Choosing a Home Coffee Roaster

Roasting your own coffee at home is one of the most rewarding ways to explore the full range of what coffee has to offer. But before you buy a roaster, it helps to understand that not all roasters work the same way — and the type of roaster you choose will shape the kind of coffee you produce.

This guide is written for home roasters. It covers the three main categories of roasters available to enthusiasts, the practical factors that should influence your decision, and perhaps the most personal factor of all: matching a roaster to the kind of coffee you enjoy drinking.

Table of Contents

The Three Roaster Categories

Coffee roasters transfer heat to green coffee beans using different methods. The way heat is delivered — and how beans move during roasting — affects the flavor, body, and clarity of the final cup. There are three broad categories relevant to home roasting.

Fluid Bed Roasters

Fluid bed roasters — also called air roasters — use a stream of hot air to both heat and agitate the beans. The beans are suspended in the airflow, similar to how popcorn pops in an air popper. This means convection is the primary method of heat transfer.

Because the beans are in constant motion and heated primarily by air, fluid bed roasters are often associated with coffees that highlight origin character and clarity. The rapid, even heat transfer minimizes the risk of scorching and tipping. That said, the roast profile you choose matters far more than the machine type — skilled roasters produce the full spectrum of flavors on fluid bed roasters.

Examples: FreshRoast SR500/SR800, LINK (by Kaffelogic/Nucleus)

Source documentation:

Hybrid Roasters

Hybrid roasters are designed to combine the efficiency of air roasting with the even bean movement of a drum. They are often highly automated and built for consistency, making them popular among competition baristas and roasteries that value repeatability.

Examples: Roest S100/L100, Stronghold S7 series

Source documentation:

Drum Roasters

Drum roasters are the most traditional design. Beans rotate inside a heated drum, receiving heat through both conduction (contact with the hot drum surface) and convection (hot air passing through the drum). The combination of conductive and convective heat gives drum roasters a wide range of expressiveness — they are capable of producing everything from bright, clean, acidic profiles to deep, caramelized, body-forward roasts, depending on how they are operated. They offer a wide range of control but generally have a steeper learning curve.

Examples: Behmor 1600 Plus, Aillio Bullet R1, Kaleido Sniper series

Source documentation:

Comparison Table

Factor Fluid Bed Hybrid Drum
Primary heat transfer Convective (hot air) Convective + conductive/radiant Conductive + convective
Typical batch size (home roasters) 50–225g 50–850g 100g–1kg+
110V/120V power constraint Significant (limits batch size) Moderate Moderate
Learning curve Low–medium Low (automated) Medium–high
Software support Minimal (manual) Built-in apps + cloud Artisan, Cropster, RoastWorld
Typical price range $300–$2,000 $10,000–$17,000+ $350–$5,300+

Decision Factors

Cost

Home roasters span a wide price range. Here is how the market generally breaks down:

  • Entry tier (~$200–$800): Machines like the FreshRoast SR800 and Behmor 1600 Plus. These are great for learning the basics and producing good coffee at home without a major investment.
  • Mid-range (~$1,000–$2,500): Machines like the Kaleido Sniper M-series, the LINK, and the Hottop KN-8828B-2K+. These offer significantly more control, better build quality, and software support.
  • High-end prosumer (~$4,000–$17,000+): Machines like the Aillio Bullet R2, Stronghold S7 Pro, and Roest sample roasters. These approach (or reach) commercial-grade performance and are used by competition baristas and professional roasters. Note that this tier has drifted upward: the Bullet’s current models start around $4,100, and the Stronghold S7 Pro is a five-figure machine.

The right choice depends on how serious you are about roasting, how much coffee you plan to roast, and whether you value automation or hands-on control.

Workflow and Batch Size

How much coffee do you roast in a typical session? This is one of the most practical questions to answer before buying.

Batch size considerations:

  • If you drink one or two cups a day, a roaster that handles 100–200g per batch is sufficient.
  • If you roast for a household or share with friends, you may want 300g–1kg capacity.
  • Larger batches mean fewer roasting sessions per week, but the machines that handle them tend to be more expensive.

Electrical constraints on 110V/120V: In the US, standard household outlets (110V/120V) are limited to about 1,500–1,800W. This has a real impact on fluid bed roasters, which rely entirely on electrical heating elements. On 110V/120V, a fluid bed roaster may need to run smaller batches to maintain adequate bean agitation and heat transfer. Drum roasters are less affected because the drum retains heat and continues to transfer it even when the heating element cycles.

Some roasters offer 240V configurations. While 240V is less common in US homes, it is becoming more accessible as electric vehicle chargers are installed in garages. A 240V circuit roughly doubles the available power, which can significantly improve batch size and heat responsiveness — particularly for fluid bed and hybrid roasters. If you have access to 240V (or are willing to install a dedicated circuit), it expands your options considerably.

