Designing a roastery that also serves as a showroom or café is about more than simply placing a coffee roaster in the corner of a retail space. 

It’s about creating an environment where production and hospitality coexist, allowing customers to see behind the curtain and understand how their coffee becomes the product they know and love.

When done well, these spaces blur the line between roastery and café, inviting guests to experience the process up close while still delivering the comfort and polish of a specialty coffee shop. 

I spoke to Greesha Kagan, the owner of Sputnik Coffee Company, to learn how he worked with IMF Roasters to design his roastery.

You may also like our article on transitioning from small-batch to large-scale roasting.

Why showroom roasteries are becoming more popular

For years, many roasteries operated in hidden warehouses or industrial parks – spaces focused almost entirely on production efficiency. However, as margins become tighter and customer expectations rise, more coffee businesses are seeking ways to differentiate themselves. 

Enter the showroom-style roastery. It’s a model that borrows from other industries – viewing galleries in chocolatiers or large windows in patisseries and Viennoiseries, for example – tapping into the demand for transparency.

Roasting is a fascinating aspect of the coffee supply chain for many consumers; the technical aspect is unfamiliar enough to draw intrigue, but close enough to brewing to connect guests with coffee as they know it. When customers get to see, hear, and smell coffee roasting, it gives them a window into why specialty coffee is worth the higher price. 

Starbucks Reserve roasteries are a case in point. In addition to serving premium coffees and signature drinks, utilising different brewing methods, and offering more attentive service, customers can experience the roasting process up close. 

“Customers want to see the magic,” says Greesha, the co-founder and owner of Sputnik Coffee Company in Chicago, US. The company opened a 2,000-square-foot roastery and café in October 2024, complete with a 60kg-capacity IMF roaster and six white silos visible through a 25-foot glass wall.

“Similar to the TV show How It’s Made, people want to see the process behind the coffee they love,” he adds. “Roasting equipment intrigues curiosity and leads to questions and positive interaction with staff.”

In an era where coffee prices are soaring, offering guests more insight into why it’s worth the price is increasingly necessary. 

“Companies that can show off a clean production facility stand apart from the competition,” Greesha explains.

For many businesses, the showroom model isn’t just about aesthetics; it can also be a smart financial decision. Instead of renting or maintaining two separate spaces (a café and a roasting facility), a hybrid design consolidates both operations under one roof. This means lower rent, fewer utilities, and a streamlined workflow between roasting and serving coffee.

Additionally, green coffee storage, packaging, and wholesale operations can often be integrated into a single building. While this requires careful planning to ensure the space supports efficient workflow, it ultimately minimises overhead and helps a roaster make the most of their footprint. 

As a result, this model generates multiple revenue streams from a single location, including retail drinks and wholesale production. For smaller or mid-sized coffee roasters, the space efficiency can be the difference between making ends meet and maximising funds for future growth. 

Why roastery design needs to match function

The appeal of an open roastery is obvious, but building one is far from simple. Unlike a warehouse roastery, showroom spaces must be designed with both the customer and the roaster in mind. Every decision – from layout to lighting – must strike a balance between the efficiency of production and the customer experience.

One of the primary considerations is maintaining the balance between aesthetics and functionality. Not only does the facility need to be able to roast coffee, but it also must serve as a viewing gallery and café.

This can be difficult to achieve; however, coffee shops have been doing this for years, and it’s possible to apply the same intentionality in roasteries. For years, cafés used shelves, storage units, and other available space behind the bar to fit everything in. Modern specialty coffee shops, meanwhile, often think more deeply about storage and build cabinets, shelves, and functional compartments into the design itself. 

Not only are the aesthetics of the space on display, but the roastery employees and systems also become visible to guests. This makes it all the more necessary to implement proper standards for hygiene, detailed processes, and well-functioning systems.

From the business perspective, putting this level of intentionality into the design of a roastery that doubles as a café has clear benefits:

• Transparency builds trust: If you can show someone how you prepare their coffee in a way that showcases pride, they are more likely to keep returning.
• Customers engage more deeply with your brand: The more someone can see into your process, the more they will feel connected to your brand and its values.
• Storytelling opportunities expand: On every corner of a roastery is another opportunity to invite someone into the world of specialty coffee. When used intentionally, this can become a powerful tool for retaining customers. 
• Employees work in a thoughtfully designed environment: Just as baristas benefit from working in visually appealing specialty coffee shops, roastery staff can also experience the same level of intentionality, which is often reflected in their work ethic.

At the same time, challenges come with the territory. Roasteries are industrial spaces – loud, hot, and messy – where chaff flies, beans spill, and boxes pile up. While some equipment is aesthetically pleasing, such as the roaster itself and burlap sacks, other tools are often decidedly not, like plastic totes, heat sealers, and pallet jacks. The hard part is creating a space that looks polished without sacrificing efficiency.

IMF, a manufacturer known for customising roasting equipment and facilities, can help businesses strike this balance. The company will exhibit at booth D24 E23 in hall 18 at HostMilano from 17 to 21 October 2025, showcasing its range of coffee roasters, complete plant services, and innovative roasting and storage solutions.

“The minute we sent out our floor plan, they got to work,” Greesha says. “Their knowledge of requirements, clearances, and working distances enabled our architects to create the ideal space.

“After several phone calls, we had a CAD design that we could fine-tune together. They accommodated every change.”

The result of this type of intentionality is a space that functions as both a café and a production facility – a place where customers can experience the roasting process without feeling overwhelmed.

So what do roasters need to know?

When considering creating a showroom-style roastery, several important distinctions should be factored in during the planning stage compared to a traditional roastery.

Beyond aesthetics, the key is intentionality. Every piece of equipment, workflow element, and design choice has to serve both function and presentation.

Some often-overlooked factors include:

• Cohesive equipment: Old or mismatched equipment should be restored or upgraded.
• Cleanliness: Everything is on display, so there’s no back room to hide equipment in bad condition or disrepair.
• Education: Customers won’t automatically understand what they’re seeing. Labels, signage, or even staff storytelling are crucial.
• Engagement: Can the roasting process be made more interactive, rather than static?

Working with experts like IMF helps avoid costly mistakes. 

“Construction changes are expensive and sometimes impossible to fix,” Greesha explains. “You need a partner with experience to guide you before breaking ground; IMF has installed countless roasters and plants worldwide.”

If you’re considering building one of these spaces, some key starting points include:

• Speak with architects, engineers, builders, and roasting experts from the outset.
• Select equipment that balances both function and aesthetics.
• Design clear sightlines into the roasting space.
• Build in storage solutions to minimise clutter.
• Prioritise airflow, noise control, and safety clearances.
• Consider storytelling through signage, live demos, or guided tastings.

Showroom-style roasteries aren’t just about looking good. They’re also about inviting customers into the coffee supply chain, creating a sense of authenticity.

When executed well, they can transform a roasting plant from a hidden warehouse into a place where consumers can connect more deeply with coffee.

“Anything that brings the customer closer to each batch will bring them back,” Greesha concludes.

Enjoyed this? Then read our article on how to design a complete coffee roasting facility.

Photo credits: Sputnik Coffee Company

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But as coffee prices are only just falling from record highs, many roasters have shifted their sourcing practices. They have started to buy more affordable lots or focus on blends to manage their margins more effectively. Similarly, as living costs remain high, consumers are still price-conscious.

To thrive in this ever-evolving market, roasters need to offer variety. Sourcing different origins is an integral part of this, but now more than ever, offering a range of roasts is also key. In turn, brands can adapt to changing consumer behaviour while still stocking coffees that meet their high standards for quality.

I spoke to Roberto Pedini, sales coordinator of business development at IMF Roasters, to learn more.

You may also like our article on what roasters need to know when upgrading their facilities.

Why roasters need to cater to different consumer preferences

Most specialty coffee roasters pride themselves on their dedication to offering light roasts, and for good reason. Third wave coffee culture’s proclivity for lighter roasts stems from a push to showcase “pure” flavour and quality. These profiles allow us to detect more delicate tasting notes and taste complex acidity. In contrast, as a coffee’s development time increases, it can lose these nuances.

However, consumers don’t always want light roasts. The vast majority of coffee drinkers prefer traditional flavour profiles. Even if they stick to lighter roasts, third wave coffee consumers also value choice – and they want to try different flavours and origins. For instance, a consumer who prefers Central or South American medium roasts may be interested in trying fruit-forward, light roast coffees from East Africa to expand their palates.

