Best Coffee Bean Roasters for at-home, small batch roasting (top 6)

If you claim to love coffee more than most people, then you need to step up your game and get a home coffee roaster. If you really enjoy fresh, roasted coffee, having a home roaster will be right up your alley. What does it take to roast coffee at home?

Read on to find out more.

Why Roast Coffee At Home?

When I first started roasting coffee at home, I did what many people do. I went out and bought a $2 used popcorn maker at a thrift store and ordered green coffee beans. I learned very quickly that roasting great coffee was more complicated than simply turning green coffee brown. There are so many other variables involved.

Here’s a short video that explains the fundamentals of roasting. Its quite important to understand these key points before starting to roast:

Why would anyone want to go through all the trouble of roasting their own coffee at home then? Not only do you learn more about coffee in the process, you get to roast coffee perfectly to your preferences. You get to create your own blends and you will always have the freshest coffee. You can use a popcorn maker to get started on your coffee roasting journey, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

If you’re a true coffee fanatic ready to take your home barista career to the next level, you’ll want proper equipment to roast your own beans.

How to Choose the Right Coffee Roaster

Before rushing out and buying the first roaster you see, we have a few tips for you. This is an important item in your coffee gear arsenal, so read carefully.

Considering trying a popcorn maker?

A popcorn popper is designed to do one thing – push hot air through a pile of tiny kernels. Although that is the foundation of roasting coffee, it doesn’t accomplish everything we need it to. It’s very easy for a popcorn maker to over roast some beans, while under roasting others – creating a very inconsistent batch of coffee. Inconsistently roasted beans don’t make a great cup of coffee (1).

This is because the air that is pushing through the beans is not very strong, leading to limited movement in the chamber. This also means you can only roast a small amount at a time. Professional roasters will rotate the beans constantly for an even roast (2).

It will do an O.K job of roasting, but don’t expect amazing results. It can, however, be a great stepping stone into the world of roasting, without investing too much. Here’s a video showing you exactly what to expect if you’re looking to roast on a budget:

Different Types Of Coffee Roasters

There are 2 main types of roasters we will be looking at today:

Air roasters, which are similar in concept to a popcorn maker, heat the beans using direct heat (convection). Hot air is pushed through the roasting chamber, touching all the beans directly.

Drum roasters, which use indirect heat (conduction) to roast the beans. Inside the machine is a round chamber that rotates. Heat is applied to the outside of the metal chamber, and the beans are roasted as they come in contact with the chamber (3). Choose the right roaster and you’ll achieve the perfect coffee roast (take a look into different roast profiles here).

Size Matters

Different roasters have different capacities. Typically air roasters will only be able to roast small amounts while drum roasters have larger roasting chambers for bigger batches. If you want to roast a few small batches of different coffees each week, you might opt for a smaller air roaster. If you want to roast one big batch and be set for the week, you might need to go for a drum roaster instead.

How Much Control Do You Want?

What’s your roaster personality? Flip a switch and walk away, or tweak every variable for a completely unique roast? In general, more expensive roasters offer greater controllability. Yet, even at the lower end, you will have basic time and temperature controls that you can adjust.

As you move towards the higher end you will find roasters with programmability, which allow you to create and save roast profiles for increased consistency. Once profiles are set, you can simply turn the roaster on, select a profile, and it will automatically follow the settings and complete the roast without additional input.

PRO TIP: If you plan to immerse yourself into roasting, go for something with high controllability. It may be hard to learn the ropes, but you’ll be happier long term.

Cooling Is Almost As Important As Heating

Once the coffee has reached the desired roast level, it’s very important for the beans to cool down quickly.If you don’t cool the beans down, they will continue to roast due to the heat built up in the chamber. A cooling feature is thus important in any roaster. For most available roasters, cool air will simply blow through the roasting chamber once roasting is complete.

The most expensive roaster on our list, however, has an external tray that the beans are dumped onto, which cools the beans much faster. This is a major advantage if you don’t want your coffee to over roast.

Keeping It Clean

Coffee roasters have a chaff collection system making for an easy Sunday-walk-in-the-park kind of cleanup. Some roasters even have a built-in smoke suppression system. It’s hard to eliminate smoke entirely, but these systems will allow you to safely roast indoors. Keep in mind that even with a smoke reduction system, roasting darker coffee will still produce a lot of smoke.

The 6 Best Home Coffee Roasters Of 2022

Now that you know what to look for in a coffee roaster, you are ready to pick out the perfect one for you.

If you’re just getting started in roasting your own coffee beans, The Fresh Roast SR 500 540 is for you – this is the updated sr500 model, with some nice improvements. You’ll be roasting exotic green beans to perfection in no time. It’s the most affordable roaster on our list and great for beginners.

This roaster is simple enough for just about anyone to use. It has 9 temperature settings, a fan adjustment dial and buttons to change the roast time. This means you have more flexibility in roast profiles. To get the beans moving inside the roasting chamber, a higher fan speed is necessary as there is no other element rotating the beans during the roast. The Fresh Roast is an air roaster, utilizing convective heat.