Other workflow factors:

  • Cool-down time: How quickly does the roaster cool beans after the roast? Faster cooling means you can roast back-to-back batches.
  • Chaff management: Fluid bed roasters collect chaff in a separate basket. Drum roasters may require more frequent cleaning.
  • Smoke: Darker roasts produce more smoke. Some roasters (like the Behmor 1600 Plus) include built-in smoke suppression, which matters if you roast indoors.

Automation and Software Support

What is roast profiling?

Roast profiling is the practice of recording and reproducing the temperature curve of a roast over time. A roast profile typically tracks:

  • Bean temperature (BT): The temperature of the coffee beans themselves.
  • Environmental temperature (ET): The temperature of the air inside the roasting chamber.
  • Rate of rise (RoR): How quickly the bean temperature is increasing, measured in degrees per minute.

Why does this matter? Because a great roast is not just about hitting a certain color or time — it is about controlling the rate at which heat is applied. A well-managed RoR curve helps you avoid underdeveloped or baked coffees, and it lets you reproduce a roast you loved last week. Profiling turns roasting from guesswork into a repeatable process.

The software ecosystem:

  • Artisan — Free, open-source roast profiling software. Widely supported across many roaster brands. Requires a computer and, in some cases, additional hardware (thermocouples, Phidgets) to connect. Highly customizable but has a learning curve.
  • Cropster — Commercial-grade roast profiling and production management software. Used by many professional roasteries. Offers a home roaster tier. More polished than Artisan but comes with a subscription cost.
  • RoastWorld — Cloud-based platform for logging, sharing, and comparing roast profiles. Native to the Aillio Bullet ecosystem but accessible to other roasters. Strong community features.
  • Built-in apps — Many modern roasters include their own software:
    • Aillio RoasTime — Native software for the Bullet R1, with profile logging and playback.
    • Stronghold Roastware — Embedded software with program roasting, manual mode, and profile sharing via Stronghold Square.
    • Roest Connect — Web portal for Roest roasters with profile library and remote control.
    • LINK App / LINK Studio — Mobile app and desktop software for the LINK roaster, with 205+ preloaded profiles and live tracking.
    • Kaleido Intelligent Roasting System — Touchscreen interface with profile saving and Artisan compatibility on Pro models.

Machine Examples by Price Tier

Entry Tier (~$200–$800)

FreshRoast SR800 (Fluid Bed)

Price: ~$299–$334 | Batch: 170–226g (4 oz minimum) | Power: 120V, 1600W

The FreshRoast SR800 is one of the most popular entry-level roasters. It features a glass roasting chamber so you can watch the beans throughout the process, nine levels of heat and fan control, and a built-in temperature readout.

Pros:

  • Affordable and widely available
  • Visible roasting process — great for learning
  • Nine levels of heat and fan adjustment
  • Quick roast times (4–10 minutes)
  • Easy chaff management

Cons:

  • Small batch size (max ~226g)
  • No software support — you profile by ear, sight, and notes
  • Smoke management is limited; ventilation recommended
  • Some users report fan wear after extended use

Note on the power spec: The manufacturer (Home Roasting Supplies) states a 1600W heating element, and Williams Brewing lists 1600W with a 15A requirement. Roastmasters lists 1750W. No official spec sheet resolves the conflict — the SR800 operating instructions contain no electrical rating at all — so we use the manufacturer’s figure. The manufacturer separately recommends a 20A circuit.

FreshRoast SR800 — manufacturer product page · Sweet Maria’s

Reviews: The Bolder Brew · Roasters Space

Behmor 1600 Plus (Drum)

Price: ~$350–$450 | Batch: Up to 454g (optimal ~227g) | Power: 110V/120V, 1630W

The Behmor 1600 Plus is a drum roaster designed for home use. It offers preset roast profiles for beginners, manual override for more experienced roasters, and a built-in catalytic smoke suppression system that makes indoor roasting more practical.

Pros:

  • Largest batch capacity in its price range (up to 1 lb / 454g)
  • Built-in smoke suppression
  • Preset profiles make early learning easier
  • Strong community and learning resources
  • Relatively quiet compared to air roasters

Cons:

  • No real-time temperature display
  • Manual control requires practice and note-taking
  • Bulky footprint for a countertop appliance
  • Cooling cycle could be more powerful
  • Chaff management is less than ideal

Behmor 1600 Plus

Reviews: BrewSift · Coffee Dino · Coffee Roasting at Home

Mid-Range (~$1,000–$2,500)

Kaleido Sniper M2 Pro / M2 LITE (Drum)

M2 Pro: $1,879 (discontinued) | M2 LITE: ~$1,199–$1,299 | Batch: 50–400g (M2 Pro) | Power: 1600W @ 120V, dedicated 15A circuit

Note: The M2 Pro has been discontinued and is sold out — Kaleido’s US distributor now directs buyers to the M2 LITE, which ships in the equivalent of the M2 Pro configuration. Be careful with spec sheets for this machine: Kaleido’s factory-direct listings quote heating capacities of 500W and 800W (sometimes both on the same page), and the US product page carries a leftover “600W” block with dimensions that belong to the smaller M1. The figure that is consistently confirmed for the North American M2 by the official distributor’s electrical-requirements table is 1600W at 120V.