Ultimately, by offering a variety of origins and roasts, coffee brands can cater to a wider range of preferences, and potentially retain a loyal consumer base.

Roberto Pedini is the sales coordinator of business development at IMF Roasters – a roaster manufacturer in Italy.

“Roasters can attract a more diverse range of customers and meet their specific needs – whether they prefer light, medium, or dark roasts,” he explains. “Different roast profiles bring out different and unique flavours and aromas in coffee, appealing to a wider variety of personal tastes.”

A washed Guatemalan coffee with notes of brown sugar, for instance, will taste different when roasted light, medium, or dark. As a light roast, this coffee will have a thinner body, and those brown sugar notes may not be developed enough. On the other hand, when roasted dark, the sugars in this coffee will overdevelop – causing it to taste burnt or baked. 

In this case, a medium roast profile is then likely to be most suitable as the sugars will have hit a “sweet spot”, highlighting this coffee’s characteristics in the best way.

Creating different roast profiles for coffee

We often talk about light, medium, and dark roasts in the coffee industry, but there are many shades in between. Roasters can use Agtron spectrophotometers, which use infrared technology, to accurately determine roast levels. Higher numbers indicate a lighter roast, while lower measurements signify more developed profiles. 

Coffee professionals adjust several variables to develop different roasts, which include:

• Timing of first crack (an audible cracking noise that marks the beginning of a light roast)
• Charge and roast temperatures
• Airflow
• Total roast time

Different roasts help to highlight a coffee’s best characteristics, as well as to maintain quality. For example, a bright and juicy Kenyan coffee will benefit from a more developed profile to bring out its sweetness while also retaining its clean acidity. Reduced development time for a full-bodied and earthy Sumatran coffee, meanwhile, means its sugars won’t overdevelop and burn.

However, it can be all too easy to overdevelop roast profiles, and quickly lose a coffee’s unique attributes and terroir, especially with darker roasts.

“Roasting dark or very dark profiles, such as French roast, is a delicate process,” Roberto says. “It can sometimes be dangerous as the beans can self-combust if temperatures are too high. 

“This is why it’s so important to create profiles and use technology that roasts uniformly throughout each bean, especially at higher temperatures, without carbonising the sugars and resulting in an overly bitter taste.”

Roasters can then achieve a “classic” flavour profile with balanced sweetness, acidity, and bitterness that many consumers enjoy.

Similar to overdevelopment, roasters can easily underdevelop coffees. If temperatures are too low or the coffee hasn’t been roasted for long enough, the flavour compounds won’t fully develop – resulting in grassy and sour tasting notes.

Using technology to get the best results

As well as relying on their skills and knowledge to develop precise and consistent profiles, roasters need to understand how to use machines to their advantage.

There are several types of commercial machines, but convection roasters are considered the most modern and efficient. As hot air flows into the machine, it lifts green coffee beans and circulates them around the roasting chamber. Hot air is in constant contact with the surface of the beans during the entire roasting process, which results in greater uniformity and better consistency.

“IMF machines use convection technology, allowing complete control over the amount of heat transferred to the beans,” Roberto explains. “Roasters can quickly and effectively tweak variables in response to how the coffee changes in the drum during the roasting process.

“The thermodynamic technology in our machines forces hot airflow into the perforated drum and through the entire mass of coffee beans, ensuring uniformity in roasting,” he adds. “Roasters can then achieve consistent profiles for various origins and roasts, allowing the organoleptic characteristics to shine through.”

How to fine-tune different profiles

Even for the most skilled roasters, developing different profiles for a wide variety of coffees can be challenging. However, when using excellent equipment and adopting the right approach, the process is more straightforward.

One of the most important steps is to invest in a high-quality machine. Convection roasters, or machines that rely on similarly advanced technology, allow coffee professionals to control different variables. This means they can make precise adjustments to different profiles, ensuring consistent and quality results across various origins and roasts.

When developing a new profile, it’s essential that roasters record all the input data used for different test batches. Analysing these variables will help them to understand how different coffees react to different roasting parameters, such as temperature and time. By doing this, roasters can experiment with various profiles to get the best results.

“IMF roasters are equipped with software that provides immediate feedback to the user, even for small variations in roasting parameters,” Roberto explains. “This high level of precision allows them to refine different profiles down to the smallest detail, ensuring the nuances in aroma and flavour can be extracted.”

Tasting coffee is key

As any roaster knows, regularly cupping coffees is imperative when developing different roasts. Roasters can pick up on any defects and assess whether certain flavours and aromas are present in the final sensory profile.

Many factors affect a coffee’s flavours, which inevitably impacts the best approach to take when developing a roast profile. Origin, variety, processing method, and bean density and size all play a key role, and roasters must take each variable into account when deciding to roast light, medium, or dark.

Roasters need to stay true to their brand identity, but they must also consider how they can appeal to a wider range of consumers. One of the best ways to do this is by offering a variety of roasts.

Investing in a high-quality machine means roasters can achieve consistent results across various origins and profiles.

Enjoyed this? Then read our article on how AI is changing coffee roasting.

Photo credits: Tall Order Coffee Roasters

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Just like in many other parts of the supply chain, AI technology can help roasters with their efforts to maintain coffee quality and consistency. At the same time, more advanced and intuitive machine features can improve operational efficiency – benefitting roasters in a number of ways.

So it’s fair to say that AI has changed coffee roasting for the long term, but how could it evolve even further? To learn more, I spoke to Lorenzo Mosca, production engineer at IMF Roasters. 

You may also like our article on what roasters need to know when upgrading their facilities.

The rise of AI in the coffee industry

Automation isn’t a new concept, even in the coffee industry. Simple automated technology has been used for years for some repeatable and simple tasks – especially by producers who use mechanical harvesters to pick coffee cherries.

AI, however, is a much more modern addition to the coffee sector. While automation ultimately relies on humans to make decisions and implement workflow for machines, AI (or artificial intelligence) technology can be programmed to use information about certain repeatable tasks to improve efficiency and achieve a desired outcome. 

This level of problem-solving has opened up many new possibilities across the coffee industry to minimise the potential for human error. In fact, a recent study shows there is a 50% chance AI could automate all jobs in 120 years. 

Of course, this would result in significant implications for coffee professionals the world over. But when AI is used in conjunction with human-driven actions and decisions, it can massively optimise performance, as well as improve coffee quality and consistency.

For instance, in coffee production specifically, industry professionals use AI technology to:

• Set up weather insurance and climate adaptation systems
• Predict coffee prices
• Generate and analyse specific data for EUDR compliance

Coffee shops have also embraced AI to improve efficiency and assist staff in their job roles. The most prominent example is robot barista concept stores, with many of them able to prepare a variety of drinks. This allows café staff to spend more time focusing on other tasks, such as interacting with customers and stock management.

How has AI technology changed roasting?

We’ve seen AI used at every level of the coffee supply chain to improve quality and streamline operations. The area that has seemingly adopted this technology the most, however, is roasting.

Lorenzo Mosca is a production engineer at IMF Roasters, a roastery equipment manufacturer in Italy.

“AI technology enhances the consistency and reproducibility of many roasting processes,” he says. “Traditionally speaking, roasting coffee means adhering to a predefined roast curve, which dictates parameters like optimal temperature and total roast time to achieve desired flavours and aromas.

“But when AI is integrated into roasting equipment, it can continuously monitor key parameters such as temperature, airflow, and drum speed throughout the entire process,” he adds. “So when there are deviations from the specified roasting curve, AI systems can autonomously adjust variables in real time.”

Although this level of AI isn’t widely used in the coffee industry yet, more and more roaster manufacturers and other companies have started to invest in this technology. With machine learning, AI could understand more about different variables that impact how we roast coffee – including origin, bean density, and processing method – and develop roast profiles which produce better results.

Consistency is key

Consistency is an essential part of this, as Lorenzo explains: “AI can help produce desired flavour profiles batch after batch, irrespective of variations in roasting variables.”

Other machine features can also assist with this. For instance, IMF roasters include 12 preset inlet temperature points and extensive control over air and drum rotational speeds.

“Roasters can precisely adjust parameters to match specific requirements of different coffee beans, which ultimately leads to greater consistency,” Lorenzo says.

