How micro roasters paved the way for in-store coffee roasting

Around the world, the number of roasters has boomed in the last ten years or so. As roasting technology, green buying, and general coffee education have become more accessible, more and more specialty coffee enthusiasts and professionals have forged their way into the market.

One of the most notable industry trends has been the rise of micro and nano roasters – coffee businesses which typically have a keen eye for quality, traceability, and exclusivity. These roasters have significantly influenced the market, with more consumers than ever before interested in trying new and interesting coffees.

To cater to this growing demand and offer consistently fresh coffee, in-store roasting has boomed in popularity. While it’s clear that the micro roastery movement has contributed towards this shift, in-store roasting is also changing how smaller roasteries operate.

I spoke to Ben Ireland, European Managing Director at Bellwether Coffee, to learn more.

You may also like our article on how the micro roaster market is evolving.

The rise of micro roasters in specialty coffee

Roasters come in all shapes and sizes in specialty coffee, but micro roasters have really made their mark on the industry over the last decade.

These businesses are generally categorised either by their batch capacity or annual roasting volume. For example, the Roaster of the Year competition defines a micro roaster as a company which sells less than 100,000 lbs (around 45,300kg) of coffee every year. Roasters using between 5kg and 35kg-batch capacity machines are usually considered to be micro, while roasters below 5kg are believed to be nano (which is even smaller).

It was during the mid-2000s that the third wave coffee movement started to take off. As the market slowly started to grow, quality and craft became increasingly important to both roasters and consumers. Dissatisfied with the frequent lack of transparency from larger second wave chains and brands, more and more coffee professionals decided to take roasting into their own hands and open new businesses.

As the specialty coffee market began to mature and evolve, micro roasters became more prominent. Although they still only represent a small portion of the wider coffee industry, their impact isn’t unnoticed, even today.

What are their defining factors?

When thinking about key elements that have shaped the micro roastery movement, it’s impossible to ignore the great emphasis on traceability and dedication to quality. Micro roasters are generally local and independent businesses, and often place a lot of value on sustainability, precision, and exclusivity with their coffee offerings.

In line with having a bigger focus on storytelling, it’s easy to assume that micro and nano roasters are more closely linked to origin. However, given their much smaller size, many of these roasters work with intermediaries to source a more diverse range of coffees.

Another major driver of the micro roaster market has been roasting technology. With automation now an integral component of roastery operations, business owners can exert as much control over roast variables as they wish – which is incredibly important for micro roasters to finetune their flavour profiles.

How micro roasters influenced in-store roasting

With much smaller annual roasting volumes and a bigger focus on freshness, it’s no surprise that micro roasters have influenced in-store roasting so much. 

As the name suggests, this practice is when coffee shops and other businesses invest in compact machines to roast coffee on site. They can do this for a number of reasons, including:

• Serving fresher coffee
• Having more control over coffee quality
• Reducing costs
• Offering more exclusive lots
• Diversifying revenue streams
• Creating a more unique selling point for their business

Ultimately, both micro roasters and in-store roasting demonstrate that the practice is more accessible than many would originally believe.

Inspired by the growing micro roastery movement, Bellwether Coffee launched the first all-electric, ventless roasting system in 2013. At World of Coffee Copenhagen from 27 to 29 June 2024, the company will showcase its latest Shop Roaster – a small-format, high-throughput automated electric roaster that can fit into any retail environment.

Ben Ireland is the European Managing Director at Bellwether Coffee. He explains the machine can roast between 1.5kg and 20kg per batch for better precision and consistency with roast profiles.

“We’ve designed the Shop Roaster to be our most accessible and versatile machine yet so that more retail businesses can roast their own coffee and join the sustainable roasting movement,” he says.

Has in-store roasting impacted micro roasters?

In the same way that micro roasters encouraged the boom in in-store roasting, the inverse is also true. By immersing customers into the roasting experience at coffee shops, home roasters and coffee enthusiasts became more encouraged to start their own small business.

Moreover, Ben explains that space is a key factor that has pushed more smaller operations to roast in-store.

“For a coffee shop, the most obvious place to install a roaster is in-store so they don’t need to lease another location (often outside of a city to reduce costs),” he explains. “Technology and automation, like Bellwether Coffee offers, also make it more practical to roast in-store, with less noise, smoke, and interruption to the workflow of a café.

“A retailer that roasts in-store has greater control over the quality and freshness of their coffee, as well as higher margins and revenue with the same footprint and overhead,” he adds.

Why roast your own coffee?

As more and more consumers continue to associate coffee freshness with quality, one of the most obvious benefits of in store-roasting is that business operators can showcase the entire process to both staff and customers.

“Micro and in-store roasting allows anyone who sells coffee to unlock the benefits of roasting themselves, and stand out in an increasingly competitive market,” Ben tells me. “Retailers can create their own custom, sustainable coffee brand that reflects customer preferences and values.”

In addition to being an effective marketing tool, investing in a shop roaster can also help educate consumers about more areas of the supply chain – and even bring them closer to the brand.

“In-store roasting allows businesses to bring their customers (and staff) one step closer to where their coffee comes from, and this can create a real sense of curiosity and renewed interest in their coffee offerings,” Ben says. “Consumers also get the chance to interact with a product made directly by a business they are loyal to, which is excellent for brand building.”

Similarly, in store-roasting is a training (and even career development) opportunity for staff. Taking part in, or at least observing, the roasting process every day can help employees feel more fulfilled and engaged.

“As the barista’s role has expanded to include roasting, better knowledge, expertise, generating interest can benefit staff longevity and retention,” Ben explains.

Reducing costs & emissions

For roasters, it’s never been more important to manage costs. On top of increasingly volatile coffee prices, food and energy costs have also been rising over the past couple of years – meaning margins are getting tighter and tighter. 

Ben explains that Bellwether Coffee’s Shop Roaster can help retailers save up to 50% of wholesale costs by selling their own freshly roasted coffee. Moreover, businesses can increase sales and even open up their own wholesale opportunities.

On the operations side, in-store roasting can also reduce overhead costs, which means they can invest in other areas of their business.

Ben also tells me as the only ventless roaster on the market, Bellwether eliminates up to 90% of carbon emissions from the roasting process. This can be another unique selling point for coffee retailers, and can help them to market their coffees more effectively.

The rise of micro roasters in the early 2010’s certainly helped to establish the growing trend of in-store roasting, which is ultimately making it easier for smaller businesses to enter the market.

In the future, we’re sure to see both micro and in-store roasting continue to influence each other – which will surely help push specialty coffee forward.

Enjoyed this? Then read our article on how micro roasters can grow sustainably.

Photo credits: Hagen Espresso Bars, High Grade Coffee

Perfect Daily Grind

Please note: Bellwether Coffee is a sponsor of Perfect Daily Grind.

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