Coffee Roasters for Home Use

Roasting coffee at home can be an incredibly rewarding experience! Coffee roasters for home use will allow you to cut out the middle man. You will be able to buy your own fresh green coffee and roast it to exactly how you like it. And you won't have to worry about the flavor that is lost from the time it is roasted to the time you drink it.

For those truly interested by the idea of roasting coffee at home, a good coffee roaster is ideal. This new trend of roasting at home is thought of as part of the "hobby" of making that perfect espresso. A roaster will allow you to experiment to get your coffee just right.

The main draws of a coffee roaster are the stability and consistency they offer. While, home roasting with a frying pan or the oven might be classic, fun ways to approach coffee roasting, commercial roasters can be set, timed, and calibrated to do what you want.

Please keep in mind these units need proper ventilation when in use. They will produce varying degrees of smoke when roasting. Follow the manufacturer's suggestions on proper venting (usually placing roaster near stove top vent which is turned on). And never leave the roaster unattended.

How much will I roast?The first thing to consider when choosing a home roaster is just how much coffee you’ll be drinking. The range of batch size is between 3 and 9 ounces. That means no one roaster will provide you with more than three or four days worth of coffee. For that reason, you’ll want to choose based on how often you plan on roasting and when you'll have time to roast your coffee.

Note: While most coffee roasters are fairly solid pieces of equipment, it’s not advised to crank out multiple batches of coffee every day. Definitely follow the manufacturers instructions for frequency of use.

What flavor do I like?Also, consider the flavor and style of your beans when deciding to buy a home coffee roaster. There are two types of roasters: Fluid Bed Roasters and Drum Roasters. Each of these roast in a different way and will result in a different taste.

Fluid Bed Roasters (Hot Air):Do you want to roast quickly and sharper, more acidic beans are to your liking? The smaller machines, often fluid bed roasters, will roast your beans quicker than most, in about 10 minutes or so. While the batches are smaller, they are much quicker. And the resulting bean is more acidic.

Freshroast SR-300 Roasts small batches of a quarter pound but does a great job! This deal from Amazon comes with 1 lb. Green Coffee. This is the new model of an old favorite.

Drum Roasters:On the other hand, drum roasting machines offer similar results to the classic methods of pan frying or oven roasting. With a slow, steady roast that relies on moving the bean around at a lower temperature, drum roasting machines produce a fuller bodied tasting bean.

Swissmar A8200 Bravi Roasts 2 to 8 ounces of beans.

Behmor Home Coffee Roaster Roasts from one quarter to a full pound of coffee. Minimum noise and smoke, making it well suited to home use. 8 pounds coffee + free shipping too!

Gene Cafe Roasts 1/2 lb. of coffee beans! Very consistent roast and probably the best home roaster around.Actually, is a drum roaster that also utilizes hot air.

How big is the roaster? Size of the roaster seems directly proportionate to the quality of the roaster. The smallest and simplest of the coffee roasters are not only cheaper, but much simpler to use. For people that don’t drink coffee quite so much or plan on spending vast amounts of time roasting their own, these machines are ideal.

However, they don’t offer the control that a larger machine might. For example, a larger drum roaster has a few more options and the ability to stop the roasting at a specific time to get the exact roast you are looking for without burning your beans.


Can the roaster be programmed? The more elaborate of a coffee roaster you get, the more programmable features are often offered with your machine. More expensive, higher end models will often offer profile programming, allowing you set exactly how you like a certain roast.

Generally, when choosing a coffee roaster for your home, the most important thing to consider is exactly how you’ll be using it. If you merely want the chance to tinker and roast your own beans for an occasional cup of coffee, a small machine might be perfect for you. If you plan on roasting different styles, drinking your roasted coffee on a daily basis, or experimenting with different methods, a larger drum roasting machine might be better suited for your needs.

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