When quality is maintained through the roasting process, customers can experience coffee closer to its peak flavour potential. This allows roasters to highlight the exceptional characteristics of the coffees they source, and keep refining their menu and brand identity.

Other ways for AI to improve roasting

Better quality control and repeatability are certainly two of the most beneficial implications of AI roasting technology. But there are several other key ways that AI can support roasters.

Data collection and analysis are some of the most important. “IMF software captures critical information throughout the roasting process, including the weight of green and roasted coffee, temperature, and total roast time,” Lorenzo explains. “This data is logged in real-time and provides an accurate record of production.”

Managing green coffee stocks is another way. Smart software can track inventories and inform roasters about whether they need to order more of a particular coffee. IMF Roasters’ silos, for instance, include integrated software which monitors the weight of the green beans stored inside, as well as other key data points.

Similarly, AI systems can also control the movement of coffee around a roastery, whether between storage silos and destoners or roasters and packing stations. This not only helps increase efficiency, but can also allow staff to find ways to improve the workflow of a roastery.

Leveraging the power of AI

Whether a small business or a large-scale operation, AI technology can be a useful tool for many coffee roasters. And as a business grows, AI-driven management solutions can help owners streamline processes.

“As roasters scale, they may face challenges in managing larger volumes of beans, orders, and customers,” Lorenzo says. “Software management provides the tools and resources to remain efficient and maintain consistent quality.” 

Moreover, there are many aspects of production roasting that are repetitive, and roasters can therefore use machine learning to their advantage. By transitioning from human to AI-driven actions, this inevitably frees up employees to focus on other areas of the business. Over time, this could yield significant dividends for roasters who need to stay beside their machines, or inventory managers who spend hours each week monitoring stock levels.

Looking ahead

The future also holds plenty more potential for better leveraging AI technology in roasting.

“In the years to come, AI software could continue to advance coffee roasting by using machine learning algorithms to adapt and optimise roast profiles based on an even wider range of variables,” Lorenzo says. “These could include specific bean characteristics, environmental conditions, or even customer preferences.”

Theoretically, this means roasters could improve and experiment with roast profiles even more – allowing them to customise sensory profiles and showcase the full spectrum of coffee flavour.

Preserving coffee quality and maintaining consistency are vital to the success of any roastery. In time, AI software and machine learning will become increasingly integral parts of these processes.

Ultimately, using AI in conjunction with in-depth knowledge and expertise will help propel the coffee industry forward even further. And in the coming years, we can expect to see more and more roasters leverage the power of AI-assisted technology to achieve the best results they can.

Enjoyed this? Then read our article on why roaster manufacturers need to provide global support services.

Photo credits: Viva Sara, Bell Lane Coffee, Amokka Nordic Roasters, IMF Roasters, Ananas Roastery

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The competition relies on sponsors to provide essential funding and support, including supplying equipment. On 16 January 2024, the SCA announced Stronghold Technology as the Official Production Roaster Sponsor for the 2024-27 World Coffee Roasting Championship. The company’s S9X machine will be provided for the 2024 competition, which will take place from 27 to 29 June at World of Coffee Copenhagen.

So considering that different brands and models of machines have a huge impact on how a coffee should be roasted to highlight its best qualities, competitors need to know as much information about sponsor machines as possible before taking part.

To learn more, I spoke to Jason Woo, founder and CEO of Stronghold Technology, and Stefanos Domatiotis, founder of Create Coffee Roasters. 

You may also like our article on how you roast coffee for barista competitions.

What is the World Coffee Roasting Championship?

Every year, roasters from around the world take part in the World Coffee Roasting Championship (WCRC), which is organised by the Specialty Coffee Association. The competition is split into three stages:

• Pre-roasting stage – which includes green coffee evaluation, sample roasting, open cupping, and roast planning for both a single origin coffee and a blend
• Production roasting stage – competitors have 30 minutes to roast the single origin coffee and an hour for the blend
• Production roast evaluation stage – the judges cup and score all roasted coffees to determine a winner

Jason Woo is the CEO and founder of Stronghold Technology, a roaster manufacturer that has sponsored the WCRC and several national Coffee Roasting Championships since 2015.

“Over the past decade, we have witnessed the transformative power of competitions in shaping the specialty coffee industry,” he says. “These championships serve as platforms for innovation, where skilled participants can showcase new concepts, technologies, and techniques.”

How are sponsor machines selected?

Sponsors play a huge role in establishing competitions like the World Coffee Roasting Championship by providing necessary funding, equipment, and support. Simply put, it would be impossible for organisers to host the event in a different country every year without them.

One of the key forms of sponsorship for the WCRC is providing the equipment, including the most important piece of machinery: the roaster. In order to be selected as a qualified sponsor, roaster manufacturers must meet a series of rigorous requirements. Some of these are:

• Comply with a range of technical specifications, such as a 3 to 6kg batch capacity
• Meet various country-specific certifications and installations
• Perform to a consistently high standard for a competition environment

“Many international coffee champions have used the S9X not just in competitions, but also for commercial roasting,” Jason says.

Moreover, he explains how important it is for sponsors and organisers to share similar values, as this is also a crucial aspect of the selection process.

“As part of our ‘Assist, Connect, and Inspire’ ethos, we are committed to engaging with the coffee community, fostering connections, and pushing for further innovation, so our approach aligns with the SCA’s mission and purpose” Jason adds. “For example, in recent years, we have transitioned to zero-to low-carbon emission electric roasters to improve our sustainable practices.”

What do roasting competitors need to know about sponsor machines?

Whether in a commercial or competitive setting, roasters need to be familiar with the machines they have to use. If not, they run the risk of negatively impacting coffee quality and losing more of the desirable characteristics.

In a competition environment specifically, this, of course, can hinder a roaster’s chance at winning. So what are the most important factors they need to consider?

Stefanos Domatiotis is the founder of Create Coffee Roasters in Athens, Greece. He is also a seasoned coffee competitor – he won the 2014 World Brewers Cup and placed in the finals of the 2010 and 2012 World Barista Championships.

“First and foremost, competitors need to understand how they can create and modify roast profiles when using a specific machine,” he tells me. “To do this, they should familiarise themselves with variables like temperature control, airflow adjustments, and total roast time to calculate consistent and precise results.”

He adds that competitors should also practise according to recommended batch capacities for sponsored machines to ensure even heat distribution and consistent results. For instance, as the Stronghold S9X has a batch capacity between 3kg and 8kg, competitors shouldn’t roast above or below this range per batch.

Practice makes perfect

It goes without saying that roaster competitors are highly skilled and trained, so analysing and customising key roast profile metrics comes as second nature to many. But if a WCRC sponsor machine operates differently than one that a competitor is more familiar with, understanding how to monitor and change variables is vital for success.

One example that Stefanos mentions is knowing how to use the machine’s interface and control panels, which only comes with continuous practice.

“You have to be comfortable with navigating different settings, adjusting parameters on the fly, and troubleshooting any operational issues that may arise during practice sessions,” he tells me. “Essentially, you need to make sure you can consistently replicate optimal roast profiles.”

As part of the WCRC, competitors are provided with green coffee and a set of information, such as origin, altitude, processing method, and variety. Using this data, in addition to their knowledge and expertise, roasters are able to create optimal profiles in a much shorter space of time.

What’s more, roasters also receive dedicated lab time to measure variables like screen size, density, moisture content, and any defects, so understanding how to use sponsor machines in line with these factors is also very important.

Finally, Stefanos mentions that the machine’s cooling system will have an impact on competitors’ final scores and performance. 

“An efficient cooling procedure is crucial to prevent over-roasting and achieve optimal flavour development,” he explains. “I advise roasters to practise using the machine’s cooling cycle to achieve their desired roast level.”

Understanding what competition judges are looking for

As with any coffee championship, roaster competitors need to familiarise themselves with the rules and scoresheets, and always keep them in mind when developing roast profiles.

“The judges will expect a balanced flavour profile that highlights the unique characteristics of the provided coffee,” Stefanos says. “This requires skillful manipulation of various roast parameters to bring out the more desirable flavours.”

WCRC judges also assess a wide number of factors to determine a winner, such as bean colour, aroma, sweetness, and body. It’s therefore critical that competitors pay close attention to even the smallest details of how sponsor machines work. In turn, they can precisely control different variables to achieve the best results possible and increase their chances of success.

