With modern technology, small batch coffee roasting isn't just for boutique cafes and coffee shops. Some of the best coffee roasters on the market are equally suited for home use, and they pack the features and versatility that professional coffee houses depend on. We at TopProducts have researched some of the best coffee roaster brands for home brewers and enthusiasts and created an in-depth guide, as well as a list of five top coffee roasters, to help you find a roaster for your home.
Overview
PROS
CONS
SPECS
Type
Source
Capacity
Circulation
Controls
Our Top Choice
KALDI Home Stovetop Coffee Roaster
With two beautiful flagship products sold worldwide, perhaps nobody else has perfected this level of sophistication for stovetop coffee roasting.
Manual controls. Has a thermometer. Option of hopper and sampler. 250-gram capacity.
Some customers say this model can overheat.
Stainless Steel
Stovetop, Open Flame
200 - 250 grams
Motorized Rotation
Rotation, Temperature
Best Value
Fresh Roast Automatic Coffee Bean Roaster
Fresh Roast specializes in affordable air roasters with customizable settings for home use.
Integrated timers. Temperature controls. Easy-to-clean chaff collection.
May be louder than a traditional roaster.
Countertop Air Roaster
Electric Heating Element
60 - 90 grams
Heated Air
Time, Temperature, Fan Speed
Behmor 1600 Plus Drum Coffee Roaster
From their advanced coffee roaster to IoT coffee makers, Behmor is known worldwide for being the smartest in coffee innovation.
For most, coffee beans are small, dark beans that arrive in powder form for single-serve coffee makers or automatic drip machines. As for baristas and coffee-lovers, we understand that the beans are actually the seeds of a larger plant, and that they are green before roasting. And because 70 - 80% of the coffee aroma is lost during the roasting process, there's potentially no better way to enjoy coffee more (outside of drinking it) than to smell it while it is roasting! Furthermore, the opportunity to take organic, whole beans and roast them to your own idea of perfection gives you the chance to make your own perfect cup of coffee. For coffee enthusiasts and connoisseurs, pairing the best coffee roaster with a conical burr grinder will produce consistently enjoyable coffee right in your home.
Price
A variety of factors affect the price of a coffee roaster, including roaster type, materials used, and additional features. Handheld, stovetop or open-flame models are the most simplistic and traditional, and they can be found for as low as $25. High-quality, automated coffee roasters with precise control of time and temperature can be a little more expensive – in the $300-400 range. While it may be tempting to purchase the cheapest coffee roaster on the market, it's unlikely that you'll have an even roast and exact control over the roasting process.
Features
The most important features to look for are temperature control and bean circulation. Stovetop roasting is the least precise. Some coffee roasters have a low-medium-high switch, or even temperature control set down to the degree. For the latter, it may be worth calibrating with a dependable thermometer to make sure the roasting temperature is accurate. More advanced machines have programmable roasting settings that let you change the temperature over time, create a cooling cycle, and store settings for the next use.
Construction and Design
Countertop and indoor roasters usually have a plastic shell with an electric heating component and glass or (BPA-free) plastic drum. Because they're used indoors with electricity, they don't generally need a rigorous casing. Stovetop models are made of stainless steel or aluminum for thermal conductivity, as they need to be able to resist extremely high temperatures over an open flame.
Performance and Ease of Use
Roaster performance is about consistency and customization. At higher temperatures, the outside is seared before the inside is finished roasting, causing more complex flavors. This could include some of the more bitter or acidic flavor profiles of the greener inside of the beans. Dark roasts that are roasted slowly, at slightly lower temperatures, are usually the height of dark roast perfection, as they've been given a chance to roast thoroughly inside and out. Likewise, roasting drums or rotating air currents that effectively circulate beans will prevent some from being burned while others are unroasted. As for manual coffee roasters, you control the consistency by changing how often you stir or rotate the chamber.
What is the Best Coffee Roaster?
Now that we've examined features of stovetop, electric, and air current coffee roasters, let's take a closer look at five of the best coffee roaster brands available!
Our Top Choice
The Kaldi Home Stovetop Coffee Roaster holds up to 250 grams of fresh beans for even, temperature-controlled, motorized roasting. For an even more full-featured roasting experience, check out the larger, Kaldi Motorized Coffee Roaster!
KALDI Home Coffee Roaster Including Thermometer for Gas Burner – Available in 4 Styles
KALDI Coffee Roaster – Motorize with Sampler & Hopper
Features
Kaldi is a worldwide retailer and manufacturer of high-end stovetop coffee roasters for home and professional use. With two flagship coffee roasters with customizable features, Kaldi has created advanced coffee roasters that will work without special equipment in any home environment. Each of their roasters can be motorized or manual, with options to add a sampler and hopper for roasting perfection.
The Kaldi Home Stovetop Coffee Roaster sits on a gas stovetop for direct-heat roasting with a motorized hopper. It roasts 200-250 grams of fresh beans at a time, and includes a thermometer for temperature control. As with all stovetop coffee roasters, motorized hoppers can be plugged into the wall with a standard 110v socket to roast beans evenly. With stainless-steel construction, this beautiful and bold coffee roaster is built to last and makes a perfect roaster for home enthusiasts and coffee lovers everywhere!
The SR500 is a high-quality, entry-level air roaster with a clear roasting chamber, automatic fan stirring, and integrated cooling cycle for consistency. Looking for advanced roasting control? The Fresh Roast SR700 syncs with your PC for the ultimate roasting experience!