The Kaleido Sniper M2 series is a drum roaster that uses a dual heating system: infrared heating elements combined with hot air circulation through a stainless steel mesh drum. The Pro configuration is compatible with Artisan for real-time profile logging and control.

On categorization: While the Kaleido uses a rotating drum and is categorized here as a drum roaster, its heating system combines direct infrared (radiant) heat with convective hot air circulation. This gives it some characteristics of a hybrid design, though the drum contact and rotation place it firmly in the drum category.

Pros:

  • Artisan compatible (Pro version)
  • Dual heating: infrared + hot air for responsive control
  • Touchscreen with Kaleido Intelligent Roasting System
  • Sealed bean chamber for more uniform roasting
  • Fast cooling (2–3 minutes)
  • Illuminated trier for monitoring roast progress

Cons:

  • Smaller brand community compared to Aillio
  • 110V/120V models require a dedicated 15A circuit
  • Heating elements ship uninstalled (user installation required)
  • Less third-party review coverage

Kaleido M2 LITE (current model) · M2 Pro (discontinued) · Distributor electrical requirements

Reviews: Judge.me Customer Reviews · Kaleido Sniper Canada — Customer Feedback Summary

Price: ~$1,950 | Batch: 50–100g | Power: Configured per market (100V / 110V / 220V)

The LINK is a precision fluid bed roaster developed by Sam Corra — the 2017 Australian Brewers Cup Champion and 2017 World Brewers Cup runner-up — and manufactured by Kaffelogic in New Zealand. It ships with a large library of preloaded roast profiles (originally 205+, now 700+ with current firmware) and is the SCA’s designated Official Sample Roaster for the World Coffee Roasting Championship (2024–2026).

Note on credentials: The “Official Sample Roaster” designation is confirmed by the SCA’s own World Coffee Championships site, but it is a multi-year sponsorship agreement, not a merit award. Separately, this guide previously described the LINK as an SCA “Best New Product” winner — that is not supported. The LINK was entered in the Best New Product competition (2023 and 2024); the SCA listing records no win.

Pros:

  • Large preloaded profile library developed by a national Brewers Cup champion
  • LINK App and LINK Studio software for profile selection and live tracking
  • Portable — ships with a military-grade travel case
  • Competition-grade consistency
  • Starts each roast at ambient temperature for even development
  • Excellent for light to medium roasts

Cons:

  • Small batch size (max 100g green, ~85g roasted)
  • Designed for light to medium roasts; not ideal for dark roasting
  • Higher price for a fluid bed roaster
  • Limited to its own software ecosystem

LINK Coffee Roaster

Reviews: Green Coffee Collective Sample Roaster Comparison · Roast Rebels User Feedback

Sources: SCA World Coffee Roasting Championship — official equipment sponsors · SCA Best New Product entry listing (not a win)

Hottop KN-8828B-2K+ (Drum)

Price: ~$2,150 | Batch: 225–300g (225–250g optimal) | Power: 120V, 750W

The Hottop is a well-regarded mid-range drum roaster known for its precise temperature and airflow control. It has been a popular choice for home roasters who want more control than entry-level machines offer but are not ready to invest in a Bullet or Stronghold.

Pros:

  • Precise temperature and airflow control
  • Real-time data logging capability
  • Good cooling performance
  • Active user community
  • More affordable than the Bullet

Cons:

  • Smaller batch size than the Behmor
  • Steeper learning curve
  • Build quality not quite at the level of higher-end machines
  • Less polished software ecosystem

Hottop KN-8828B-2K+ (US distributor) · Sweet Maria’s

Reviews: Coffee Dino · Roast Craft Guide · Coffee Roasting at Home

High-End Prosumer (~$4,000–$17,000+)

Aillio Bullet R2 / R2 Pro (Drum)

Price: R2 ~$4,099 · R2 Pro ~$5,299 | Batch: 200g–1kg | Power: 110–127V, ~1550W

Note: The widely-reviewed Bullet R1 V2 is now a legacy product — Aillio’s own store lists it as “no longer available” and Sweet Maria’s has replaced it with the R2 and R2 Pro. Most third-party reviews you will find online are of the R1 V2, and they remain broadly useful for understanding the platform, but the R1 V2 is no longer purchasable new. Note also that Aillio’s official minimum batch is 200g; the frequently-repeated “100g minimum” comes from a passing remark in the R1 V2 manual about what users can get away with, not from the spec sheet.

The Aillio Bullet is a true 1kg drum roaster designed for home and small commercial use. It uses induction heating for responsive temperature control, an infrared bean temperature sensor (IBTS), and comes with RoasTime software for profile logging. It is also fully compatible with Artisan.