Using sponsor machines to your advantage

For obvious reasons, extensive practice with sponsor machines prior to competitions means roasters will feel more confident and prepared beforehand. In turn, this places them in a better position to perform well and receive higher scores.

Although all competitors may not have equal access to sponsor machines, it’s important that they can become as familiar as possible so they can use machine features to their advantage.

“Different coffees require specific roast profiles to bring out their best qualities,” Stefanos says. “The S9X’s triple heat system – which uses convection, conduction, and radiation heat generation and recirculation – enables competitors to tweak roasting parameters according to the unique characteristics of each coffee.

“This maximises the potential for exceptional expression of flavour,” he adds, also mentioning that roasters are able to achieve more balanced and consistent results.

As the popularity of roasting competitions has soared in recent years, the World Coffee Roasting Championship has been a pioneer of these events – helping organisers to innovate and shape the wider industry, too.

Equipment sponsorship also plays a fundamental role in these competitions. So if roasters want to achieve success, they need to understand how sponsor machines work.

But perhaps more importantly, they need to feel comfortable using these roasters. As a result, they can get the best out of their competition coffees and increase their chances of winning.

Enjoyed this? Then read our article on whether co-roasting spaces will become more popular in specialty coffee.

Photo credits: Stronghold Technology, Specialty Coffee Association, World Coffee Events

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Putting these plans that have been worked on for months or years into action can be extremely rewarding. Simultaneously, however, it can also be one of the most stressful times for a roastery – full of headaches and surprises, not to mention potentially costly and time-consuming. 

But with some careful planning and thoughtful preparation, roasters can successfully navigate the process of upgrading or expanding their facilities and operations.

To learn more, I spoke to Giorgio Mosca and Giovanni Bedeschi at IMF Roasters. Read on for more of their insight.

You may also like our article on how to know when it’s time to upgrade to a new roaster.

When is it time to upgrade your roasting facility?

Installing a new setup can be a one-time project for some roasters. However, for those looking to expand or streamline their operations, deciding to upgrade facilities and equipment can be an ongoing process.

Naturally, any new roasting business will need to install all the necessary equipment and machinery to roast, grind, package, and sell coffee. Similarly, as some roasteries expand business operations, they can often outgrow their current facilities. 

For instance, if a roaster needs to invest in a machine with a larger capacity (or possibly even multiple machines), this could be an indication that they need to upgrade their facilities as a whole. This is because a bigger machine will ultimately mean the roaster needs more space to store both green and roasted coffee, and may need to hire more staff to cope with increased demand.

Scaling operations is the most common example of when a roaster will upgrade their facilities and equipment. Let’s say a micro roaster who uses a 1kg-capacity machine receives an increase in online sales. To keep up with more orders and sell fresh coffee, it’s more than likely they will need to buy a 3kg-capacity machine – otherwise coffee quality could quickly slip.

The same can happen for larger-scale roasteries, too. As sales increase, operators may need to buy bigger machines, or even invest in new equipment to load, grind, and package coffee products.

Knowing when it’s the “right” time

It’s important, however, that roasters can foresee any spikes in sales prior to when they happen, so they have the time and capital to upgrade equipment and machinery before they really need them. Working with a roaster manufacturer can help with this process.

Giorgio Mosca is a senior area sales manager at IMF Roasters – a roastery manufacturer and distributor that also assists roasters with planning and setting up new facilities.

“We focus on providing direct consultancy services with our clients to help establish their specific needs to achieve the best solution for them,” he tells me. “First and foremost, it’s important to understand how they receive and store green coffee, how they roast coffee and store it, and how they package their products.”

Taking the first steps to upgrade a roasting facility

With so many factors to account for when upgrading a roastery, it’s critical that roasters prioritise tasks as much as possible. 

Generally speaking, one of the most important considerations is accounting for any space constraints with the current facility. If a roastery is unable to store all of its green coffee on site, for example, then ample storage space is essential – especially if orders are likely to keep increasing.

Another key step in the early stages of the process is considering the design and layout of the upgraded facility. By measuring new equipment and machinery before it’s installed, roasters can design a space which streamlines workflow and improves efficiency.

Mapping the “journey” of coffee through a roastery can also be a helpful way to design a more ergonomic roasting space. Some steps to consider are:

• Where will you receive and store green coffee shipments?
• Where will you weigh green coffee?
• Do you need a destoner or colour grading machine for green coffee?
• Where will you roast coffee and how will you transport green coffee to the machine?
• Once roasted, how will you transport coffee to storage? And where will it be stored?
• Where will you package and/or grind roasted coffee?
• How and where will you organise roasted coffee products to be shipped?

Giovanni Bedeschi is a senior sales manager at IMF Roasters, and has over 26 years’ experience in the roasting industry. He tells me that asking these questions “plays a fundamental role in maximising the potential of your coffee roastery, especially the machine itself”.

Powering a roastery

One key factor that can be overlooked when installing or expanding a roasting facility is having the right power supplies – especially if a roaster is switching from a gas to electric machine, or vice versa.

“Roasters will need all the necessary utilities, such as gas lines, compressed air and water supplies, and smokestacks,” Giorgio tells me.

As part of this, roasters need to make sure they understand local regulations about gas and electricity power supplies. When they have selected the right power supply for their machine, roasters then need to confirm where they will position it within the space. 

Many machines require significant power sources, so standard outlets won’t always suffice. Roasters need to make sure their facilities can meet their machine’s power requirements, and make any changes or upgrades if necessary.

Considering the size of your roaster

Arguably one of the most important points to factor in when upgrading a coffee roastery is the size of the new machine – and the capacity that works best is largely based on a business’ individual needs.

Many smaller-sized roasters start out using 1kg to 3kg-capacity machines, but if they decide to scale operations, they may need to invest in a 5kg or 15kg roaster to keep up with increased demand. 

Medium-sized commercial roasters generally use between 15kg and 30kg-capacity machines, whereas larger roasteries may need to roast up to 70kg batches of coffee at a time.

Ultimately, being able to anticipate when sales might increase (and by how much) can help roasters choose a machine that best suits their needs.

“It’s important to roast batches of coffee that match demand to avoid creating waste, optimise your resources utilisation, reduce operating costs, and improve production times,” Giovanni says. “When roasters work with equipment manufacturers such as IMF, they can rely on their expertise and insight, which is especially important for customers planning to scale their businesses. 

“Having extra space and additional margin creates space for new growth opportunities,” he adds.

Additionally, roasters also need to choose machines in line with their batch size requirements. For example, if they have to roast 1,000kg of coffee per week, they need to calculate how many hours it would take to fulfil orders using a 3kg-capacity machine. At the same time, roasters need to make sure they don’t exceed 75% of the machine’s capacity per batch – which helps to maintain the consistency and quality of their roast profiles.

On top of this, many equipment manufacturers also recommend a limit to how many batches businesses should roast per week, which will be different for every machine – and is another important factor to consider.

Prioritising equipment and machinery

Roasting businesses the world over rely on the same equipment and machinery – especially the roaster itself. But there is more to consider than just power supply and batch capacity.

“You need to think about how to best position your machine within your facility,” Giorgio says. “This helps to optimise energy consumption, reduce emissions, ensure safe product handling, protect people working in the roastery, and last but not least, prolong the lifespan of the machine and other equipment.”

Once a roaster has been purchased and installed, business operators can focus more on other key pieces of equipment that they want to upgrade. Every roastery will have different needs, so working closely with equipment manufacturers and distributors can be valuable.

“When designing and creating a new or updated facility, we must take into account key information about how the roaster operates,” Giovanni says. “It’s important that we can customise the experience for every client based on their business needs – even including how many origins they source from.”

Larger roasters, for example, will often install silos to store green and roasted coffee, whereas smaller-sized operations may only need to use plastic containers – so designing the space around the right kind of equipment is important.

Moreover, scaling a coffee roastery inevitably means that operators may need more grinders, destoners, and weighing or filling machines, as well as additional space for packing and shipping orders.

Installing and positioning equipment correctly

It goes without saying that roasters need to make sure their equipment is installed and fitted correctly – so relying on the expertise of equipment manufacturers is invaluable.

“Working with IMF technicians can help to avoid careless mistakes that could cause serious damage to the equipment or the facility,” Giorgio explains. 

