Roasters

corp · September 2006

??? ???Can anyone tell me what to look for in a coffee roaster?? Machine that is.. I am wishing to get a medium sized one to fit in a cafe ??? ???.

nzroaster · September 2006

My first advice would be to talk to a roaster whos coffee you enjoy, or somebody who will train you.

askthecoffeeguy · September 2006

If you buy your own machine you have more flexibility when it comes to choosing your product, and how it is deployed. Also, as a major component of your business, I would be examining the quality, quality control, and service of your proposed provider, before even beginning to examine the machine question. Besides which, from my understanding, you need to be turning over min 25 - 30 kg of coffee every week before most roasters will even consider lending you a machine. Or were you looking to buy one? ACG

nzroaster · September 2006

I think he means a coffee roaster to roast coffee? or do you???

askthecoffeeguy · September 2006

you are quite right, i will read the small print more carefully next time! can recommend St Ali & Coffeemax in Melbourne, though, as excellent examples of boutique coffee roaster / cafe concepts, if that is of any help to you. ACG

tommy · September 2006

now im confused.... arent you after suggestions on what machine (that being a roaster) would be suitable to live in your cafe?

FreshCoffee2 · September 2006

There are a couple of avenues I know of off the top of the head. IMEX produces something that will do the job. There is no importer that I know of and you probably have to deal direct with the manufacturer in Korea. It has been done before and there is one example in Canberra, so I guess there shouldnt be any problem dealing with this manufacturer O/S. You can also find people in Oz that import roasters of the usual Turkish / Greek varieties. They are always cheaper than European or American roasting machines and so be it. Also you will occasionally find someone that has upgraded or upsized, and wants to sell their used smaller equipment. Mind, a)when you do any of this you do it on your own with no back up from anyone so you enter the steep learning curve lifestyle and make your own mistakes and b) it is sometimes said that cafe owners that want to roast their own dont actually have enough business (because if they did they wouldnt have enough time to actually roast their own and or do both jobs properly ie run a good cafe, and roast good coffee) and c) those who have the idea to place a roaster in their cafe should take care not to be unduly influenced in their decision, by the idea that they will reduce their raw material costs by roasting their own. This is the last reason that should influence the decision to place a roaster in the cafe....the cafe should be viable in any case.

Mr_Nang · September 2006

you are quite right, i will read the small print more carefully next time! can recommend St Ali & Coffeemax in Melbourne, though, as excellent examples of boutique coffee roaster / cafe concepts, if that is of any help to you. ACG

2 others that come 2 mind are Icoco and Stefanos

mick · October 2006

hey sorry to go away from the topic or should i say the conversation but i have a question. can anyone tell me what they think are the top 10 coffee roasters ie companys in australia and if your interested ill tell you what i think are the 10 best in new zealand

scottie · October 2006

Hello Wideyes There is a whole range of avenues you could take. You will find most companies that make roasters spend lots of time money and research on larger copacity roasters, i.e. 60kg plus copacity. This is obviously because this is where the money is for them. This is unfortunate because I believe the only way to achieve the highest level of quality in the cup possible every day in an espresso bar is to have an in house roaster. But what it does mean is that whatever small roaster you buy in order to get the most out of it you will have to tweek it, so hopefully you have a mechanical/engeneering type mind. You can find if you look little roasters for as little as $2000 on ebay, then theres offcoarse installation costs. This option could prove profitable for someone with extensive roasting knowledge and new how to tweek it to get the most out of it. Then theres cheap Turkish roasters such as Toper, benefits:- Cheap. Shortfalls:- Flame directly on drum, and drum not perferated which causes too much conductive heat which results in extensive scorching and tipping; Vey low effeciency which results in roaster not being able to effectively roast its designated capasity i.e. a 30kg toper will probably effectively roast 15kg no more, this is caused by small flame and the metal casing surrounding the drum doesnt hold the heat well so you lose a lot of heat around the sides and bottom of the drum. Again with a lot of skill and knowledge a good roaster can achieve a half decent result with a toper. Probat Old faithful you might call her, any one who knows anything about roasting will know this name, mostly because theyve been around for at least 40 years. Popular in Italy where they are still doing things a bit old school, not so popular in Aus, NZ and Scandanavia where thers a bit more creativity and invetivenes going on. I don't know a lot about there technical aspects but I do have friend who visited there factory overseas and he wasn't impressed by them. Brombati (not sure if this spelling is right) Seem pretty popular in Aus The salesman for them is a guy named Danny, I forgot his last name. But i am pretty sure he has fairly extensive knowledge and is quite helpfull. Petrichini (not sure if this spelling is right) Joper Flame on drum in smaller models, flame incased in a large kiln type box well below drum in larger models. Great heat effeciency. Dean Morgan from Morgans Handcrafted Coffee brings these in and is great at teaching. Renagade American roasters made by Joper very forward moving and inventive. Deitrich American roaster, and another very popular name amongst roasters, also very expensive. Has infra red discs below drum, no flame. This is to achieve more convective heat and heat effeciency. Just remember some cheaper roasters look attractive because they are cheap, but their heat effeciency isn't great so in the long run you spend more money on gas than you would on say a Detriech, Probat or Joper. The price of these is more in the beginning but the long term cost is lower. I hope this is a bit helfull Wideyes Scottie

knowhow · October 2006

Is anyone aware if there anyone out there that runs roasting training or people willing to mentor etc?