The size of the roasting chamber is rather small though. Each roast can handle about 4 oz, or 120 grams. Though the roasting time is pretty quick at 6-9 minutes, you may have to roast a few batches to have enough coffee for a week.Want to know more? We pick apart the SR540 in our review here.

Here’s a review of this roaster where we show you exactly what we love and don’t love about this entry level air roaster:

If you’re looking for an affordable and easy-to-use home coffee roaster, check out this electric model from Jiawanshun. It’s a big step up from a popcorn popper in terms of quality and yet no more complicated to set up and operate. And as a bonus, it can pop popcorn too!

A dial is used to adjust the temperature between 100 and 240 ℃, so you can access the full range of roasts, from blond to Italian. A rotating arm keeps the beans tumbling for an even roast, no matter how dark you want to go.

It has a relatively large capacity of nearly a pound of coffee beans, which is perfect for heavy coffee drinkers. But this does mean it takes a little longer to roast, up to 20 minutes for a dark roast. 

The design is compact with a modern aesthetic. It’s easy to move around and store. We love that the heatproof glass cover lets you watch your roast in action, and the non-stick interior coating makes clean-up a breeze.

If you have a gas stove at home, this Dyvee roaster is a no-brainer. But even if you don’t, it might be worth investing in a hot plate for this unique home roaster.

It’s a drum-style roaster that can handle up to 300 grams of coffee beans at a time, but its standout feature is its stunning transparent quartz drum. Instead of roasting blind or pulling out sample beans, you can closely monitor each second of your roast.

Operation is as simple as placing it over the burner and turning it on to start it rotating. It’s supported by a sturdy stainless steel frame, and a wooden handle remains cool to the touch. Just be aware that unlike metal drum roasters, the quartz drum can break if you drop it. So handle with care. 

The downside to this roaster is that you won’t get any temperature feedback. You’ll have to watch the roast and adjust your burner accordingly. It’s also relatively slow, taking as much as an hour for a dark roast. So, if you if you’re impatient, we’d advise you simply buydark roast coffee instead.

Related: The Behmor 1600 review.

The Nuvo Eco Ceramic is about as minimal and hands-on as it gets. It’s a ceramic vessel designed for use on a stovetop, so there are no timers, temperature settings, cool-down programs or anything else to learn. Pour green beans (up to about 70g, or just under 3 oz.) in the opening on the top, shake them over the heat source while listening for the crack, and then empty the roasted beans through the hollow handle when you’re done.

While the handle does have a cowhide grip, you’ll want to use a hot pad or oven glove while roasting. The manufacturer suggests shaking the Nuvo Eco in a figure-eight pattern to promote even roasting.

Roasting time varies with the heat source and the desired roast level. Expect roast times between three and ten minutes – that’s a pretty broad range. And because it’s ceramic, it doesn’t work on induction cooktops. But you can use it on any other heat source, making the Nuvo Eco a great choice for roasting your own coffee while camping.

The Kaldi home coffee roaster, which is relatively new in the space, was designed for the serious home roaster who wants to perfect his/her roasting game. While it may look fancy, at the end of the day it’s a serious roasting workhorse without the bells and whistles – because you have enough to think about when you’re trying to nail that perfect roast.

The only think that we didn’t love is that it doesn’t come with smoke suppression technology, which is kind of odd given the market its aimed it (i.e. people who will roast often). So keep this in mind; you’ll need to have a well ventilated area to run it from.

Overall however, it will leave you with a 5/5 in terms of quality when you roast (if you learn the ins and outs of roasting), so its easy to see why its an emerging favourite in this space. We took a deeper look into this roaster here in our Kaldi home coffee roaster review.

The Behmor 2000AB sits somewhere between a hobby machine and serious coffee kit. The price is more than what you might expect to pay for a countertop device, but you’re also getting some features that you might only find on higher-end machines. 

The microwave-looking roaster offers five pre-programmed roast profiles for easy use, as well as an automatic cool-down function. There’s also the option to manually program your time, temperature, and drum speed, but you might need the instructions for this. The smoke-suppression function means it’s designed for use indoors, but be aware it’s not completely smoke or odor-free.

The 2000AB is an upgrade on the AB model and 1600AB. Many of the changes are on the inside to improve performance, but the unattended safety shutoff alert is a welcome addition. The machine will start beeping to remind you to continue the roast cycle. The good news is that if you have an older model, you can upgrade the control panel without needing to replace the entire machine.

The Verdict

If you’re just getting started, we just love the Fresh Roast sr540 – which is the updated version of the sr500 (no longer being made) The price point is perfect (ie. affordable!) and it’s a great stepping stone into the world of home roasting. You’ll be setting up small batch roasts and enjoying the freshest coffee of your life in no time.

For those looking to step up their game, The Kaldi home drum roaster will not disappoint.