Once machinery has been installed in a coffee roastery, it’s often very time-consuming – and sometimes expensive – to rearrange or adjust equipment. With this in mind, setting up an upgraded roasting facility relies heavily on understanding how to design the space so that efficiency and workflow are prioritised.

Most roasters will want to upgrade their facilities and equipment at some point in their careers, and there are many factors to consider to do it successfully.

Working with equipment manufacturers and distributors can often be one the most effective ways to plan and design an upgraded roasting space. In doing so, roasters can better understand how to prioritise their needs as effectively as possible.

Enjoyed this? Then read our article on why roaster manufacturers need to provide global support services.

Photo credits: IMF Roasters

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Additionally, as investing in a new machine is a sizeable purchase, it’s imperative that roasters receive the right level of assistance and advice from manufacturers. But not only that, ongoing support – whether online or in-person – is also essential for roasters to get the best long-term results from their machines.

To learn more, I spoke with Fantuzzi Federico, sales department and service supervisor at IMF Roasters. 

You may also like our article on how to know when it’s time to upgrade to a new roaster.

Common challenges after buying a new roaster

The machine is at the heart of any roastery – playing an essential role in how the business operates and having a huge impact on coffee quality. So before investing in a new machine, roasters must consider which type – whether gas or electric, drum or fluid bed, for example – would best suit their needs.

Once this decision is made, the simple act of purchasing a roaster is relatively easy. The logistics of transporting and installing a new roaster, however, require a lot of more thought and planning.

To facilitate the process as much as possible, machine manufacturers can assist roasters to make sure their new machine is suitable for their business, and more importantly, that it is installed correctly.

“Buying a new machine is always a challenge in terms of available space, utilities, and power supply,” Fantuzzi says. “IMF supports its customers with all the necessary information to properly install their new machines, as well as the necessary utilities – such as air compressors, chimneys, and electrical requirements.”

Adjusting to a new machine

Switching to using a new roaster – whether it’s a brand or a model you’re familiar with or not – takes some time to adjust. For example, buttons and switches may be located in other places, and the size, speed, and rate at which it operates might be different to your previous machine. 

In turn, without taking enough time to test out your new machine, the likelihood of making mistakes could increase. For any roaster, this could mean potentially losing both time and money. 

Naturally, avoiding these issues is incredibly important, so it’s imperative that roaster manufacturers provide their customers with as much support as possible in these early stages. 

“IMF offers many services, including support with developing roast profiles, access to lab equipment, and training for roasters,” Fantuzzi says. “We also work with expert independent trainers according to different services that businesses need.”

With any new machine comes a big learning curve. During that time, this will inevitably impact the quality of the coffee, so machine manufacturers should endeavour to support roasters to maintain consistency and quality throughout the transition period.

Why roasters need ongoing support when buying a new machine – and afterwards

While some purchasing relationships cease after the sale ends, it’s fair to say that most roasters require an ongoing partnership with their machine manufacturers. 

As coffee roasters are intricate machines, malfunctions are sometimes unavoidable. And this is especially true when the owner is operating a new machine, who may not always know how to resolve or troubleshoot these issues in the most effective ways.

“Customers can have different levels of experience with machines, so they will need different levels of support and guidance for carrying out maintenance,” Fantuzzi says. For instance, he explains that when purchasing an IMF roaster, you have the option to receive either local support services or support from the head office service team – depending on your preferences.

The first few weeks of operating a new machine are especially important. The owner needs to learn and understand the various nuances of their roaster, as well as how to best take care of and maintain it. 

“Roasters are machines with moving parts that require regular maintenance and cleaning,” Fantuzzi explains. “You need to clean some components more than others, such as fans and filters, while you will need to grease or replace others due to wear and tear.” 

With continuous guidance from manufacturers, roasters can make sure they stay on top of machine maintenance – and keep selling high-quality coffee to their customers.

What kind of support do roasters need?

There are many roaster manufacturers in the coffee industry. However, the ones that offer quality customer support right from the beginning stand out for several reasons.

“IMF provides detailed datasheets on its machines, as well as drawings and instructions for installing certain pieces of equipment,” Fantuzzi tells me. “In addition to checking the entire roasting space, our expert technical officers also assess the space where the roaster will be installed to make sure it will fit.”

Any manufacturer should want their machines to yield the best results possible for their customers. But the more support they can provide (especially on a long term basis), the more likely it is that their customers will see higher levels of success and satisfaction with their new machines.

“The roaster is the heart of the process, so if it stops, production will also stop – and it’s crucial to provide immediate support,” Fantuzzi says. Longer delays or unavailable support teams can diminish customer satisfaction very quickly, so the more efficient a manufacturer can be with providing support services, the more loyalty they can build with their customers.

Moreover, roaster manufacturers should invest in training new owners on how to best use their machines so they can minimise any common issues from the start. 

“IMF’s specialised personnel trains customers to carry out maintenance to best prepare them in case of future emergency issues,” Fantuzzi explains.

When an issue arises for a roaster, immediate assistance is necessary to ensure they can fulfill orders on time. To deal with these instances, machine manufacturers can provide a 24/7 online and video or phone call support service.

Online and in-person support

Without providing support, hours could pass between when an issue occurs and when a solution can be put in place – meaning orders become backed up and production grinds to a halt. 

“Most of the service requests that come in can generally be solved remotely the same day,” Fantuzzi says.

In cases when on-site support is needed, machine manufacturers should have a plan in place to send out a technician as soon as possible. Whether they are internal employees or trusted independent consultants, in-person support can be vital in certain situations.

Ultimately, providing both in-person and 24/7 online support ensures that machine manufacturers are catering to the needs of their customers around the world. Being readily available to assist customers – no matter where they are located – is a vital aspect of developing a healthy manufacturer-client relationship. 

“Providing global support services ensures the customer feels like they are in safe hands – whether they are in Australia, Europe, or anywhere else in the world,” Fantuzzi concludes.

Buying a new roaster for your business is a huge decision. But your choice shouldn’t just stop with the machine itself. Taking into account what kind of support services different manufacturers provide in both the short and long term is also a key factor.

In the end, with access to these services, coffee quality will be more consistent and your operations will run more smoothly.

Enjoyed this? Then read our article on how roasters store and transport roasted coffee safely and effectively.

Photo credits: IMF Roasters

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The decision to expand operations brings about many factors for roasters to consider, and one of the most important is investing in a new machine. Without a higher-capacity or more advanced machine, scaling a coffee business as sustainably as possible is quite the challenge.

So to learn more about how to know when it’s time to buy a new machine, I spoke to Niko Sunko, head roaster and green coffee buyer at Bell Lane Coffee in Mullingar, Ireland.

You may also like our article on how roasters manage their green coffee supplies.

Why scale your roastery?

Like any company, most roasteries aspire to grow. In terms of sales and other areas of business development, it’s rare that a coffee roaster would want to remain stagnant.

One of the biggest ways to expand operations is to take on a wholesale client. Naturally, when selling coffee to wholesale accounts, bulk orders will increase. In turn, the amount of coffee you need to roast will rise significantly.

It’s also worth noting, however, that the profit per bag of wholesale coffee will be smaller compared to direct-to-consumer orders. So to maintain or improve profits, the quantity of coffee sold also needs to increase, which usually means buying a larger-capacity machine. By roasting larger batches of coffee, operators can reduce labour costs and save time – and thereby increase the profit margin per wholesale bag.

But selling wholesale coffee may not be the most profitable or sustainable option for many roasters – and isn’t the only reason to scale operations. Opening an ecommerce store can be a more accessible way for roastery owners to sell more coffee – which means investing in a bigger roaster in the first place.

Beyond increasing business-to-business and business-to-consumer sales, roasters also need to ensure operations remain streamlined as they scale.

“When scaling our roastery, one of the advantages was strengthening our relationships with producers,” Niko says. “Importing larger volumes of green coffee is logistically easier for us, and also improves sales and revenue for both parties.”

So when should you scale operations?

First and foremost, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to expanding your coffee roasting business.

“It’s the ideal time to scale up your roastery when you have achieved stability in your operations and all aspects of production are running smoothly,” Niko suggests. “This often signifies that you have the knowledge and capabilities to handle production, sourcing, quality control, and logistics growth effectively.”