nzroaster · October 2006

Best to contact AASCA about the training. Although when I bought the Diedrich I was given a free ticket to the roasting course (unfortunately its in the states and I still haven't done it). Failing that most roasters I know would train you for $60-$150 an hour depending.

knowhow · October 2006

Thanks NZ Roaster What are your thoughts on the Diedrich? I've researched them a bit and the old saying you get what you pay for is right on the money with roasting equipment. I'd love an IR 12 or 24 but ouch they're expensive.. I must say just the thought of learning to roast brings a massive smile to m face

nzroaster · October 2006

I love the Diedrich, great machine to work on. I've never worked on other modern roasters (previously it was a 1954 Probat and 1979 Petroncini) so I can't comment on them. I think whatever you get, as long as its good quality, your style will change/develope to suit the equipment. Do your research and avoid cheap quality. A good example is after months of profile work with a customer on his Has Garanti it has become decorative and I now roast for him, so get something that you can grow on.

knowhow · October 2006

Thanks NZ Roaster! Wise words. I'm not having much luck finding someone in Oz to mentor / consult /assist me - I'll keep looking. AASCA hasn't even responded yet (I'm impatient, may take time I suppose) Thanks for taking the time to respond

coffee_head · October 2006

I reckon coffex have the best roasting set up in Australia. Everything is digitally controlled.

BenB · October 2006

Thanks NZ Roaster! Wise words. I'm not having much luck finding someone in Oz to mentor / consult /assist me - I'll keep looking. AASCA hasn't even responded yet (I'm impatient, may take time I suppose) Thanks for taking the time to respond

In all likelyhood, AASCA will forward you to the current head of the Roasters Guild, Dean Morgan. You can check out his site and get contact details from http://www.morganscoffee.com/. I've met Dean a couple of times and always found him to a passionate, knowledgeable and sharing guy. I'm sure he should be able to point you in the right direction. Cheers, Ben

knowhow · October 2006

Awesome Ben B thanks for the contact point. Had a quick look at the site and it looks spot on! Thanks for the info on Coffex too coffee head

Thanks for your help everyone - much appreciated!

nzroaster · October 2006

I reckon coffex have the best roasting set up in Australia. Everything is digitally controlled.

Maccas have digitally controlled espresso machines....does that mean they have the best set-up for a cafe?

knowhow · October 2006

I like the idea of experimenting. I want to (insert need to)learn the baics but then want to discover my own path and perhaps hopefully feed off /share across a similar minded group. Automation may (would)be cool once I've "discovered" and wish to repeat any process...(Otherwise knowing me I'll always be trying to discover the next blend, without properly documenting what got me there...) Roasting to me is about 'discovering' and 'creating' an outlet to balance my creative and business demons..

askthecoffeeguy · October 2006

Maccas have digitally controlled espresso machines....does that mean they have the best set-up for a cafe?

That doesn't mean that their isn't a high level of manual intervention in the roasting process, and, as someone who used to stock their product, I can say that, as a large scale producer, they manage to maintain remarkable consistency in their roast. Also, as a roaster, I'm surprised that you would compare a digital espresso machine to digital roasting facilities! Anyways, I'm all about the small guy now, and am very happy with the single origin coffee that we use at my joint! Patrick II

nzroaster · October 2006

Know How, That is exactly it, you need to know the basics and a little more. Even though you will develope your own style once you have your own equipment and customers, you do need to learn about stle justification. People will alwayschallange what you do as a roaster so the big thing there is to know how to argue your case (which is normally through intensive trial and error with cupping.) ATCG, it is because I have worked with these companies, both from a control systems and roasting point of view that I can make these comments. I've seen that consistancy is easily achieved with large scale automated machinery. It also allows a machine operator to roast. It is once again a debate of skilled human input Vs computer controlled systems. I will not get into this debate again as the last time the debate of scale and automation came up the big names sent me lengthy replies to tell me how right they were...

coffee_head · November 2006

Maccas have digitally controlled espresso machines....does that mean they have the best set-up for a cafe?

Just mentioning they have a great consistancy and they are the only coffee (large) roaster that is quality controlled endorsed. I think they had some kind off imput into Blue Heelers. Made properly, coffex superbar is a good brand. Made poorly, it sucks shit.

Howdy, Stranger!

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories

In this Discussion

Roasters

Comments

frame

Howdy, Stranger!

Howdy, Stranger!

Quick Links

Categories

In this Discussion

Roasters

Comments

foot

Policies

Social