Pros:

  • True drum roasting with 1kg capacity
  • Induction heating for precise, responsive control
  • IBTS infrared sensor for accurate bean temperature
  • RoasTime and Artisan compatible
  • Good build quality and attractive design
  • External cooling tray included

Cons:

  • Requires a PC or Mac for operation and software
  • Learning curve for manual roasting
  • Expensive for a home machine
  • Some users report needing to swap USB drivers between RoasTime and Artisan

Aillio Bullet (current models) · Bullet R1 V2 — legacy product page

Reviews (of the R1 V2): Coffee Chronicler · Home-Barista User Thread

Stronghold S7 Pro (Hybrid)

Price: ~$12,000–$17,000 new | Batch: 150–850g | Power: 220–240V (US installs typically use a step-up transformer)

The Stronghold S7 Pro is a hybrid roaster that combines a hot air blower (the manufacturer’s stated main heat source), a pair of halogen lamps for radiant heat, and a vertical drum with paddles. The built-in Roastware software supports program roasting, manual mode, and profile sharing via the Stronghold Square platform.

Note on championship claims: This guide previously called the S7 Pro “the official roaster of the World Coffee Roasting Championship.” That credential belongs to a different machine — the SCA designates the Stronghold S9X (3–8kg) as Official Production Roaster for 2024–2027, while the LINK holds the Official Sample Roaster slot. The S7 Pro’s real competition credential is that it was the official machine of the US Roaster Championships (2022–23, and per the US distributor 2024 and 2025) — the first time an electric roaster was chosen as compulsory competition equipment. Stronghold’s “used by world champions” marketing rests mostly on national champions and world runners-up.

Note on price: Stronghold sells by quote in most markets, so there is no single US MSRP. Published figures include €15,500 net in the EU and $11,000–$17,250 for used and new units at CoffeeTec. The previously listed “$5,000–$8,000” was not supported by any vendor listing.

Pros:

  • Competition-proven performance (US Roaster Championships)
  • Roastware with program and manual roasting modes
  • Profile sharing via Stronghold Square
  • Electric operation — no gas line required
  • Plug-and-play setup
  • Excellent consistency and repeatability

Cons:

  • Very expensive for home use
  • Commercial footprint — not a compact machine
  • Profile sharing ecosystem is proprietary
  • Overkill for casual home roasting

Stronghold S7 Pro

Reviews: SCA Coffee Roasters Guild Article · KED Global Interview · Reddit User Discussion

Sources: SCA — Stronghold named 2024–2027 WCRC Official Production Roaster (S9X) · Daily Coffee News — S8X launch, pricing context

Roest S200 / L200 Plus / L200 Ultra (Hybrid)

Price: L200 Ultra ~$9,900 (US) · sample roasters start at €5,290 | Batch: 50–200g | Power: 100V/115V/230V configurable, 1.65kW

Caveat: The Roest is a sample roaster designed for professional quality control and green coffee evaluation. It is included here because some serious home roasters do invest in sample roasters for their precision and consistency, but the price-to-batch-size ratio is worth considering carefully. At current pricing this is the most expensive machine in this guide relative to what it produces per batch.

Note: The S100 and L100 Plus have been discontinued. Roest ended production and firmware updates for them in late 2025 and replaced the line with the S200, L200 Plus, and L200 Ultra; the old product URLs now redirect to the new models, and S100/L100 machines cannot be upgraded to the new platform. Sweet Maria’s still shows remaining L100 Plus stock at $7,890. Roest publishes no USD prices — most models are quote-only — so treat any specific dollar figure other than Sweet Maria’s listings as unverified.

The Roest uses hot air as its primary heat source with a stirred drum for even bean movement. It features automatic first crack detection, multiple thermal sensors, and a web portal for profile management. It is used by roasteries worldwide for sample roasting.

Pros:

  • Precise, well-regarded design and engineering
  • Automatic first crack detection
  • Multiple thermal sensors for precise profiling
  • Profile library and web portal control
  • Excellent for consistency and repeatability
  • Between-batch protocol for quality control

Cons:

  • Sample roaster pricing for small batch sizes
  • Designed for professionals — may be more than a home roaster needs
  • Limited availability in some regions
  • Requires familiarity with roasting to appreciate fully

Roest Sample Roasters (current lineup) · Sweet Maria’s — L200 Ultra

Reviews: Sweet Maria’s Roest FAQ & Review (note: this FAQ still reflects the discontinued S100/L100 lineup and pricing) · Roast Craft Guide — Sample Roaster Review

The Final Factor: Matching a Roaster to Your Palate

Cost, workflow, and software support are all important. But there is one factor that is more personal and harder to quantify: the kind of coffee you like to drink.