When a roastery experiences a continuous increase in the amount of coffee it’s roasting, it presents a good opportunity to assess whether it’s worth buying a larger machine.

Essentially, roasting higher volumes of coffee is a direct result of increased sales, which thereby indicates a rise in demand. If sales data from the past few years is available (and you can predict any trends or patterns) then a roaster should be able to project sales growth over a specific period of time. 

Additionally, a roastery operator should also be able to estimate the amount of coffee to roast each week, as well as the number of hours it will take on their current machine. If the production and labour costs still break even while using that machine then it’s probably not time to upgrade to a new one.

Do you always need a larger roaster when expanding operations?

It’s certainly possible for a roaster to maintain operations while still using a small machine. But there are a few considerations to keep in mind.

Selling larger volumes of roasted coffee inevitably means more time spent operating the machine.

“Roasting smaller batches in succession to meet increased demand can be inefficient and labour-intensive,” Niko says, who uses an IMF roaster.

What’s more, consistency and quality are essential for roasting specialty coffee, so roasting smaller batches more often isn’t the most effective solution when sales start to increase.

“It will always be easier to consistently roast ten consecutive batches rather than 30,” he adds. “Investing in a larger machine often means you can exert more control over different variables, which is essential for maintaining consistency and quality as volumes increase.” 

With this in mind, most manufacturers recommend that you don’t load roasters to more than 75% of their stated capacity per roast. On top of this, equipment manufacturers also recommend a limit as to how many batches you should roast per week on one machine. 

For example, if a roaster can handle 5kg batches every 15 minutes, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you can fulfil 800kg of orders by roasting 160 batches per week without damaging your machine – not to mention the high energy costs.

Looking at different sized roasters

After choosing to buy a new machine, roasters first need to know which size will work best for them. This is largely based on how much coffee can be roasted per batch. 

Smaller-sized roasters include home, sample, and small commercial machines. Many businesses start with smaller commercial roasters which have a 1kg to 3kg capacity.

However, if a business decides to scale, they are likely to need a bigger machine to keep up with an increase in orders – ranging from a 5kg to 15kg roaster.

Medium-sized commercial roasters, meanwhile, generally have a capacity between 15kg and 30kg. In many cases, these machines work best for most roasteries.

“For example, the IMF RM30 is a higher-capacity roaster that comes with integrated features such as a destoner and loader for green coffee,” Niko says.

A machine with a batch size of 30kg or more is considered a large roaster. Some of these models can even hold 70kg batches of coffee – which makes them much more suitable for large commodity-grade roasters.

“When scaling to establish a larger operation, the IMF RM60 has an even higher batch capacity,” Niko adds. “But it’s essential to work closely with an engineering and design team to plan your roastery layout, especially if you need to include packing lines for larger operations.”

Tips for investing in a larger roaster

Although upgrading the machine is just one aspect of expanding your roastery, it will have a significant effect on operations across the board.

Cost is almost always the main consideration. Roasters are one of the most expensive pieces of equipment that coffee businesses can buy, which has a huge impact on budgets.

A bigger machine will naturally also take up more space in a roastery, so you certainly need to account for enough room to ensure an efficient workflow.

Moreover, investing in a larger roaster typically means you will need more storage space for both green and roasted coffee. Packaging supplies, ventilation systems, storage containers, increased waste, and more staff working in the roastery should all also be accounted for when designing a larger space.

Energy supply is also important. When upgrading to a larger machine, keep in mind whether the roaster is powered by gas or electricity – and how this could affect your power sources. In these cases, it’s recommended to consult a professional roastery design company such as IMF.

Scaling roastery operations is generally a smart move for most coffee businesses. However, it must be done carefully and thoughtfully – and investing in a machine is one of the most important steps.

Prematurely upgrading your roaster too soon, however, can also bring about its own set of issues. Ultimately, it’s about weighing up the pros and cons, and taking all factors into consideration.

Enjoyed this? Then read our article on how roasters store and transport roasted coffee safely and effectively.

Photo credits: Bell Lane Coffee

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It’s ultimately a roaster’s responsibility to bring out the best characteristics of each coffee – and potentially highlight more of its nuanced qualities. So bearing in mind that no two coffees are exactly the same, roasters will need to develop different roast profiles for each one to get the best results.

But is there a universal approach to roast profiling that coffee professionals can follow – and then tweak accordingly for every coffee? Or is it best to take a different approach every time?

I spoke to Marcus Young, Executive Vice President of Coffee at goodboybob, and Fabio Ferreira, co-founder of Notes Coffee, to find out more.

You may also like our guide to roasting specialty coffee for espresso.

What is roast profiling?

In the coffee industry, we often talk about light, medium, and dark roast profiles – but what do they really mean?

Sweet Maria’s defines a roast profile as “what happened during the roast and what adjustments were made to affect the outcome”. Essentially, it’s a set of data collected during the roasting process, namely time and temperature. These data points are then displayed on a graph (or roast curve) so they can be replicated – similar to a recipe used for cooking or baking.

We can then define roast profiling as the process of manipulating variables like time and temperature to get a good balance of acidity, sweetness, bitterness, and texture for a specific coffee.

Marcus is the Executive Vice President of Coffee at goodboybob, a Golden Bean-winning specialty coffee roaster in California, US. He says that a big part of learning how to develop roast profiles is tasting many different coffees.

“In order to be a great roaster, you’ve first got to be a great cupper,” he tells me. 

Cupping is an industry practice carried out by producers, green coffee buyers, and roasters around the world to taste coffee. It follows a standard set of brewing protocols, which Q graders use to assess and score sensory profiles and quality.

Regularly tasting a variety of coffees – including different origins, altitudes, processing methods, and varieties – means roasters are better able to understand the vast range of flavours in coffee. In turn, the process of developing and customising roast profiles becomes easier.

Why is it so important?

As we’ve established, every coffee is different. For example, a coffee grown in a humid climate at a lower elevation will react differently when roasted compared to another coffee grown at a higher elevation in drier environmental conditions.

But climate and altitude are just two factors among many that affect roast profiling. Take origin for instance. With most Kenyan coffees having much brighter and more prominent acidity than coffees grown in other countries, this needs to be accounted for when developing a roast profile.

Similarly, you also need to roast washed coffees differently to natural, honey, and experimentally processed coffees.

Considering this, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to roast profiling. But what roasters can do is follow general steps and guidance to find the optimal roast profile for a particular coffee.

Where do you start with roast profiling?

For more experienced roasters, it’s often easier to develop an initial roast profile for a coffee they have never sourced before.

Fabio co-founded UK roaster Notes Coffee in 2008 with business partner Robert Robinson. He says that when he buys a new coffee, he looks through previous roast profiles to find an initial one that may work best.

“I use that roast profile as my baseline so that I don’t roast the new coffee ‘blind’,” Fabio tells me. 

This obviously helps to increase the chances of developing a good roast profile the first time around – and then tweaking accordingly to get the best results. 

Newer roasters, however, are unlikely to have as big of a roast profile catalogue than more established ones. In turn, they need to consider various attributes of the coffee, and build a roast profile from there.

To assist with the process, both Fabio and Marcus recommend buying a coffee from a previous harvest from your green coffee supplier. Less experienced roasters can then use this cheaper coffee to play around with roast profiling, and better understand how different variables impact overall sensory profile.

Which factors are the most important to consider?

There are, of course, many crucial variables to factor in when developing a roast profile. But arguably, bean density and processing methods are two of the most important.

“Bean density is an essential factor for me to understand how ‘hard’ I can ‘hit’ a particular coffee,” Marcus says. For example, you may need to roast a denser coffee at a higher temperature, whereas less dense coffee usually requires a lower drop temperature and a more gentle approach.

“Similarly, processing method can also tell me how much heat I should apply,” Marcus adds. “For a washed coffee, I would roast it for a little longer, while for a natural coffee, I would reduce total roast time to showcase more of its flavours.”

Beyond bean density and processing method, other variables are also key to remember:

• Variety (which impacts bean size – another important factor)
• Origin
• Moisture content (which should be between 8% and 12.5% for green coffee)

Understanding what causes roast profiles to change

Although green coffee is a stable product, it will eventually start to age over time – usually around a year after harvest. With this in mind, roasters need to be aware of how green coffee will change in the months ahead.

