scoop
storage containers for preping green beans for roasting and bagging
propane tank and gas fittings
vent pipe
invoice pad, ledger
ficticious business statement and dba
grease guns for the roaster
business checking account

Add in the green bean purchases I've made after the start and it totals around 16k. Now I am eyeing a nice grinder and a decent espresso machine, along with trying to figure out how I can get situated in a legit location.

 

[IslandRoast]

How bout for starters...what kind of roasting business are you looking to start? Do you want only retail? Maybe just wholesale? Possibly both? What kind of volume do you think you are going to be doing? That is important on what equipment you will need ie. hand bagging or machine..Let us know and I am sure we can steer you in the right direction.

These are the questions you should have asked yourself and know the answers. I started a roasting business knowing I wanted to do retail and wholesale so I purchased what I thought I would need to do both, including setting up a website. You also have to decide how big you want to become. If you just want to sell at local farmers markets you don't need all of the equipment someone that wants to supply coffee shops, restaurants, specialty stores, internet and local retail will need. It's not a cheap business to get up and running.