Different roaster types use different methods of heat transfer, and the roasters chosen by specialty coffee professionals can give us a sense of what each category is capable of. Below are documented examples of commercial roasters using each category, with links to their own statements about the equipment and the profiles it produces.

It is important to emphasize that the roaster does not determine the cup — your roast profile, green coffee selection, and skill matter far more. Any roaster type can produce bright, clean, acidic coffees or deep, caramelized, body-forward roasts. What differs between categories is how heat is delivered and how the machine responds to your adjustments. Looking at what professionals achieve on each type can help you understand the range of possibilities.

How to read the sources below. Equipment endorsements in specialty coffee come overwhelmingly from manufacturers’ own customer-story pages, and they are not neutral. We have labeled each source as vendor (manufacturer marketing), independent (trade press, third-party reporting), or self-published (the roaster’s own blog). Where a professional’s competition title is cited, we verified it against official competition results rather than the vendor’s caption — several vendor pages get these wrong. The most valuable sources here are the ones where a roaster published detailed measurements with a disclosure of no financial relationship, such as Christopher Feran’s Roest comparison.

Fluid Bed Roasters in Practice

Documented commercial examples:

  • Ember Coffee Co. (Big Lake, Minnesota) — An all-fluid-bed roastery, named Sivetz Roaster of the Month in June. Notably, they have never owned a drum roaster: they started on a hand-upgraded Coffee Crafters Artisan XE/XL with a Hermethius control module and later added a Sivetz for volume, not for method. In their own words: “We have just found this way easier to be consistent on, and consistency is most of the job.” They are careful to hedge the flavor claim themselves — “plenty of drum roasters make clean, sweet coffee too.” Read their full explanation

  • Lake Geneva Coffee Roastery (Delavan, Wisconsin) — Uses a Sivetz SRM15 fluid bed roaster. Co-owner Jeremiah Fox: “I am pleased that the SRM15 gives me full control over the inlet air temp and airflow. When I make adjustments, the roaster responds immediately.” Fox, who is legally blind, builds his roast profiles using smell, hearing and taste with the aid of talking timers and tactile points on the machine’s controls. Source: Sivetz testimonials (manufacturer site) · Independent profile: At The Lake Magazine

Hybrid Roasters in Practice

Documented commercial examples:

A note on the sources below: The three Stronghold quotes that follow are manufacturer testimonials published on Stronghold’s own customer-stories page. We verified each one verbatim against that page, but they are marketing material — roasters saying positive things about equipment they were given or chose to endorse. Treat them as evidence of what these professionals do with the machine, not as independent evaluation. Champion titles below have been checked against official competition results rather than the vendor’s own captions, which contain errors.

  • Onyx Coffee Lab (Arkansas) — One of the most awarded specialty roasters in the world. Elika Liftee (2020 and 2022 US Brewers Cup Champion — two non-consecutive titles; he did not win in 2021) used the Stronghold S7 Pro for competition coffees. In his own words: “We could roast what was an extremely soluble coffee, but maintaining delicate acidity and florals specifically. Roasting on Stronghold, I could get sweeter coffee that was just as soluble as a more developed roast on a drum roaster, but still had that really high acidity and it was really great.” Quote source: Stronghold (vendor) · Title source: US Coffee Championships

  • Monogram Coffee (Calgary, Canada) — Benjamin Put (2022 Canadian National Barista Champion; seven-time national barista champion) uses the Stronghold S7 for competition and small batch roasts: “I have been using the Stronghold S7 at Monogram Coffee for all of our competition and small batch roasts. What I love most about Stronghold is that it has the features that experienced roasters would expect, but with an interface that is immediately accessible to roasters of all levels.” Note: Stronghold’s page describes him as 2022 Canadian Barista and Brewers Cup champion; official Barista Canada results confirm the Barista title only. Quote source: Stronghold (vendor) · Title source: Barista Canada results

  • Rose Coffee Roasters — Matt Winton (2021 World Barista Champion): “I love roasting on my Stronghold S7X. It’s the only machine I trust to consistently roast to the style and standard I want. It allows me to make the best expression of the work of the producers growing and processing the coffee.” Quote source: Stronghold (vendor)

  • Sweet Maria’s — Uses the Roest sample roaster for their quality control lab. They note: “In time you see how it pays for itself in time savings, reduced roasting errors, and greater control of the roast profile.” The Roest’s combination of hot air and stirred drum produces consistent, repeatable results ideal for cupping and evaluation. Source

  • Aviary (Cleveland, Ohio) — A hyper-focused specialty roaster founded by Christopher Feran. Roasted production on a Stronghold S9X from March 2024 until December 2025, then sold it and switched to the fully-electric Roest P3000. Feran chose the P3000 for its inlet-temperature setpoint control, electric operation on clean energy (Ohio’s deregulated market lets him buy wind and solar generation), and how much quieter it is. His own measured consistency figures: roast-loss standard deviation averaged 0.23% across 146 batches on the S9X versus 0.04% across 157 batches on the P3000. Observed real-world throughput is 22.3 kg/hour, with 24.8 kg/hour demonstrated. Feran explicitly discloses that he has never been paid by Roest — this is one of the few genuinely independent equipment comparisons available. Source: Batch to the future: the Roest P3000