As green coffee ages, it will start to lose its acidity and sweetness. This means that to avoid any flat, stale, or papery flavours, roasters need to create roast profiles accordingly.

“With older green coffee, I usually roast a little bit longer, which gives you more time to develop the sugars and flavour compounds,” Marcus says. “For instance, if it was a ten-minute roast when the coffee was fresh, then I would increase the total roast time to 10.5 or 11 minutes.”

Both green and roasted coffee must be stored in optimal conditions to preserve freshness and quality for as long as possible. Variables like temperature, humidity levels, and exposure to light and oxygen play a big role in this.

Looking specifically at temperature, significant fluctuations will cause green coffee to age much more quickly, which then affects how the coffee will be roasted. 

“Even the weather will influence your roast profiling,” Fabio says. He describes a time when he developed a roast profile for a specific coffee which should have produced good results, but his curve was “completely off the charts”.

“It was too cold that day,” he adds, emphasising that roasters should account for weather conditions on batch production days and how they might impact the roasting process.

Keeping variables consistent

There are certainly many other factors that can influence a roast profile, however, some of them are more related to technique rather than how the coffee is changing over time. 

Batch size is important, for example. If you roast with a different amount of coffee every time, you will inevitably receive different results with every batch. This is because batch size affects air flow in the roaster, which then impacts heat distribution in the machine.

Similarly, if you roast the same coffee on two different machines, the results are likely to be noticeably different.

As a general rule of thumb, keep variables like batch size and type of machine as consistent as possible. It’s then much easier to identify other key variables which need to be changed to achieve the best possible roast profile.

Tips & advice on how to approach roast profile development

It takes plenty of practice to create a roast profile that’s just right for a particular coffee. However, the process shouldn’t be intimidating. Ultimately, you always need to consider how the coffee should taste – and develop a profile which best highlights these characteristics.

“The reality is that there’s a lot of different ways to roast really good coffees, and people should be open minded to happy surprises,” Marcus says. 

Fabio, meanwhile, recommends that roasters shouldn’t become too fixated on “the aesthetic of the roast curve”.

“Sometimes it’s too easy to not look at the numbers and how the roast curve developed, or factor in which coffee you’re using,” he says. “You may have a beautiful roast curve, but the coffee might not taste great.”

Tasting different coffees

As previously mentioned, one of the most effective ways to improve roasting skills is to try as many different coffees as possible.

“For anyone that starts roasting, learn how to cup coffee,” Fabio explains. “It’s easy to train new roasters how to manage machines and follow profiles, but you need to know how to taste coffee. 

“And sometimes that’s the most difficult part of the job,” he adds. “A good roaster needs to know how to hone the acidity and sweetness of coffee – it all comes down to tasting.”

So is there a universal way to approach roast profiling? Well, yes and no. With each coffee being unique – and changing over time – roasters need to account for these differences to get the best results.

One thing roasters can always do to improve the consistency of their roast profiles, however, is to taste many different coffees on a regular basis. This way, they can better understand the range of flavours in coffee – and how to highlight them as much as possible.

Enjoyed this? Then read our article on how to define your roast profile.

Photo credits: Amit Dave, Daniel Mendoza, Elina Feofantova

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There are endless considerations to account for. These range from choosing a machine to finding a workspace to accommodate all equipment, storage space, and employees.

So in order to minimise these challenges and streamline operations, many budding new roasters have started to use co-roasting spaces.

These workspaces are much more flexible and accessible options for those interested in launching their own roasting business, but who may not have the ability to invest upfront in all the necessary resources.

To find out more, I spoke to Arash Hassanian, CEO of RoasTronix – a co-roasting space and an exclusive US distributor of Stronghold roasters. Read on for more of his insight.

You may also like our article on how automation makes the specialty coffee sector more productive.

What are co-roasting spaces?

Arash tells me that roasting collectives (or shared roasting spaces or roasting collectives) work very simply.

“They are collaborative facilities where roasters can rent and share roasting and packaging equipment,” he says. “These spaces also provide educational resources, hands-on support, training, and workshops.

“Classes held at co-roasting spaces usually cover a number of topics, such as roasting techniques, how to evaluate green coffee, and general advice for running a successful roasting business,” he adds.

Additionally, shared roasting spaces often host community events and public or private cuppings. In turn, they are designed to accommodate large groups.

As many different coffee professionals need to share machines and other pieces of equipment, roasters generally have to book hourly or daily slots. 

“Roasters have the option to rent space and equipment based on a flexible schedule that meets their individual needs,” Arash says. “This allows them to reduce the initial investment in their business, while still having access to high-quality equipment.

“These spaces are also an affordable and accessible entry point for aspiring roasters, and a place for more established businesses to experiment and collaborate,” he adds.

Why are they becoming more popular?

With explosive growth of specialty coffee around the world, it’s inevitable that more industry professionals want to start their own roasting business. According to Euromonitor, the total value of global retail sales of coffee was US $180 billion in 2019. Moreover, it’s predicted to grow by another US $12.5 billion by the end of 2023. 

When looking at co-roasting spaces specifically, it’s clear that accessibility is one of the biggest drivers of their popularity. For many roasting start-ups, the upfront investment required to rent space and purchase machinery is a significant barrier to success. Some of the most important pieces of equipment for a roastery of any size include:

• High-quality roasters
• De-stoners (which removes any physical contaminants from the beans, such as stones and small twigs)
• Filling and packing machines for roasted coffee

“One of the biggest advantages is having easier access to premium roasting equipment because it helps to reduce any immediate expenses,” Arash explains. “Using shared roasting spaces means more coffee professionals have the ability to roast and sell their own coffee without worrying about the cost of equipment and rent.”

He tells me that RoasTronix is set to open its co-roasting facility in Houston, Texas in September 2023. The company will exclusively distribute Stronghold’s machines across the US. 

“The shared roasting model is not only appealing to coffee enthusiasts who are new to roasting, but to established businesses as well,” he says. “These facilities are helping to bridge a gap in the industry, where previously individuals or brands were unable to roast coffee on a larger scale.”

Developing a sense of community

Alongside improving accessibility, roasting collectives also encourage coffee professionals to connect and share ideas. As roasters have to share machines and other equipment, using the same space inevitably provides more opportunities to collaborate.

“The sense of community fostered within these spaces also contributes to a stronger and more innovative specialty coffee sector,” Arash explains. “When roasters share their experiences and insight with each other, they collectively contribute to a better coffee industry.”

The benefits of using co-roasting spaces

Although roasting collectives are certainly most advantageous for micro roasters and other smaller-sized coffee businesses, companies of any size can benefit.

For example, buying expensive equipment – and paying for regular servicing and maintenance – means costs can quickly add up for roasters. Moreover, rental expenses can also be significantly reduced.

With access to a wide range of high-quality shared equipment in a designated workspace, roasters can invest their financial resources in other areas of their business.

“At RoasTronix, there are several Stronghold roasters available, including the S7 Pro and S7X – which both have a capacity of 850g,” Arash says. This makes these machines more ideal for smaller roasting operations and roasters looking to experiment with new profiles.

“The S9X machine, meanwhile, is available in both 3kg and 8kg-capacity models,” he adds. “All of our Stronghold machines are electric and include integrated smart technology, so roasters can save roast profiles to easily replicate when necessary.”

The immersive aspect of co-roasting spaces is also appealing to both industry professionals and coffee enthusiasts. Both can visit these facilities to learn more about roasting and the specialty coffee sector in general. In light of this, roasting collectives often display innovative and unique equipment and technology.

“We will showcase Stronghold’s S7 Pro, S7X, and S9X roasters, which have been used by many World Barista Championship competitors – including 2023 World Barista Champion Boram Um,” Arash tells me.

Better access to education

One of the key features of most co-roasting spaces is providing training opportunities, including workshops and one-on-one sessions with experienced industry professionals.

“RoasTronix offers a unique opportunity for anyone interested in roasting to get started quickly,” Arash explains. “Even if you’ve never roasted coffee before, you can start immediately with support from an experienced staff member. 

“The interactive aspect of roasting collectives also offers a better level of guidance than watching a video or reading an article,” he adds. “Experienced roasters and newcomers alike are able to utilise the space with no barriers to entry or growth.”