Fresh Roast SR500 Automatic Coffee Bean Roaster with Chaff Collection and Cooling Cycle
Fresh Roast Coffee Roaster SR500
Features
Fresh Roast creates air-controlled coffee roasters for home baristas and coffee-lovers around the world. Unlike rotating drum roasters that are turned manually or by a small motor, air roasters use fans to keep the beans in circulation and provide the most even roast possible. Fresh Roast roasters are known for their dependability and longevity, and with plenty of features in even the most basic model, coffee enthusiasts can carefully control the roasting process for customizable results.
The SR500 roasts approximately four ounces, or 90 grams, with an electric heating element and powerful fan for circulation. The roasting chamber is clear, removable, and replaceable, with automatic chaff collection and an integrated cooling process to prevent over-roasting of beans. The timer can be set for nearly ten minutes, with temperature settings of low, medium, and high, and a fully adjustable fan speed knob. Overall, the Fresh Roast SR500 is an affordable, customizable air roaster that is perfect for new coffee roasters and expert baristas.
The Behmor 1600 Plus roasts one pound of beans inside a temperature-controlled, rotating drum with fully customizable controls. Need the perfect complement to your new roaster? Check out the Behmor Connected Temperature Control Coffee Maker!
Behmor 1600 Plus Customizable Coffee Roaster with Rotating Drum
Behmor Coffee Roaster 1600
Features
If you're a fan of technology, coffee, and coffee-related technology, you may have heard of Joe Behm, founder of Behmor Coffee. His flagship product, the Behmor Coffee Roaster, was one of the first fully customizable home roasters with professional-level quality. Shortly after, Joe created one of the most advanced IoT coffee makers and launched his second product. Not being satisfied with merely creating coffee-related products, Behm started a mission to better the lives of coffee farmers around the world. To date, Joe is still the heart and soul behind each Behmor product, and the humanitarian contribution of Behmor Coffee has donated over 300 roasters, and helped tens of thousands of farmers worldwide.
The Behmor 1600 Plus is the roaster that started it all. With a one-pound capacity and patented smoke suppression technology for indoor roasting, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better bean roaster in this price range. Perfect for hobbyists, small coffee shops, and modest roasters, the Behmor 1600 Plus is jam-packed with customizable settings to help you get the most from your beans. Thermostatically controlled quartz with a variable-speed roasting drum ensures consistency, and the efficient cooling cycle with removable chaff tray (and drum) makes cleanup easier than ever. Create five customizable roasting settings or switch to manual roasting mode with the see-through window. With a one-year warranty and a trusted brand name, the Behmor 1600 Plus is perfect for roasting green coffee beans at home.
With Nesco's patented catalytic converter, the CR-1010-PR Coffee Bean Roaster is designed for automatic, professional-grade roasting at an affordable price. Once you've roasted your beans to perfection, consider a Nesco Blade Grinder to keep your beans whole and fresh until brewing!
Nesco Pro Series Black Coffee Bean Roaster for up to 1/3lbs of Beans
Nesco Coffee Roaster CR-1010-PR
Features
Nesco is one of the world's foremost manufacturers of roasters, dehydrators, and specialty kitchen appliances. From slow cookers and pressure cookers to bread makers and coffee roasters, Nesco is dedicated to professional-quality cookware for home use. The Nesco CR-1010-PR Coffee Bean Roaster is part of their Coffee Bean Roaster PRO series and roasts up to one-third of a pound of coffee beans at a time!
Combining the best of both worlds, Nesco created a roasting chamber that circulates beans with a high-powered fan AND brings beans from the bottom to the top with a corkscrew-shaped agitator. The patented catalytic converter is designed to ensure even heating temperatures while reducing smoke and loss of aroma. With an integrated timer and cooling system, the Nesco CR-1010-PR brings professional roasting quality into your home for consistent, evenly roasted beans at a great price.
The Nuvo Eco Ceramic Handy Coffee Bean Roaster has a wonderfully earthy finish, cowhide leather handle, and ceramic chamber for easy cleaning. Looking for a modern twist on a classic design? The Nuvo Eco-Friendly Aluminum Coffee Roaster may be perfect for you!
With hundreds of products available online, Nuvo is a major retailer of home and kitchen accessories around the world. They have two classic stovetop coffee roasters for small batches and home use that are manually rotated over an open flame to provide a classic roasting experience like no other. Each of their roasters features a long handle wrapped in genuine cowhide for insulation.
The Nuvo Eco Ceramic Handy Coffee Bean Roaster comes in an earthy, brown tone, and is made of 100% clay ceramic for durability and thermal conductivity. When using a traditional stovetop roaster, a figure-eight pattern above an open flame will keep the beans roasting as evenly as possible. A rear hole in the handle allows popping sounds to be easily recognized, and it serves a dual purpose to blow chaff out of the main opening. Simple, effective, and absolutely affordable, the Nuvo Handy Coffee Bean Roaster is available in ceramic or high-quality aluminum construction as a traditional solution to roasting at home or outdoors!
We hope you've found a quality coffee roaster for your home, and you can shop with confidence, knowing that the best coffee roasters make the best cups of coffee. From freshly roasted beans to the brew in your cup, a coffee roaster is a fantastic way to make each morning better than the last.