  • Scott Rao / Prodigal Roasters (Boulder, Colorado) — Roasts on an IMF air roaster (not Loring, as sometimes assumed). Rao wrote a detailed comparison explaining why he chose IMF over Loring and Probat: the IMF’s independently controlled exhaust fan and burner temperature enable inlet-temperature profiling (“the best way to control an air roaster”), and its low air throughput at low gas settings late in the roast is, in his words, “the reason why the IMF is better at both controlling roasts through first crack and executing dark roasts.” He also prefers the perforated drum for reduced conductive heat transfer, though he hedges that one himself — “I don’t think that’s a big deal.” He gives Loring the win on fuel efficiency. Source: A Comparison of IMF vs Loring

Drum Roasters in Practice

Documented commercial examples:

  • Onyx Coffee Lab (Arkansas) — Onyx runs a deliberately mixed fleet and matches the machine to the coffee. In their own words: “Where sweetness and body are more desired, we will enlist our predominantly conductive heat with our two Diedrichs. More delicate coffees showcasing a bright acidity are best served with a convective system, such as our Loring 70kg machine. Our most exotic offerings require incomparable clarity and balance; something we can achieve using the radiant heat transfer provided by our cutting-edge Stronghold S7 roasters.” Individual product pages name the specific production roaster used for each coffee. On process: “When coffees arrive at our roastery, we meticulously refine each coffee’s roast profile with precision, ensuring every cup highlights the coffee’s natural brilliance.” Source: Onyx Coffee Lab

    Note: This guide previously said Onyx roasts on “rebuilt Diedrich IR-12 and IR-40” machines. That was true historically — Daily Coffee News documented the IR-12 and a refurbished IR-40 in 2017 — but the IR-40 was sold in 2021, and Onyx’s current pages reference Diedrich CR-35 machines instead. The IR-12/IR-40 description survives online mainly through a stale third-party press blurb that Onyx reprints on its own homepage. Onyx is also a useful illustration of the guide’s central point: the same roastery uses conduction-heavy, convection-heavy, and radiant machines to pursue different outcomes from different coffees.

  • Tim Wendelboe (Oslo, Norway) — Roasts production on a Loring S35 Kestrel (35 kg), having previously used a German Probat that now lives at Fuglen Coffee Roasters. For sample roasting he uses a ROEST, praising its ability to cool coffee during roasting — “Getting the coffee to cool down fast is very important, otherwise it’s going to taste flat and bitter” — and to save farm-specific profiles: “you make the specific profile for the specific farm and it works for all their coffees.” Known for very light roasting and direct trade relationships. Source: Tim Wendelboe (own site) · Source: ROEST Blog (manufacturer testimonial)

    Three corrections worth flagging. First, the Loring S35 is a 35-kilogram machine (~77 lb), not “35-pound” — that error comes from a unit slip in a widely-cited retailer blog post. Second, the machine appears to date to 2018, not 2019. Third, and most importantly: a Loring is not really a drum roaster. Its drum is paddle-agitated rather than tumbling against a hot wall, and it transfers heat almost entirely by convection. Scott Rao — cited above in this same guide — writes that “although IMF and Loring machines have drums, most of us call them ‘air roasters’ because they transfer heat almost exclusively by convection with little-to-no conduction.” Wendelboe is listed in this section because he is a well-documented example of a professional’s production setup, but by heat-transfer mechanism his Loring belongs closer to the fluid bed and hybrid categories than to the Probats and Diedrichs alongside it.

  • Glitch Coffee & Roasters (Tokyo, Japan) — Roasts on a 5kg Probat drum roaster visible in the shop floor in Jimbōchō. Owner Kiyokazu Suzuki runs a share-roasting program on the machine, hosting other café owners who want to roast on it. Known for extremely light roasts and high clarity. Source

  • The broader specialty industry — The vast majority of well-known specialty roasters (Stumptown, Counter Culture, Intelligentsia, Blue Bottle, and many others) roast on machines from manufacturers like Probat, Giesen, Diedrich, and Loring. Drum roasters are the industry standard not because they produce one specific flavor profile, but because they offer a wide range of expressiveness — a skilled roaster on a drum can produce bright, clean, acidic coffees alongside deep, caramelized, body-forward roasts. (As noted above, Loring machines are conventionally grouped with this set by industry familiarity, but they are convection-dominant air roasters by mechanism.)

Roastery Tour Examples

Documented roastery tours give us a rare look at how different roaster types coexist in real production environments. These tours — filmed by educators and content creators — show the equipment choices of working roasteries and the reasoning behind them.