A large part of this revolves around not only sharing knowledge and expertise on roasting techniques, but also on a much broader range of topics. These can include green coffee quality evaluation, how to develop closer partnerships with producers, and general guidance and advice on how to build a coffee business.

“Roasting in a shared facility with other experienced professionals means you have access to a community with a wealth of knowledge they are more than happy to share with you,” Arash says.

Ultimately, this only serves to improve coffee quality and build on roasters’ skills and proficiency.

Impact on the wider specialty coffee sector

Accessibility is one of the biggest challenges of specialty coffee. Some business owners experience many barriers to growth in an increasingly competitive market. Co-roasting spaces, however, are one of several solutions to these issues.

“I believe co-roasting spaces will bring about significant change in specialty coffee,” Arash says. “These facilities can help to inspire a fresh new wave of coffee roasters, and foster creativity and innovation in roasting.

“They have the potential to make the coffee industry more diverse, competitive, and exciting,” he adds. “There is a community-driven approach, where knowledge, expertise, and resources can be quickly shared and implemented.”

Furthermore, by creating immersive and interactive spaces for people interested in specialty coffee, roasting collectives help to bridge a gap in consumer knowledge. Visitors have the opportunity to engage with professionals, watch the roasting process themselves, and get a closer look at how machines work.

Driving coffee quality forward

Naturally, through fostering a more collaborative environment, co-roasting spaces can help roasters improve their skills and experiment with roast profiles. This ranges from seasoned professionals to those with less experience.

“This ultimately results in higher-quality coffee, as well as a more diverse range of roast profiles,” Arash says. “RoasTronix’s decision to create a co-roasting space is more than just an addition to our business portfolio. It’s a significant step towards making roasting more accessible, fostering a community of passionate roasters, and setting new standards in the industry.”

With demand for specialty coffee only continuing to grow, there are more reasons than ever before for industry professionals to start roasting their own coffee.

Co-roasting spaces can offer a more accessible route for smaller-sized businesses looking to diversify and grow. In turn, they are likely to become more popular in the coming years.

Enjoyed this? Then read our article on why some roasters are switching to electric machines.

Photo credits: RoasTronix

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At the same time, however, it’s also important for roasters to offer products which suit a range of customers’ needs, including pre-ground coffee. These products are ground and packaged at the roastery, before roasters sell them to consumers.

Given that ground coffee is highly sensitive to a number of environmental conditions, it’s absolutely imperative that roasters seal and package pre-ground coffee as safely and effectively as possible.

To learn more, we spoke with Gian Pietro Balboni, Process Engineer at IMF Roasters. Read on to find out more about packaging and selling ground coffee.

You may also like our article on how roasters can store and transport roasted coffee safely & effectively.

Why should roasters sell pre-ground coffee?

For near enough any specialty coffee roaster, whole bean coffee serves an important purpose. By grinding coffee just before brewing, wholesale customers and consumers alike can guarantee their coffee tastes fresher and better.

However, not all coffee consumers will have access to a grinder – or may not want to invest in one altogether. 

Moreover, a US survey from 2020 found that 76% of people purchased their coffee pre-ground. While this percentage certainly varies from country to country, it’s clear that there is demand for pre-ground coffee.

It’s important to remember that convenience is a major purchasing factor for many consumers. And while price and quality are also key points to consider, some studies have found that nearly half of consumers believe convenience is more important than price when deciding where to shop.

Ultimately, for many consumers, pre-ground coffee is highly convenient. On top of that, there has also been a massive increase in the popularity of pods and capsules, as well as single-serve bags.

At the same time, however, pre-ground coffee products still need to be high-quality to make sure that consumers experience the full range of a coffee’s sensory profile.

Why do roasters need to package ground coffee safely and effectively?

Roasted coffee – whether ground or whole bean – is an unstable product. This is because many chemical reactions take place when roasters apply high temperatures to green coffee. These reactions then create irreversible changes within the cell structure of the coffee beans – and thereby help to develop its flavours and aromas.

During the roasting process, a number of gases – including carbon dioxide (CO2) – form inside coffee beans. Although the roasting process causes some CO2 and water vapour to release, the majority of it remains trapped inside the beans.

Pre-ground coffee, however, is even more unstable than whole bean. This is because when you grind coffee, it releases around 60% to 70% of its CO2 content. This is an indicator of an immediate loss of freshness.

Research has found that the amount of CO2 contained in coffee is a “physical” marker of freshness. Essentially, the more CO2 there is in coffee, the more “fresh” it is.

“Ground coffee also degrades easily when in contact with oxygen because of the oxidation process, which is the main reason for loss of freshness and aroma,” Gian says.

Considering this, it’s important that roasters implement strict protocols and procedures to protect the integrity of ground coffee. If the appropriate controls aren’t put in place, the risk of contamination, as well as the loss of quality and freshness, becomes all too prevalent.

This is mainly because when coffee is ground, the surface area of the coffee beans increases significantly. Essentially, this increases the coffee’s exposure to a number of different variables, including:

• Oxygen
• Heat
• Sunlight

Over a long enough period of time, prolonged exposure to these factors will inevitably lead to a loss of flavour, aroma, and freshness.

Concerns about selling pre-ground coffee

Some specialty coffee roasters may be hesitant about selling pre-ground coffee at all – mainly because the challenges with freshness can be associated with a loss of quality. However, contamination is another challenge to keep in mind.

As ground coffee has a larger surface area – and therefore more exposure to elements and variables – than whole bean coffee, there are more opportunities for contamination. For instance, ground coffee will naturally absorb more moisture, odours, and flavours from its surrounding environment.

Although the roasting process is typically considered a “kill step” (the point where any potentially dangerous pathogens and microorganisms are removed from the product), ground coffee is still susceptible to contamination. This is especially true when it is stored, transported, or packaged improperly.

In light of this, roasters need to ensure that their pre-ground coffee products are stored, transported, and packaged in a way that mitigates exposure to any potential hazards.

What equipment do roasters need?

To sell high-quality pre-ground coffee products, roasters need to ensure they have the right equipment for storage, transportation, and packaging.

“Ground coffee is very sensitive to certain variables, and has a shorter shelf life,” Gian says, therefore packaging needs to elongate shelf life as much as possible. 

Pre-ground coffee products are moved around a lot, ranging from handling by roasters, to transportation, to the consumers themselves.

By the time roasted coffee is ground, packaged, and then sent to the consumer, there is significant potential to lose quality.

To address these issues, roasters need to consider storage systems first.

“IMF’s ground coffee storage systems are designed to preserve freshness and quality,” Gian tells me. “We design specific storage silos which reduce any contact between ground coffee and oxygen in the surrounding environment.”

Nitrogen flushing

As exposure to oxygen is one of the primary factors which reduces the shelf life of ground coffee, some roasters flush the oxygen out of their packaging, replacing it with nitrogen.

“IMF also provides storage systems which allow nitrogen to enter the silo,” Gian explains. “This preserves more aromatic compounds during the degassing phase. 

“The nitrogen-flushing system expels oxygen from the silos,” he adds. “The silos are then under controlled conditions so that there is no contact between ground coffee and oxygen for better aroma preservation.

“Our silos also have high vacuum cycles which forcibly extract CO2 from ground coffee in less time than the typical degassing phase,” he continues.

Roasteries of any size can implement systems like these, but it largely depends on their budgets.

Degassing

“Product freshness and preservation of quality are necessary to assure that residual CO2 in ground coffee is suitable for packaging,” Gian says. This is particularly important, otherwise bags can expand and rupture if the coffee hasn’t been left to degas for a sufficient amount of time.

Considering this, degassing valves can be particularly useful. These are usually contain a cap, an elastic disc, a viscous layer, a polyethylene plate, and a paper filter. As pressure builds up when CO2 gradually releases from coffee, it will eventually pass the surface tension. Following this, the viscous layer will displace the diaphragm, allowing the excess CO2 to escape.

Selling ground coffee is a successful income stream for many roasters, but it’s essential that they know how to store, transport, and package these products as effectively as possible.

Throughout this process, roasters also need a comprehensive plan for preserving freshness (and therefore quality) every step of the way – both before the coffee is roasted and ground, and afterwards.

Enjoyed this? Then read our article on how specialty roasters manage their green coffee supplies.

Photo credits: IMF Roasters

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The post What equipment do roasters need to package and sell ground coffee? appeared first on Perfect Daily Grind.