# What is the best 5KG roaster for startup?



## Frsoar (Oct 25, 2019)

Hi I am new to the forum and need advice, I am starting a Roasting business in March and want to know views on the following 5Kg roasters: Toper coffee roasters, Probat, Gplden, Roastmax, HSR

Thank You


----------



## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Have you roasted before?


----------



## Frsoar (Oct 25, 2019)

Not commercially just on a skillet at home and on a friends commercial roaster but now taking the leap into my passion, and want to get it right. Air flow is clearly important but want the advice of the people with the experience


----------



## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

I'd go on as many roasting courses as possible and gain a feel and some experience of different machines to start with.


----------



## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Frsoar said:


> Not commercially just on a skillet at home and on a friends commercial roaster but now taking the leap into my passion, and want to get it right. Air flow is clearly important but want the advice of the people with the experience


 What roaster exactly did your friend have (electric or gas) and how much "roasting" did you really do. Did you just press buttons under direction. If roasting is your passion, I would have expected you to move from a skillet long ago. It would also be nice to know what country you are in.

You are mentioning in one breath roasters with a huge difference in quality, operation and price. I fear you may not really know what you are doing. Any advice you get at the moment without knowing more is probably worthless with the exception of my recommendation not to move from a skillet to a 5Kg roaster unless you know a lot more about your market, coffee and roasting.


----------



## Frsoar (Oct 25, 2019)

Sorry Dave only just picked this up it was a Toper, and I am now looking at a pre owned Toper. Any advice


----------



## GozzWar63 (3 mo ago)

Frsoar said:


> Hi I am new to the forum and need advice, I am starting a Roasting business in March and want to know views on the following 5Kg roasters: Toper coffee roasters, Probat, Gplden, Roastmax, HSR


Thank you.
Hi. Not sure what reply’s you’ve had so far. I’ve been roasting commercially for 25 yrs and started very small, and understand where you are coming from. Basically get the best you can afford. I learnt to roast entirely for myself. No help. In my tone I’ve won 3 times champion of show and many other awards. That’s not to brag but to tell you that you can start with basically no knowledge and learn from there. So many people will mystify the process and overwhelm you with matters that could bring you to a point where you may struggle with confidence.I’ll let you in on a secret. Roasting is more about knowing your roasting machine and how to work it to run and push your coffee the way you want more than it is about knowing everything about various coffees and and trying to emulate all the other ‘experts’ . Just don’t. Learn how the machine works.
how fast to het to yellowing stage, through to first crack and gently through to finish. Then taste it. No not excessive cupping And perfectly sweet espresso shots. I mean the way your customers drink it. In milk. That’s how you will earn a living and then build a business that will take care of your family. Forget all the cool hipster craft advice and go for what matters. Bit controversial huh? Why do I this? To get the thinking on line with what matters. The roaster.
they all work the same but some are better made and some are more controllable and predictable. Think along the lines of Geisen, Probat, Brambati. Get the best software you can. Make sure as much as possible that there is much control as possible. And… if you can get any automation, get it. It helps with consistency and with less stress.
burners simply must be able to be controlled in increments. If you can get drum speed and drum air speed control get it. Stick to staying with stable air and drum speed control at first to keep it simple. Don’t try to roast becuase everyone else does. First crack at 10:30 to 12:30 is fine. Development time after that from 3 mins to 4 mins is great. Listen to the Italians, they knew what they were doing. The world is not converting to filter coffee as much as one would think. So…a good roaster with the above said controllability will serve you well. I started on a small air roast that could only do 500 gram batches. Now I roast on a roaster that can roast 1000kg a day and is fully automated. If you think through my advice and take some on it will help you out. All the best in your endeavours.


----------