Counter Culture Coffee (Multiple Locations, USA)

Counter Culture operates a multi-roaster setup that deliberately combines drum and hybrid technologies to leverage different heat transfer profiles:

  • Multiple Probat roasters (conduction-heavy) for body-forward, caramelized profiles
  • A Loring roaster (convection-heavy) for clean, origin-forward profiles
  • Agtron light reflectometer for objective roast level measurement — Forty-Six, their darkest roast, scores 52; single-origins are 77–80
  • Large green coffee silo and chalkboard-based workflow management

Counter Culture runs all machines manually — a human determines each batch’s roast development. In their own words: “Our Probat roasters are heavier on conduction while our Loring roaster is heavier on convection.” They use all three heat transfer types (conduction, convection, radiance) in varying proportions depending on the machine and coffee. Source: Counter Culture Coffee — Coffee Basics: Roasting · Source: Instagram Roastery Tour

Sourcing note: The quote and the Agtron figures above are verbatim from Counter Culture’s own page. The machine count is not — that page gives no number. A 2025 roastery tour enumerates five machines at the Durham facility (a refurbished 240kg Probat, two 1950s Probats, a Loring, and the company’s original ~20lb Samiac), but Fresh Cup has quoted Counter Culture staff saying “four or five,” and sources disagree on whether the Loring is 35kg or 70kg. We have dropped the specific count rather than assert a disputed number.

Black & White Coffee Roasters (Raleigh, NC)

A Loring-focused roastery where Kat Melheim (RoasterKat) formerly worked as production roaster:

  • 3 Loring roasters for production — a Loring S15 Falcon, an S35 Kestrel, and an S70 Peregrine
  • Sovda equipment throughout the workflow, including a Pearl Mini optical sorter and Precision Fill packing lines
  • Dedicated cupping lab
  • Extensive green coffee racking and frozen storage

Melheim joined in November 2021 for what was initially a two-month short-term position and stayed on. She has since left; she is now marketing and social media manager at Algrano, and founded Coffee People Zine (2018–2024). The roastery demonstrates a Loring-centric workflow where the machine’s consistency and efficiency support daily production roasting. Source: Loring — Roaster of the Month: Kat Melheim (vendor interview; start date and tenure) · Source: Fresh Cup — Roastery Breakdown: Black and White Coffee Roasters (independent; equipment list) · Source: Instagram Roastery Tour (Jan 2025)

Sourcing note: The Loring interview cited here contains no equipment claims at all — it is a career Q&A. The equipment list above is sourced separately to Fresh Cup and Sovda’s own case study. We removed a previous claim that the roastery uses “Nucleus LINK sample roasters for quality control”: the only evidence found was a single third-party LinkedIn mention of one LINK, and Fresh Cup’s walkthrough refers only to “a sample roaster” without naming a brand.

Coffee Roasters Guild Retreat 2022 — Roaster’s Tent (Delavan, Wisconsin)

The annual CRG Retreat features a “Roasting Tent” where nine roaster manufacturers set up machines for hands-on experimentation. This is one of the few events where roasters can try multiple machine types back-to-back:

All 9 manufacturers present:

  1. Probat (German drum, conduction + convection)
  2. Stronghold (hybrid, halogen radiant + vertical drum)
  3. San Franciscan (handcrafted drum)
  4. Diedrich DR-3 (infrared + conduction + convection) — deep dive featured
  5. Proaster
  6. Arc Roaster
  7. Loring 1-kilo prototype (indirect convection, not for sale) — deep dive featured
  8. Ikawa (electric sample roaster)
  9. Giesen W1A (Dutch drum, enhanced convection) — deep dive featured

The event (held August 25–28, 2022, and the 20th such Retreat) included a team roasting challenge — “Shapeshifter,” roasting a single green coffee for both espresso and filter, won by a team called The 6th Sense — and the Marshmallow Maillard Roasting Competition, a 16-competitor bracket tournament. The tent demonstrates how different roaster types handle the same coffee differently, and how roasters adapt their approach to each machine’s heat delivery characteristics. Source: YouTube — Inside the Roasters Tent (the manufacturer list and model details come from this video) · Source: Daily Coffee News (independent trade press; confirms location, “nine different companies,” and both competition names)

Fuglen Coffee Roasters (Oslo, Norway)

Fuglen operates a roastery and café in Gamlebyen, Oslo, using equipment with direct lineage to Tim Wendelboe:

  • Tim Wendelboe’s old Probat roaster, which moved to Fuglen when Wendelboe relocated his roastery to Tøyen
  • Roasts in the typical Nordic light-roast style
  • At the time of the roastery’s 2018 launch, Joakim Pedersen — who began his coffee career as a roaster for Tim Wendelboe — was general manager, creating a direct knowledge transfer

The Probat was moved from Wendelboe’s original café when he made room for more seating and relocated his roastery to Tøyen. Fuglen took it on “partly for the history, but also because we knew it was kept extremely well and is a proven producer of tasty coffee.” Source: Anders Husa — Fuglen Coffee Roasters

Currency and attribution notes: The Husa article dates from 2018 and the details above are accurate as of then, but Joakim Pedersen no longer runs the roastery — Norwegian company records list the current daglig leder (general manager) as Bjørnar Møller Hafslund. We have also dropped a previous claim that Fuglen’s green coffee is “mostly supplied by Nordic Approach”: that was true in 2018, but Fuglen’s current site does not name Nordic Approach at all. Finally, the “partly for the history” quote appears in the source as an unattributed dash-quote; it is Fuglen speaking, but the article never explicitly attributes it to Pedersen, so we do not either.

