Buying first commercial roaster

[Jettore]

Ok, so this has probably been asked a thousand times but I'll give it another go. I'm seriously considering starting a roasting business. Now, I have no background in coffee roasting so I know I have a steep learning curve but I'm up for it. I want to start out very small and figure on a few months at least learning how to roast. I'm looking for ideas for my first roaster and I'm hoping for something that would still be useful to keep if I were to scale up to a larger system later. Initially once I can produce quality coffee I would be looking to produce quantities for farmers markets, friends and a couple coffee shops. I've been looking at sample, 1lb and 2lb options using natural gas. It would be great if the type of roaster were the same as the larger units so i could transfer my knowledge learned to it. Budget for the roaster would be $3000. I'd like to get my entire production system operation for $5000 if possible but I'm still in the learning process of everything else I need to buy.

I'd appreciate any insight or recommendations on roasters to research more and yes I am reading as much as I can everyday.

Thanks.

 

[eldub]

If you grow larger and you need to increase capacity, you can always use your 1-2 lb unit as a sample roaster.

Once you learn the basics of roasting, I'm guessing you will be able to move up to a larger machine of a different brand with little or no problem.

 

[Jettore]

That's what I was thinking also. Was looking at the Sonofresco 2lb, but it seems I can't change the bean amount for sampling. Also not a drum roaster. Positive note, it's very easy to get started and replacement parts are available

Also have been looking at the Ebay Roasters Choice 1000. Still reading reviews on this one.

I'm open to used also, but so far smaller systems seem to be harder to find used.

 

[Hankua]

I have a sample roaster and they are very pricy with small capacity. The Huky500 is 1/3 the price and can roast 1lb no problem. It's a Probat style machine all manual heat and air control; can experiment with profile.

 

[krivera1]

I recently purchased a used Coffee-Tech Torrefattore Auto 1kg roaster - built like a tank and exceptional performance (my baseline is the Gene-Cafe I've been using for 6 years). Here's a manual version of the Torrefattore that I had run across - pricing seems maybe a little high, but maybe you can talk them down.

pensacola.craigslist.org/bfd/3579445683.html

 

[coffeemachines111]

USA Local coffee roaster is very expensive, coffee-tech price most of people can not afford. I found NORTH COFFEE roaster is intersting and intend to purchase 1kg next week. price is reasonable....

 

[CoffeeJunky]

I recently purchased a used Coffee-Tech Torrefattore Auto 1kg roaster - built like a tank and exceptional performance (my baseline is the Gene-Cafe I've been using for 6 years). Here's a manual version of the Torrefattore that I had run across - pricing seems maybe a little high, but maybe you can talk them down.

pensacola.craigslist.org/bfd/3579445683.html

I looked at this roaster few years back.
It has electric heating elements and they are pretty weak. Also their cooling tray can be problem if you are not able get the beans cooled quickly.
I didn't think this roaster was really for the higher volume commercial use. It you are just roasting 10-50 pounds a week. This will work but if you planning on roasting more then 3 day a week, this roaster might not work for you..... Takes too long....

 

[topher]

Hey Coffeemachine111, What is "USA Local coffee roaster"? You sure you don't work for NORTH COFFEE?

 

[CoffeeJunky]

North Coffee is another Chinese brand roaster.... I think.

 

[Jettore]

I looked at this roaster few years back.
It has electric heating elements and they are pretty weak. Also their cooling tray can be problem if you are not able get the beans cooled quickly.
I didn't think this roaster was really for the higher volume commercial use. It you are just roasting 10-50 pounds a week. This will work but if you planning on roasting more then 3 day a week, this roaster might not work for you..... Takes too long....

Thanks for the info. That's what I have been reading about with electric so I have not been researching them much. Plus I don't have any issues with using gas at my location so that's the direction I'm going.

I would expect more then 50 pounds a week production from this system which is starting to make me rethink my initial budget and probably increase it. Here's a bit more info on our plan since I probably didn't spell it out well in the first post, maybe more info will help. There are 3 people involved in business plan, none with coffee roasting experience but lots of other business experience to bring to the table. One person will be full time working on this, so once we can produce a quality product I expect initial roasting to be 3 days a week. We want to self fund a complete micro setup initially, and then once we have a better understanding of the business go out looking for investors to go larger scale. With this first roaster purchase I want to make sure we buy a system that will be useful for us for a long time to come as a sample roaster. I'm currently researching the 1k and 2k Ozturks on Ebay. Can a 2k be used for sample sized roasting with good results?

 

[topher]

I used a 2k for sample roasting....I miss that roaster! It was a complete duplicate to my 10 and 60 k! So we would experiment on the 2 and could replicate on the larger roasters. I would love to have one for the house!!

 

[coffeemachines111]

Me??? I am from MI and i will open new cafe shop soon and i ordered 1kg coffee roasting machine from NORTH COFFEE, they will ship me at this weekend.... My wife just came back from China, he checked North Coffee roaster, she took some pictures for me and very nice roaster i like

 

[CoffeeJunky]

Me??? I am from MI and i will open new cafe shop soon and i ordered 1kg coffee roasting machine from NORTH COFFEE, they will ship me at this weekend.... My wife just came back from China, he checked North Coffee roaster, she took some pictures for me and very nice roaster i like

Hello fellow Michigander.... I don't think there is anything wrong with Chinese Roasters. But one thing you have careful about is the after service. It will take very long time to get your parts and service advise. It is pretty roaster from the picture I saw on Alibaba.com
I hope it works out well..
Where in Michigan, I would love to come and take a look at it when you get them.

 

[topher]

CJ hit it on the nose. I had a Toper roaster that I had to get the parts from Turkey. Motor burned out and it was a nightmare to get it shipped. I am sure they have modified their policies since then. My 60 kilo Ambex is awesome...it has all american parts and the motors can be replace via Grainger. Good luck and let us know how it works out for you.

 

[CoffeeJunky]

CJ hit it on the nose. I had a Toper roaster that I had to get the parts from Turkey. Motor burned out and it was a nightmare to get it shipped. I am sure they have modified their policies since then. My 60 kilo Ambex is awesome...it has all american parts and the motors can be replace via Grainger. Good luck and let us know how it works out for you.

Topher: since he is in michigan, there are tons of great machine shops here. I am sure the parts can be duplicated if needed. I just want to see it myself since we heard about them all along but seeing would make me a believer of it.... I have spoken to people at Ambex, I think guys at Ambex are great. I would not hesitate to purchase Ambex machine.....