Previously we introduced and explained different coffee roasts, but what about the roasters that roast the coffee to sweet perfection? Of course, there are smaller DIY roasting techniques, like using an air popper popcorn machine, roasting in a skillet, or roasting in the oven (of you’re brave), but what we’re referring to is the machines specially built for yours or your favorite coffee company/shops roasting needs. Take a look at these babies:
Air Roasters
Air roasters use hot air to roast coffee beans. The hot air can be a spectacular method of roasting because it both roasts the beans and helps keep the beans steadily moving during the roasting process. These roasters are a little on the cheaper side ($110 to $200 generally for smaller ones), making professional roasts absolutely obtainable at home.
Drum Roasters
One of the most popular way for commercial roasters to roast is using a drum roaster. Drum roasters roast coffee beans in batches. As the drum spins, hot gasses are passed through or onto the drum and heat the coffee beans. The drum continuously spins so the beans get an even roast. These roasters are a little more expensive for even the smaller home-use ones, with pricing generally starting around $200 and going sky-high from there.
We’re not discrediting the DIY methods of home roasting – we’ve seen and tasted some people truly getting home roasting methods down to a science. The roasters above just help with roasting larger batches of coffee more quickly, and definitely have a higher accuracy rating in producing perfectly roasted coffee.