Roaster Kat’s “Inside the Roastery” Series

Beyond the single-tour deep dives above, Kat Melheim (Roaster Kat) has published a growing video series visiting roasteries worldwide, revealing the real equipment choices behind working production spaces. These tours span small micro-roasteries to large multi-machine facilities and provide some of the best publicly documented equipment surveys available. All are self-published (creator content).

Roastery Location Equipment Featured Video Link
Little Waves Coffee Roasters Durham, NC Loring S15 Falcon (15kg) Video
NOMAD Coffee Barcelona, Spain Two Probat UG-22 roasters Video
Counter Culture Coffee Durham, NC Refurbished Probat 240kg, two 1950s Probats, Loring 35kg, Samiac 20lb Video
Tim Wendelboe Oslo, Norway Loring S35 Kestrel (production), ROEST (sample) Video
Rose Coffee Roasters Zurich, Switzerland Stronghold (used by World Brewers Cup champion Matt Winton) Video
George Howell Coffee Acton, MA Loring S70, Loring S35, Probat + ROEST and Probat sample roasters Video
Hydrangea Coffee Roasters — Loring-focused; known for very light roasts and extended resting times Video
Prodigal Coffee Boulder, CO Electric IMF roaster (Scott Rao’s production machine) Video
Irving Farm Millerton, NY Loring, Diedrich, and Probat (three-machine mixed fleet) Video
Black & White Coffee Roasters Raleigh, NC Three Loring roasters (S15 Falcon, S35 Kestrel, S70 Peregrine) + Sovda equipment Video
Tree House Coffee / Brewing Co. — Three Loring machines (S15, S35, S70) inside a brewery Video

The series is ongoing. Each video documents the full workflow — green storage, roasting, quality control, and packaging — giving a practical view of how different machine choices integrate into real production environments. Roaster Kat YouTube Channel

How to Think About This

The roaster type is one variable among many. What matters most is your roast profile — how you manage heat application, airflow, and development time. That said, different roaster types respond differently to your adjustments:

  • Fluid bed roasters respond quickly to changes in fan speed and heat. The convective-only heat transfer means less risk of scorching, which some roasters find forgiving when working with dense, high-altitude beans.
  • Hybrid roasters often come with built-in automation and profile libraries, which can help you achieve consistent results while you are still learning. The combination of heat sources gives you flexibility in how you approach different coffees.
  • Drum roasters offer the widest range of control and the steepest learning curve. The combination of conductive and convective heat means you have more levers to pull — and more opportunities to shape the roast to your preferences.

A note of caution: The roaster type influences how heat is delivered, but it does not lock you into a specific flavor profile. A skilled roaster can produce bright, clean, acidic coffees on a drum roaster and deep, caramelized roasts on a fluid bed. Your green coffee selection, roast profile, and technique matter far more than the machine category. The goal here is not to say one type is better — it is to help you understand which type might feel most natural for the way you want to roast.

Contributing Roaster Examples

This is a living document. If you know of a roaster — commercial or home — who uses a specific type of equipment and you can point to a source (interview, video, blog post, social media), please contribute it. Real-world examples help readers understand what each category is capable of.

To add an example, follow this format:

- **[Roaster Name](website or social link) (Location)** — Uses [roaster model] by [manufacturer]. [Brief note about what they achieve with it or a direct quote if available.] [Source link]

Guidelines for contributions:

  • Include a source. A link to an interview, video, blog post, or the roaster’s own website. Avoid speculation — we want documented examples only.
  • Note the roaster model and manufacturer. For example: “Stronghold S7 Pro,” “Loring S35,” “Probat P12,” “Sivetz SRM9E.”
  • Keep it brief. One or two sentences about what they achieve with the equipment, or a direct quote.
  • Commercial or home roasters are both welcome. The goal is to show the range of what each category can do.

Examples of good contributions:

  • Good: “Example Roaster (Portland, OR) — Uses a Loring S35 Smart Roaster. Known for light, clean profiles that highlight origin character. Source: Interview on Coffee Podcast”
  • Not ideal: “I think Example Roaster uses a Probat.” (No source, speculative)

To contribute, edit this page on GitHub or reach out in the #resource-development channel on the Espresso Aficionados Discord.